A computer programmer is helping commuting jobseekers find work after turning his vision into a reality.
David Teasdale (32), of Towngate, Foulridge, has set up his own website, Commutable Careers, after around two years of development and research in his spare time.
He was inspired to launch the site after an interviewee came into his own workplace, but did not know if the job would be commutable by bus every day.
The dad-of-one, who is originally from St Helens, said: “A few years ago it dawned on me how difficult it must be to try and find work if you don’t drive – especially if you live in a rural or semi-rural area.
“I spent some time trying to think of the solution and was able to use my programming skills to create Commutable Careers.
“I hope the website will help jobseekers to discover work opportunities that they will not have considered before as they thought that the geographical area was out of reach to them, when actually it isn’t if they make full use of public transport.”
“The aim of my website is primarily to enable those who do not hold a driving licence to get back into employment, but it would be great also for people who are tired of being in traffic jams and want to ditch the car. Obviously non-drivers are a group in society that have a limited pool of job opportunities available to them, especially in semi-rural communities such as ours, and can be a difficult group for agencies such as Jobcentres to help. According to the most recent National Travel Survey, the number of driving licence holders in Britain is falling, very markedly among young people. Hopefully my website will provide a solution for many people.”
The jobsite is free for both users and advertisers, and has more than 10,000 vacancies with Britain’s top companies.
Users are able to type in their postcode and will then be shown only vacancies they can get to and back from in a maximum of 90 minutes. They are also given a step-by-step guide of the journey.
Go to http://commutable.careers for more information.