Tony McNulty meets jobseekers at Waterloo Job Shop

Mr McNulty, who is also minister for London, met local jobseekers during his visit to the Lower Marsh-based centre.

Waterloo Job Shop, which shares a building with Waterloo Library, is a partnership between South Bank Employers' Group and Lambeth Council.

More than 50 SE1-based organisations are using the job shop to recruit locally. They include Shell and its sub-contractors, the Shield Guarding Company, London South Bank University, Guy's & St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust and Lambeth Primary Care Trust.

South Bank Employers' Group has worked with local firms to identify new vacancies and then provided customised training and work placements to ensure that residents of Lambeth, Southwark and Wandsworth have the right skills and experience to apply for the roles available.

"The Waterloo Job Shop is a clear example of how local businesses can work together to make a difference to people's lives in nearby areas of high unemployment," said Tony McNulty MP.

"It is thanks to their innovative approach that more than 260 local people have been helped into employment in the past year and I congratulate them on their success.

"Closer working between the Government and its partners is paramount to tackling unemployment. We are committed to making sure people receive real help from day one of being unemployed so that they can get back to work as quickly as possible."

Anita Konczak from South Bank Employers' Group added: "Even in this difficult economic climate, we are still working on a high volume of vacancies and would strongly encourage anyone looking for work to come and register with us."

• The Waterloo Job Shop is based at 114-118 Lower Marsh. Tel: 020 7926 8760