Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department has taken to support people who have been made redundant as a result of the covid-19 outbreak to (a) access training and skills support and (b) secure suitable alternative employment.

We know this is a worrying time for people, and DWP are ready to support anyone impacted by job loss.

In response to covid-19, DWP has established an alternative service to our usual face to face offer. People will be able to access redundancy help and job search advice on the Department’s new Job Help campaign website. There’s also information on gov.uk. and updated information packs provided to employers to help them signpost employees to the support that is available. The support available includes:

• Connecting people to jobs in the labour market though our Find a Job website, virtual jobs fairs, Sector-based Work Academy Programmes and mentoring circle opportunities.
• Help with job search including CV writing, interview skills, where to find jobs and how to apply for them.
• Help to identify transferable skills and skills gaps (linked to the local labour market)
• What benefits they may get and how to claim

This service is co-ordinated nationally by the National Employer and Partnership Team (NEPT) and is managed by Jobcentre Plus. Delivery partners include The National Careers Service, local training providers, employers, HMRC, Money Advice Service and the skills bodies in England. These services are offered by equivalents in the devolved administrations PACE (Scotland) and ReAct (Wales). Redundancy support in Northern Ireland is devolved with separate funding and delivery arrangements where no partner support is available In Scotland this is delivered by PACE on behalf of the Scottish Government and in Wales by REACT. Alongside these partners DWP will be offering:

• Training to update skills, learn new ones and gain industry recognised certification that will improve employability.
• Help to overcome barriers to attending training or securing a job or self-employment such as child care costs, necessary tools, work clothes, travel costs etc.

In addition to this the new Kickstart scheme is underway. This is a £2bn programme which will create thousands of new jobs for young people aged between 16-24 who will be offered six-month work placements with wages paid by the UK Government.

DWP are also developing a Job Finding Support package which will help people who have recently lost their job. It will offer a digital service to provide tailored one-to-one job finding support.

The service will provide support to help people increase their employability and provide links to suitable employers.