Get Britain working again
On 26 November 2024 the UK Government released its White Paper ‘Get Britain Working’.
The Paper highlighted the plans for the labour government to grow the economy, improve economic activity and provide opportunities for people to enter work or education irrespective of factors such as race, disability, gender or religion.
This Paper is part of wider government action to spread opportunity and fix the foundations of our economy. The launch of Skills England to create a national plan to boost skills, create better and higher paying jobs through the modern Industrial Strategy and the Plan to Make Work Pay all compliment the White Paper.
As of November 2024, 2.8 million people in Britain are on long-term sickness, 1 in 8 young people are not in any form of education, training or employment and 9 million adults lack the basic skills to enter work or training.
Labour market opportunities also differ throughout Britain. The access to skilled jobs, earning potential and employment rates differ significantly between areas. Economic inactivity is highest in the North of England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Over 25% of people age 16-64 in the North of England are economically inactive, in stark contrast to 17.7% in the South East.
As of the release of the White Paper almost 900,000 people between 16-24 are currently not in work or education. This not only sets a worrying trend but highlights the issue that too many young people leave school without the basic reading, writing, maths or digital skills to enter further education or employment.
2.6 million more people in the working-age population than a decade ago are classed as disabled. The employment rate of disabled people is 53%, almost 29% lower than that of non-disabled people. Ill-health also effects the prospects of employment for friends and family members who may provide unpaid care, thus reducing the opportunity to find, keep and maintain employment.
The Government has acknowledged that the transformation of such scale set out in the White Paper will take time to deliver. In helping make this process significantly shorter, consultation and engagement with various stakeholders and public bodies is required. The Government plans to establish a panel to consult disabled people to receive suggestions directly and engage with the newly-formed Labour Market Advisory board for idea and insight. The items at the top of the agenda of the Board include that of job quality and progression, health and inactivity and regional inequalities.
In order to ‘Get Britain Working’ the government has set out in the White Paper its ambition to do so on a basis of external benefit to the wider community and economy, not just the individual in work. The plans are to create and maintain high-quality jobs in sectors for the future including that of renewable energy, reduce barriers to help in relation to childcare, caring responsibilities, transportation links and affordable housing. There is also a commitment to tackle child poverty across the UK alongside the ambition to get more people into well-paid and secure employment or training.
As part of the proposals in the White Paper the Government sets out its intention to transform Jobcentre Plus into a genuine public employment service. This will allow for personalised support to help people into work, build skills to assist this, enhance relationships with employers and bring in external support through local services and organisations.
A successful example of a working partnership between Jobcentre Plus and a recruiter is that of B&M. Since 2019 a partnership between the two has ensured that B&M uses the Jobcentre Plus as its preferred recruitment partner, giving candidates the opportunity to skip the CV and application form process and secure an interview. This is done through holding Group Information Sessions with candidates giving them the chance to learn about the company before a guaranteed interview. As a result of this partnership over 85% of new store hires in 2024 across B&M has come from Jobcentre referrals.
