Further details on how the expansion of the Youth Offer to inactive claimants, for the first time, will begin immediately to help young people into work and improve well-being. This will give over 30,000 of 16-24-year-olds the option to access three types of support through the Youth Offer: additional time with a Work Coach early in their claim; access to Youth Hubs; and Youth Employability Coaches.
Read more here.
The Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE) will transform the post-18 student finance system in England. From
September 2025, it will create a single funding system to help people pay for college or university courses,
and train, retrain and upskill flexibly over their working lives.
The LLE will allow people to develop new skills and gain new qualifications at a time that is right for them.
This could be through a full-time degree, or individual modules, or other courses (like higher technical
qualifications).
A new government programme will help overcome existing barriers for refugees to find work and become
self-sufficient in the UK.
Refugees, including people from Syria, Iran, Eritrea, and Sudan, can now apply to a new government
programme to gain the skills they need to enter the UK job market and lead independent lives.
The government’s new £52 million Refugee Employability Programme aims to overcome the barriers faced
by refugees to integrate into local communities and society, including language and cultural differences,
and speed up their contribution to the UK economy. Afghans resettled in England under either ACRS or
ARAP will also be eligible to apply to the programme.
The programme will operate for two years and will provide enhanced support to refugees and Afghans
across employment, English Language training and integration, to build up their confidence and skills to find
work and secure better prospects for themselves and their families.
Through the new Refugee Employability Programme, people will receive a personal development plan that
will be tailored to their ambitions and personal circumstances. This will range from skills courses, support
with CV writing and job applications, work experience opportunities, and enhanced English language
training, including access to formal and informal classes, online learning and resources and conversational
classes.
For people who do not already receive integration support, the programme will help them access public
services, including a GP and a job centre, local community groups and mental health support. Doing so will
help vulnerable refugees to rebuild their lives in the UK and put them on the path to self-sufficiency.
This is in addition to eligible refugees having the right to work in the UK, access to public services and claim
benefits, including Universal Credit.
Millions of workers will have a say over their working patterns as Workers (Predictable Terms and Conditions) Bill achieves Royal Assent.
Government-backed law gives all workers the legal right to request a predictable working pattern encouraging workers to begin conversations with their employers.
Follows a wave of wins for workers after a record National Minimum Wage uplift and boosts to employment protections for parents and unpaid carers.
This new law will support workers in many areas plus –
*Supporting employee parents of new-born babies who are admitted into neonatal care with up to 12 weeks
of paid neonatal care leave
*Requiring employers to ensure that all tips, gratuities, and service charges received are paid to workers in
full
*Offering pregnant women and new parents greater protection against redundancy
*Entitling employees who are also unpaid carers to a period of unpaid leave
*Providing millions of employees with a day one right to request flexible working, and a greater say over
when, where, and how they work
The UK harmonised unemployment rate for Q2 2023 was 4.2%, up from 3.9% in Q1 2023. This was above Germany (2.9%) and the US (3.6%) but below France (7.3%).
The Eurozone’s rate was 6.5% in Q1 2023, down from 6.6% in Q1, while in the G7 it was unchanged at 4.0%.
Unemployment rates rose in almost all the OECD countries following the coronavirus outbreak, although the size of the increase varied widely.
Spain had the highest unemployment rate out of the OECD member states in Q2 2023 at 11.9%, followed by Greece at 11.3%. Czech Republic, Japan and South Korea had the lowest at 2.6%.
Youth (aged 15-24) unemployment is a major issue in many developed economies at present. In Q2 2023 the youth unemployment rate was 27.7% in Spain, 27.1% in Costa Rica and 25.9% in Greece. It was 12.3% in the UK.
Note – Q2 figures.
Youth unemployment September 2023 – 12.7%
All ages unemployment – 4.3%
The Employment and Skills Summit will take a deep dive into the question of where next for employment support.
Anticipating Mayoral elections in England and a General Election coming up in 2024, they will bring
together political, employment and skills audiences with a focus on good practice and the most urgent areas for change.
The plenary sessions and workshops will cover diverse themes, including economic inactivity, health, in-work progression, young people and vocational training, and digital skills. Sponsors include Clarion Futures, Youth Futures Foundation, Edge Foundation and City & Guilds.
Please register your place above. If you have any questions or trouble filling out the form, please contact at events@learningandwork.org.uk.
So far 2023 has seen some false dawns for the UK economy. The next few weeks’ data are critical.
Recession has been avoided but growth has bumped along the bottom.
And even as inflation falls from the double-digit levels of a year ago, it has proven more stubborn and sticky, and spread to the service sector.
The ONS’s recent huge revision of historical growth changes the picture of the immediate post-pandemic recovery, especially relative to other European countries.
Data released in September could show whether the crises of the past three years are being put firmly behind us.
Find out what support is available to students across the UK to help with their living costs.
The first cohort of Cumbrian apprentices are now in training for telecoms jobs of the future, following millions of pounds of investment from the UK government, with all set to be offered permanent employment on completion.
In a huge boost for jobs and skills across Cumbria, broadband provider Fibrus, alongside network build partner Viberoptix, have committed to creating at least 90 apprenticeships covering a range of roles from underground and overhead cabling to surveying – as part of a £108 million government investment to provide lightning-speed broadband connectivity throughout Cumbria and level-up the county’s digital infrastructure.
Disabled people and those with health conditions, who are currently being held back from improving their lives through work, will be better supported to realise their potential under Government plans just unveiled.
As part of Government’s mission to support more people into work, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has today launched a consultation on changes to the Work Capability Assessment, following the landmark Health and Disability White Paper published earlier this year.
Changes represent the next step in welfare reform, reflecting the rise of flexible and home working and better employer support for disabled people and people with health conditions.
Changes also reflect that one in five of those with no work preparation requirements would like to work at some point in the future, with the right support.
Government confirmed investment worth £2 billion to support disabled people and those with long-term health conditions into work, while delivering on the Prime Minister’s priority to grow the economy.