A government minister was in Gloucester today to help promote efforts to get the over-50s back into work.

Minister for Employment Guy Opperman was joined by Gloucester MP Richard Graham on a tour of the city centre and opened the 50PLUS Fair at the Guildhall.

The minister then took part in a round table discussion event with 50PLUS participants and went on to visit Jobcentre Plus in Eastgate Street.

The jobs fair for the over-50s was jointly arranged by the county council, jobs centre, DWP and Richard Graham MP. The event also saw the launch of a new initiative called the 50:50 Challenge aiming to help over-50s back into work.

Mr Opperman told Punchline: "We're trying to support employment of the over-50s but we're also working with volunteers and various other organisations. What we're trying to do is to integrate services and try to make it easier for people to get employment.

"We're trying to fill vacancies we know exist in Gloucestershire in a whole host of things in such as the NHS trust, hospitality and hotels and we feel that the over-50s are a rich source of employment for so many people."

Mr Opperman said that through the new 'returnerships' scheme the government was trying to nurture people back into employment.

"It's about giving people confidence that they can do this, it's about training them up," he added. "You can go on skills boot camps which last for 12 weeks, you can do a sector-based work academy or a 50-plus apprenticeship, all paid for by the state and organised by the DWP.

"There are massive opportunities to make sure you can have the training, the skills and the opportunity to get back to work," he added.

Cllr Philip Robinson, Gloucestershire County Council's cabinet member for education, skills & transport, said he was at the jobs fair particularly because the county council, in conjunction with the local enterprise partnership, was launching a new initiative, the 50:50 Challenge.

"What It's all about is working with 50 employers to work with 50 people over the age of 50 by offering them a work placement of 50 hours and we hope to achieve this in 50 days on average by signing one new employer every day for the next 50 days," he said.

"The idea is to get people back to work or to rekindle the interest of people over 50 in work because there are certain challenges. People over 50 may think it's not easy to get in.

"Lots of people over the age of 50 are employed - more than ever before - but we do want to tempt more over the age of 50 back into employment and this is what it's all about.

"Help is available from the county council skills hub to help you face those challenges. We need to work with the employers and the individuals because it's perceptions that have to change."

During his visit, Mr Opperman walked through the new Transport Hub in Clarence Street and saw work going on to create the £107 million Forum development. Among those he met were Esther Croft, development director of the Reef Group, Tom Jackson, site manager for Kier, and Cllr Richard Cook, leader of Gloucester City Council.

Having worked at Gloucester Crown Court as a barrister many years ago, he said he hadn't visited the city for a while.

"It's so changing, it really is. I've had a look at the Indigo hotel site and met the team from Kier. It's really clear that there is massive investment coming in and the traditional model of Gloucester city centre is definitely changing. They're on a journey and there are bits that need upgrading, but it's quite clear that there's some optimism here."