WOKINGHAM’S career centre is warning it will be forced to close if the borough council slashes its funding for the service.

At present, Wokingham Borough Council gives more than £16,000 to the Wokingham Job Support Centre, (WJSC) which helps get people into work, but they may cut all funding in the budget for 2016/17.

The centre’s manager is calling on residents to lobby their borough councillor to try and protect the centre’s funding.

Steven Polak, treasurer and trustee of the WJSC, said the service helped 250 new clients in the past year and saw more than 1,500 visitors in the same period.

“This is a very short-sighted move by the council which will lead to the loss of a key service to the community,” he said.

“The borough council is our largest supporter, they fund 55 per cent of current operating costs and what they are thinking of doing is cutting 100 per cent of that funding. We are very concerned about that.

“Obviously we don’t want them to make any cuts, we believe this is a vital service for the community because it gets people off benefits and into jobs.

“It’s an amazing deal for the council. Our operating cost is about £30,000 because we’re nearly all volunteers and isn’t that what David Cameron’s big society is all about?”

He said the service gets people off benefits and allows the borough to collect more council tax as well as helping individuals be happier and healthier in their own lives.

The WJSC was founded by the council in 1994 and helps people with CVs, interview techniques, computer skills and finding jobs.

It runs workshops for job seekers from its base at the Cornerstone Building on Norreys Avenue.

Anthony Pollock, executive member for finance on Wokingham Borough Council, is responsible for drawing up the budget.

He said nothing was certain yet but the council faced tough decisions and expected a further £20million worth of cuts over the next five years.

He said: “I appreciate what they do for the community and what they do for us. We are currently making decisions about the grants but nothing has been finalised.

“I personally have been a member of the executive for the WJSC back in the 90s. I appreciate that it is valued by the people of the borough.

“The extra council tax we collect over all is beneficial, getting people into work is beneficial but we still have a budget to balance.

“Over time we need to have talks with our voluntary communities so they are not totally dependant on us.”

Visit www.wjsc.org.uk for more information on the WJSC.