Workshy Coventry? Advert for 20 jobs in a city with more than 10,000 unemployed 'looking for work' gets just TWO replies

-Bosses baffled and say workers can earn £400 a week



By Daily Mail Reporter





Bosses at a Coventry security firm have been left frustrated after an advertisement for 20 new workers received only two applications.



With 10,275 local people looking for work, the hirers at OnGuard24 are baffled by the poor response.



The company, based in Coventry Point, Market Way, is looking for people to fill minimum-wage telesales posts.



Awaiting your call: David Mawson and Lee Derrig, of security firm OnGuard24, were surprised by the poor response to an advert offering 20 jobs





But bosses are quick to point out that there are also 'good commission rates' on top of the wage, and some employees can earn £400 a week.



Lee Derrig, OnGuard24’s marketing manager, said: 'I expected the phone to be going non-stop. It’s not like we’re selling double glazing. We’re selling a product to help keep people’s homes safe from fire and burglary.



'It’s a good job with good prospects for promotion. Some of our people here are walking away with £400 a week. Yet we’ve only had two applicants.'



Qualified beauty therapist Jadean Steele, 18, of Walsgrave, was one of the two applicants.



Coventry city centre: With more than 10,000 looking for work in the city, Mr Mawson and Ms Derrig expected more than the two responses they received





Unemployed since 2009. she said: 'I think it’s terrible that so few people have been in touch. Lots of people are unemployed at the moment.



'I’ve been trying to get a job in a salon for months but it’s really hard. There’s not much out there. When I saw the advert I was delighted.



'It looked like a job I could do, with good incentives.'



Company director David Mawson said that the jobs would perfectly suit almost anybody in the city.



Unemployment map: The darker areas on this graphic show the regions with the largest unemployment growth. Coventry is in the lower of the two darkest areas





Some of the firm’s best salesmen elsewhere include a retired headmistress and a man who recently underwent a triple heart bypass.



Mr Watson, whose company sells specialist security systems, said: 'I’ve spoken to people whose lives have been saved by our system.



'We are trying to make money but we do employ people and we want to employ more. If I needed a job and I saw one where I could earn a good wage, I would pick the phone up and come here. I can’t understand why more people haven’t.'



Unemployment has now reached 7.7 per cent in the country, with more than 2.53 million Britons out of work in the three months to January - the largest number since 1994.



However, the number of people claiming out-of-work benefits fell by 10,200 between January and February to 1.44 million.



The North-South gap appears to be opening even wider, with unemployment rates hitting low-skilled workers hardest, according to job figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).



The data looked at the labour market since unemployment hit a 30-year low in 2005 and the results reveal a gloomy outcome for most of the country.



Areas that have seen the largest increase in unemployment are the West Midlands, with a 6.1 per cent increase since 2005, followed by Yorkshire and The Humber, with a 5.3 per cent increase.



In contrast, the lowest rises were found in the south-east (2.7 per cent), east (3 per cent) and London with 3.2 per cent. The overall increase across the UK was on average 3.3 per cent.







source:dailymail