Enterprising Eric hitches a jobs lift

Photo: Picture: VINCENT BROWN

LOOKING for work . . . Eric Shaw on the roadside, desperate for a job.

Engineer takes to road to flag down employers

DESPERATE times call for desperate measures.

And out-of-work engineer Eric Shaw has been forced to take to the streets in the hope of finding a job.

He set up stall yesterday in Broadway, Royton, near the entrance to the Centre Retail Park, advertising his skills as an engineer in the hope someone would offer him a position.

And he has pledged to take the same stance tomorrow, between 7.30 and 9am to catch the morning rush-hour traffic and hopefully the eye of a prospective employer.

The father-of two lost his job 15 months ago, shortly after the recession began to bite.

He suffered knock-back after knock-back as he tried to find new employment, battling unsuccessfully against hundreds of people applying for a handful of precious jobs.

Mr Shaw (45), who also has a grandchild, has an engineering degree and years of experience, but has been out of luck on the job front since he was made redundant from his position as a design draughtsman at United Aluminium in Newton Heath.

Yesterday he carried a bundle of CVs ready to hand out to anyone who cared to stop, but admitted he found the whole situation highly embarrassing.

He said: “I left a company I had been with for six years for the job in Newton Heath, then I was made redundant six months later.

“Not being able to get a job has really knocked my confidence, and I am very embarrassed to have to stand at the side of the road advertising myself, but desperation has given me no choice.

“I managed to get a job at Argos but it’s only part-time, I have spent all my savings on living, and now I have started to go into debt just to pay my bills.

“I have my name on umpteen recruitment sites and completed a course at Manchester Metropolitan University to help me update my interview skills and CV, and learn about networking and selling myself, but I still haven’t got anywhere.”

Mr Shaw hopes employers will see him and pull in at a near-by layby to find out more. But an hour after he took up his position yesterday he had failed to attract any attention.

“I have a creative mind and am looking for a job in product design or product development, or even work in manufacturing,” he said. “I will consider anything.”

Mr Shaw lives with his partner, Deborah Marland, in Park Avenue, Chadderton, who said: “He deserves a medal.”