Employment tops Joint Economic Commission's Agenda as new drive is launched to help unemployed
Monday 2 February 2009
The Joint Economic Commission (JEC) for the North West has identified a package of measures to help the unemployed get back to work and to support people facing redundancy.
The measures were outlined at the third meeting of the JEC where employment issues were top of the agenda and the need to promote the availability of these initiatives was highlighted.
After the meeting the Minister met 37-year-old David Stafford, from Baines School of Motoring, who had previously been made redundant. He has benefited from a £3,000 grant from Jobcentre Plus to become a driving instructor and has now achieved his ambition of setting up his own successful driving school.
There is a wide range of support available to help people return to work through Jobcentre Plus including a personal adviser service, access to support on job search, CV preparation and other job hunting skills.
A ‘Rapid Response Service' (RRS) is also managed by Jobcentre Plus and aims to help people affected by redundancy to make a successful transition back into employment. It can include skills training analysis, job focused training and an action fund to cover initial expenses for individuals facing financial barriers to employment.
Jobcentre Plus is currently managing 12 live RRS projects in the North West, and is helping employees of Woolworths, Leyland Trucks, Burtons (Wirral) and Aral Foods (Wythenshawe). A further 15 RRS projects are under development.
Minister for the North West Beverley Hughes said:
"The Government is working hard to pull together the support we need to tackle the economic downturn and offer real help now to families, businesses and local communities to give real hope for the future.
"The Government has invested in extra help and support for those faced with losing their jobs. The funding for the Jobcentre plus Rapid Response Service was recently doubled from £3 million to £6 million, so that we can provide extra support to employees of large-scale redundancies.
"There were nearly 34,000 vacancies in our region in December and Jobcentre Plus has put in place a five-point pledge for all jobseekers - including cash for retraining, learning new skills, and even mortgage repayments.
"From April, we will guarantee extra support for people who have been out of work for more than six months including up to £2,500 for employers for every person they recruit and train.
"Real help and opportunity is there - I urge people to act now and contact their local Jobcentre Plus or Business Link North west and find out what help is available to them.
"I was delighted to meet David Stafford, who had the misfortune of being made redundant, but benefited from the help, advice and funding from Jobcentre Plus to fulfil his ambition of setting up as a self employed driving instructor.
"David's example is one that others can follow. Being made redundant is hard, but support is available to help people rebuild their lives and get back on track. He benefited from the Rapid Response Service which supports people made redundant and helps them quickly back into work. "
Bryan Gray, Chairman of the North West Regional Development Agency, said:
"It is critical at this difficult time that we work together to offer businesses and individuals the comprehensive support they need.
"The NWDA has already increased the financial support available to new and existing businesses and will continue to work closely with those at risk of redundancies. At the same time, we are continuing to plan for the longer term and maintaining our focus on the other priorities which are vital to the region's future."
The meeting heard that the economic downturn was now beginning to be felt in the region with the number of redundancies notified having risen to 5,550 in December from a figure of 800 in May 2008.
The December figures include redundancies from Woolworths', with retail making up 50 per cent of the number of redundancies being notified, and a further 20 percent coming from the manufacturing sector.
After the JEC meeting, the Minister met public sector and local government representatives to explore what more could be done to alleviate wordlessness, and to ensure that redundancies caused by the economic downturn do not impact detrimentally on the efforts to support the long term unemployed.
