Over the past week, the Government has announced a number of fantastic programmes which will help more people to get off of benefits and in to work, along with a new campaign to give people the skills they need to get the job they want.
The first programme, Way to Work, is an innovative new scheme that will help accelerate people getting in to work will in turn boost out national recovery from Covid-19.
The Government estimates there are 500,000 job-ready people on Universal Credit (UC) that we can help to get back into work by the end of June. This new scheme will provide additional Job Coach support for people looking for employment, with them being expected to look for work outside of just their one preferred sector after 4 weeks of claiming UC rather than the current 3 months. With the latest figures showing there are a record 1.2 million job vacancies available, it is vitally important we support people to get into these jobs.
I am also delighted to see the Government’s Skills for Life campaign. As I am sure everyone has seen me mention many times in this column and on my social media feeds, access to skills training is one of my big passions in politics and I am pleased to see that helping people gain new skills and retrain is at the heart of the Government’s Levelling Up agenda.
Skills for life will allow people to get the support they need to access the skills they require to get a new job. This will apply to people of all ages whether it’s a case of a youngster getting their first job or someone looking for a career change. It ranges from basic numeracy and literacy up to advanced technical qualifications, and many of them are free.
As a Further Education Ambassador, I have had countless meetings with the Department for Education, on this very subject and it is brilliant to see that they are putting the hard work to good use.
We have to do more to help people find the right path through education. Whilst university is good for some, it’s not the best route for everyone, so we need to help young people find the right career for them rather than just follow the most obvious path. There are a whole world of options, so new careers advice and support will really help.
Through the Government’s Plan for Jobs, we’ve started to see great results already. The International Monetary Fund announced this week that the United Kingdom will continue to be the fastest growing economy in the G7 in 2022. With over 400,000 more people in work than before the pandemic, I am pleased to see our recovery is already happening fast and this Government has a long-term plan for ensuring we sustain that success.
Great new for Mansfield residents, who can access a whole range of new opportunities.
