JobCentre Plus – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

Way to Work: 150 new jobcentres and Youth Hubs now open

Thousands more jobseekers can now access tailored face-to-face job support and meet local employers as 150 new jobcentres are opened, ‘levelling up’ opportunities across the country.

These will be at the heart of the UK Government’s Way to Work Campaign to encourage more people across Great Britain into jobs.

Towns and cities from Falkirk to Torquay are now home to over 150 new temporary jobcentres and over 150 Youth Hubs, with more to follow, as the government pledges to get 500,000 people a job by the end of June.

Two of the new temporary Jobcentres are in Edinburgh city centre.

Work Coaches at jobcentres are at the forefront of the government’s drive to help people access the support they need to get into work, and many of the team recently joined the Department for Work and Pensions as part of the rapid recruitment drive to hire 13,500 new Work Coaches to boost job seeker support as we recover from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

A further 50 jobcentres are expected to open to the public in the coming months as efforts ramp up to get jobseekers into work faster, through the Way to Work campaign, by bringing them face to face with employers and encouraging them to look for work in a sector they may not have previously considered.

Work and Pensions Secretary of State, Thérèse Coffey, said: “We know how much people benefit from getting into work – both financially and for their wellbeing. And from getting any job first, they can get a better job next and then progress to a career.

“Jobcentres and Youth Hubs are crucial to get people into work, and will help level up opportunity across the country as through our Way to Work campaign we invite employers wherever they are to work with us and help find 500,000 people a job by the end of June.”

Driving the new Way to Work campaign, Work Coaches will help those who are capable of work search more widely for jobs from the fourth week of their claim, rather than from three months as is currently the case.

This clearer focus will ensure that, if people are not able to find work in their previous occupation or sector, they are expected to look for work in another sector and this will be part of their requirements for receiving their benefit payment.

Work Coach at Wigan Mesnes House Jobcentre Plus, Mike Cook said: “Being able to provide support and guidance to people in the local community on their journey to gain sustainable long-term employment, and therefore improving their lives, is the most rewarding and important aspect of my job as a Work Coach for the Department for Work and Pensions.“

There are also over 150 Youth Hubs now up and running across the country helping young jobseekers access local training and job opportunities, as well as a range of services to address wellbeing needs.

Investing in the skills and opportunities of young people and helping people into work at every stage of their lives is an integral part of the government’s ambitious plans for levelling up, which will transform the economic geography of the UK.

Youth Hub Work Coaches are working with jobcentre-based Youth Employability Coaches and tailored employment programmes, including Kickstart, to ensure quality, joined up support is accessible to those who need it.

Youth Work Coach at Barrow Youth Hub, Lisa Wicks said: “I have found working as a Youth Hub Work Coach both challenging and rewarding. To be able to offer support to some of our most vulnerable young people and to watch them grow in confidence and capability is a real privilege.

“This has been supported by partnership, working both within the DWP and with external partners, and is making a real difference to the lives of the young people accessing the support available.”

The government’s Plan for Jobs agenda is supporting jobseekers into work and those on low-pay to progress and earn more. The new Way to Work campaign will ‘turbocharge’ this national effort by getting half a million people into work over the next five months.

EDINBURGH’s new temporary Jobcentres can be found at:

Edinburgh	11-15 North Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1SB
Edinburgh Waverley Bridge	Unit L23, Waverley Mall, Waverley Bridge, Edinburgh, EH1 1BQ

Way to Work: DWP plans to get half a million people into work by June

A new target to move half a million people into jobs by the end of June launches today under UK Government plans to ‘turbo-charge’ our national recovery from COVID-19.

As we move out of the pandemic, with restrictions lifted and life returning to normal, the ‘Way to Work’ campaign will focus on getting job-ready people off Universal Credit and into work, rapidly filling vacancies which are at a record high.

Targeted predominantly at those in the intensive work search group on Universal Credit, Way to Work will support people back into work faster than ever before and filling vacancies more quickly. Latest figures from the ONS show that the demand for workers is there, with a record 1.2 million vacancies to fill, 59% higher than pre-pandemic levels.

