A NEW multi-million-pound employment programme was launched in Newport this morning - with a special guest from the Welsh government due to attend.

Economy minister Vaughan Gething was due to drop in to the offices of Working Wales at Newport Careers Centre this morning to launch a new flagship Welsh Government programme.

The new initiative is aimed at providing personalised support to people who are not currently in education, training or employment to find and stay in work.

However, Mr Gething was revealed to be suffering from coronavirus and was not in attendance at the launch as a precaution.

The new £13.25m a year React+ programme will provide tailored support to help people facing barriers into work across Wales.

The programme forms part of wider Welsh government plans to help more people into and stay in work, particularly those disadvantaged in the labour market.

It is also part of the Welsh government’s Young Person’s Guarantee, which brings together a range of programmes designed to provide the right support for young people across Wales to help them plan and build a successful future.

Jakki Waller, who has already received support through Careers Wales, said: "I worked for Test, Trace and Protect during the pandemic.

"That ends this month, at 62 that's daunting.

"I made the decision to leave full-time employment to do something that I thought would really help people."

She explained how the staff at Newport Careers Centre had helped her with her anxiety and depression during her search for work.

Another service user, Denzil Hopkins described how, until recently, he worked for Admiral in the city.

Now, after taking voluntary redundancy, he is on the way to undertaking training to become a florist.

ReAct+ will include careers advice, access to a work coach, childcare funding, specialist support or travel costs while you train to gain new skills or qualifications.