“Get Britain Working” White Paper

Debate between Liz Kendall and Sam Carling

Tuesday 26th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Liz Kendall]

The White Paper will provide for a new youth employment panel so that we can genuinely engage with young people in developing our proposals. I believe that it is vital for people to be in education, employment or training when they are young, because if they are not, the impact can be lifelong. To those who lack basic skills, today’s world is brutal, and being unemployed when young can have a permanent impact on someone’s job prospects and earnings potential. Alongside genuine new opportunities, there should be a responsibility to take them up—and do you know what? I have never met a young person who did not want to work, who did not want to obtain skills, who did not want a chance. We will fulfil our side of the bargain, and meet our responsibilities to provide those opportunities. I believe that, just as they did when the last Labour Government set up the new deal for young people and the future jobs fund, young people will take up those chances.

[Sam Carling (North West Cambridgeshire) (Lab)]

I thank the Secretary of State for coming to the House to announce these measures. I am pleased to see that Cambridgeshire and Peterborough has been included as one of the areas for trailblazing the new youth guarantee. On Friday, I held a roundtable with local businesses, and one of the main themes that emerged was the lack of ability to recruit skilled people locally. Will the Secretary of State explain how these measures will help to address the situation?

[Liz Kendall]

I thank my hon. Friend for his question. I have already spoken quite a lot about changes to the apprenticeship levy, which are important, but there are many other things that we can do. We have seen real success with sector-based work academies, which are run by jobcentres. Those are short, six-week courses that give the specific skills an employer needs, alongside guaranteed work experience for the potential employee and a guaranteed interview. They have had huge success for people looking for work and for employers, because they get someone with the skills they actually need. We are committed to doing that this year, and I hope we will roll it out further. That is just one of many examples of how we can change our jobcentres and the DWP to better serve employers and their needs.