Oral Answers to Questions

Sally-Ann Hart Excerpts

Monday 14th September 2020 Commons Chamber

[Jane Hunt (Loughborough) (Con)]

What steps her Department is taking to support people of all ages to return to employment as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.

[Sally-Ann Hart (Hastings and Rye) (Con)]

What steps her Department is taking to support people of all ages to return to employment as covid-19 lockdown restrictions are eased.

[Selaine Saxby (North Devon) (Con)]

What steps she is taking with her Cabinet colleagues to support back into the labour market people who became unemployed as a result of the covid-19 outbreak.

--- Later in debate ---

[Dr Coffey]

My hon. Friend is absolutely right to highlight the value that experience can bring to the workplace and to a potential new employer. The SWAPs programme allows those looking to pivot into new rules to gain experience in that new area, and in the coming months our job-finding support package will draw on private sector expertise to help those who have recently lost their job, while our job entry targeted support scheme—JETS—will provide extra help to individuals who have been unemployed for three months or more and find themselves at risk of long-term unemployment.

[Sally-Ann Hart]

The residents of Hastings and Rye are full of potential and talent that needs to be unleashed, but the recent pandemic has put pressure on local jobs. The kickstart scheme is engineered to help people between the ages of 16 and 25 to gain skills and employment. May I ask what my right hon. Friend is doing to help people over the age of 25 to get the skills and training they need?

[Dr Coffey]

Our £30 billion plan for jobs will see us support people of all ages in building the skills they may need to return to work. One of the key elements is what we are calling SWAPs—the sector-based work academy programme, which is expanding the opportunities in priority areas such as construction, infrastructure and social care, and which can provide training, work experience and a guaranteed job interview to those people ready to start a job. Of course, older workers will be eligible for this and can gain important new skills to pivot into sectors to secure employment.