Lesley Griffiths AM, was commenting after it was announced that a new £70 million European Union-backed initiative – designed to tackle many of the major barriers unemployed people face when wanting to train for new skills or return to work – had been launched by Welsh Assembly Government.

It is hoped that the new Genesis Cymru Wales 2 project, will assist 20,000 Welsh people – including many people in Wrexham – to overcome a range of hurdles that prevent them from entering the workforce or going into training.

Genesis 2 will offer a comprehensive package of advice, one-to-one mentoring, assistance to attend training and childcare.

The new project has been made possible with £35 million from the European Social Fund and will be the successor to the Genesis Cymru Wales project, which helped over 15,000 people to increase their employment opportunities by addressing barriers such as low skills, transport costs to training and lack of self-esteem.

The Assembly Government hope the new scheme will focus on assisting Wales' hardest to reach individuals. The unique referral service within the project will mean health visitors, social workers and other professionals will be able to inform and refer people to the scheme.

Parents will also be able to refer themselves to the service. Genesis advisors will then arrange to meet them in their homes or an informal environment such as a café, to discuss the support they require.

Commenting on the announcement and the impact it will have on Wrexham, Ms Griffiths said: "Many local people will know just how successful the Genesis Project has been in Wrexham, as it helped hundreds of families and individuals.

"Thanks to a small but dedicated team of staff, it proved to be a great success as it tackled economic inactivity and child poverty at a grass roots level. I believe this new Genesis 2 project will build on that success story for the town.

"Genesis 2 will be money well spent as it will focus on those people who are the hardest to reach. It will address, through a range of means, the problems that come with economic inactivity.

"I also believe the Genesis 2 project will make a real difference as it will also play important role in achieving the Government's drive to halve child poverty in Wales by 2010 and eradicate it by 2020."