The Examiner is out to help boost job prospects for our readers.

This month we’ll use our special Jobs Month logo to highlight schemes that are bringing employment to the area.

September is traditionally one of the best times of the year for recruitment.

We recently revealed plans for a new £3m health and fitness centre – including a 20-metre swimming pool – at the site of the old BMW Garage on Wakefield Road which is set to create 25 to 30 jobs.

The plan has been submitted by DW Sports Fitness.

If planning permission is granted this Thursday, work will start imminently with the club due to open in December.

Examiner editor Roy Wright said: “We are always keen to report good news on the job front and eager to hear how jobs are being created in our area so we thought we’d give it an extra push throughout September.

“It’s tough out there for people out of work looking for employment so we are keen to do all we can to help them.”

Other firms to have revealed they are in the jobs market are:

Valve company Wentworth Valve Components Ltd, based at Lockwood, expects to double its workforce from 10 to 20 as part of an expansion plan. The company is offering apprenticeships to school leavers.

Kitchen manufacturer Rixonway Kitchens in Dewsbury is to create 10 jobs and invest in extra machinery after winning contracts worth more than £7m. It is increasing its kitchen design and survey team from 43 to 53.

Northgate Vehicle Leasing is creating more jobs after opening its new premises at Red Doles Lane, off Leeds Road at Deighton this summer and expects to increase the number over coming months. The site currently employs eight staff at the Huddersfield base, but expects to have up to 14 people – including drivers, mechanics, and other operational staff – by the end of the year.

Meanwhile, there is some good news for apprentices with the number of apprenticeships continuing to increase, but the Government has urged more employers to offer places to youngsters.

Just under 130,000 vacancies were posted online in England in the past year – a rise of 27% on the previous 12 months.

More than 1.4 million applications were made online in the past year, an increase of a third, with an average of 11 applications per vacancy.

Skills minister Matthew Hancock said: “We want to see it become the norm that young people either go to university or into an apprenticeship. Research showed that more than 70% of employers say apprentices boosted their service or product.”

If you have a good news story about job creation then call our newsdesk on 01484 437712.