AN initiative aimed at helping Oxford’s unemployed get back to work launches on Wednesday.

The Oxford Work Club will run monthly at Oxford City Council’s customer service centre in St Aldate’s, offering everything from advice on preparing CVs to mock interview practice.

Between 50 and 100 people are expected to attend the first club.

Council leader Bob Price, who is also director of human resources at Oxford Brookes University, said it was primarily aimed at people with some experience who were struggling to get a new job.

He said: “It’s a very difficult job market. This will give a certain amount of advice and support, but also human contact to act as a support mechanism for the many people who are unemployed.”

Part of the National Work Clubs Network, the Oxford Work Club is run by the council, Guru Manyo Granth Sikh Centre, Jobcentre Plus and Oxford & Cherwell Valley College.

Mr Price said: “I get a number of emails from people who have taken voluntary redundancy, in many cases because firms have been downsizing and the package has seemed quite attractive.

“They have then found, to their horror, they have not been able to get another job.”

He said he had recently heard from one trained website designer and IT professional who had applied for 70 jobs before finally receiving a job offer.

In his role at Brookes, he said the impact of the recession was equally clear. He said: “We have had a number of applications for relatively low-level administration jobs, many, many more applications than we normally expect to get for those jobs.”

He said the university recently received more than 300 applications for two posts of programme administrator – in pre-recession times, such jobs would have attracted closer to 100.

The work club, which will run on the first Wednesday of each month from 10am to 4pm, is being opened by Oxford Lord Mayor Elise Benjamin.

There will also be information on vacancies and internet access to search for positions, along with opportunities to access local training and benefits advice.

There are similar clubs in Bicester, Banbury and Carterton, and council people and equalities project manager Melanie Magee was inspired to open one in Oxford after volunteering at clubs in Bicester and Banbury.

She said: “We find it rewarding.

“It’s nice seeing someone going out confident about their chances.”

It follows on from a youth job fair in August, which aimed to provide advice for school, college and university leavers on how to get into work – as well as a chance to meet employers with entry-level role vacancies.