A rap artist helped to open a new £115,000 facility for job seekers in Manningham and Girlington yesterday.

A special suite, which is kitted out with computers, meeting areas and career information, was opened at the Girlington Community Centre as part of The Jobs@Manningham project.

Musician Abbas Ali, a former client of the project, kicked off the ceremony - which was also attended by Lord Mayor of Bradford Richard Wightman - with a rap performance.

The Jobs@Mannigham project, which was launched in 2000, has so far helped more than 900 people get work.

The scheme provides a package of support for young people looking for work, ranging from advice on finding job vacancies to training for interviews.

Councillor Simon Cooke, executive member for corporate regeneration, said: "Jobs@Manningham has gone from strength to strength, helping young people into more employment with the help of agencies such as JobCentre Plus, the Careers Service and Bradford College.

"The facility will provide the Girlington community with an important new job search service which will offer local young people a pathway into work."

The cost of the facility was jointly funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Manningham and Girlington Single Regener-ation Budget Partnership.

Coun Cooke added: "Local employers play an important part in the success of the service and Jobs@Manningham staff will be working closely with them to generate more local jobs for local people."

Ian Hastings, business development manager at JobCentre Plus, said: "Jobs@Manning-ham is a great success story for Bradford and this latest expansion aims to put local people in touch with local job and training opportunities.

"JobCentre Plus is delighted to support the new phase in the project."

Jake Piergies, chief executive of Manningham and Girlington Single Regener-ation Budget Partnership, added: "The Partnership is delighted to support the further expansion of the Jobs@Manningham project."

The new Girlington facility is the project's third base. Jobs@Manningham has other centres at Carlisle Road and Manningham Lane.