To support people into work faster those who are capable of work will be expected to search more widely for available jobs from the fourth week of their claim, rather than from three months as is currently the case.

For the vast majority of people who are already engaging fully with Jobcentre Plus, this could be the extra support they need to secure a job. However, for the small minority who do not engage, the sanctions regime will operate as usual.

They will be supported in this with more time spent face to face with a Work Coach to receive better, tailored support. We know work is the best way for people to get on, to improve their lives and support their families because people are at least £6,000 better off in full time work than on benefits.

Work and Pensions Secretary Thérèse Coffey said: “Helping people get any job now, means they can get a better job and progress into a career.

“Way to Work is a step change in our offer to claimants and employers, making sure our jobcentre network and excellent Work Coaches can deliver opportunities, jobs and prosperity to all areas of the country.

“As we emerge from COVID, we are going to tackle supply challenges and support the continued economic recovery by getting people into work. Our new approach will help claimants get quickly back into the world of work while helping ensure employers get the people they and the economy needs.”

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak said: “It’s important that everyone has the opportunity and support to find a good job to help them get on in life.

“That’s why we’re doubling down on our Plan for Jobs with this new campaign to harness the talent of jobseekers and support employers to fill vacancies, find work and create new opportunities.

“Together we will boost this country’s jobs-led recovery.”

Building on the ‘success of the flagship Kickstart Scheme’, DWP will work with a wider range of employers to cement positive relationships and show them the good quality of candidates coming through jobcentres.

This includes through direct engagement with employers across booming sectors like construction, haulage and logistics and social care, and over 350 jobs fairs mobilised across every region in the coming months.

Major employers including Balfour Beatty, Whitbread Group, TalkTalk, Bourne Leisure, Ocado and Kier are already throwing their weight behind the campaign.

Ian Nicholas, Global Managing Director, Reed said: We’ve been working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions for a number of years and in the drive to get people into work, this is now more important than ever.

“Working closely with the DWP has provided us with valuable access to people looking for work. Those not already working closely with the department should consider the benefits it can bring both for business and the UK economy.”

Tony Ellender, Head of Professional Development, Balfour Beatty said: “Balfour Beatty is delighted to be working with DWP to promote our wide range of opportunities in construction.”

Lisa Taylor, Head of Resourcing, Whitbread said: “Many of those who have joined us from the jobcentres during our time working closely together have gone on to build a successful career with us or maintain long term employment.

“At Whitbread, we passionately believe that by working together with Jobcentre Plus we can make a real difference to the lives of jobseekers in this country through our no barriers to entry and no limits to ambition approach, as well as being a force for good in our local communities.”

Daniel Kasmir, Chief of People and Procurement at TalkTalk said: “We are happy to be working with DWP in exploring all recruitment solutions to look to fill our vacancies and will continue to do so with this push for jobs.”

Bleu Stessia, Kickstart Manager, Haven.com said: “Work Coaches have enabled us to link with over 50 jobcentres across the UK supporting our parks from Scotland to Cornwall.

“Understanding the great opportunities in hospitality, the DWP has also provided extensive support for our recruitment programme referring candidates and providing, support for interviews, for assessment days and job fairs.”

Support package to help more disabled people into work

New package of support to help thousands of disabled people into work asUK Government ‘builds back fairer’.
15 Jobcentre Plus sites to trial framework to become more autism-friendly.
26,000 work coaches are undergoing accessibility training to improve jobcentre services for disabled people.

Thousands more disabled people are set to benefit from a new package of support designed to help them into the work they want.

Minister for Disabled People, Chloe Smith, has today announced that 15 Jobcentre Plus sites will be testing an autism framework, designed with the National Autistic Society (NAS), to transform the service available to jobseekers on the autism spectrum. The framework pilot will aim to help people with autism find, retain and progress in fulfilling jobs.

This comes as 26,000 work coaches in jobcentres across the country are undergoing specialist accessibility training, delivered in partnership with Microsoft, in a further effort to help more disabled jobseekers secure employment.

The work coaches will look at how they can support disabled jobseekers with tools including immersive readers, magnifiers and automated captions, which will not only improve their daily work but will also help with the completion of job applications and interviews.

One in 100 people are autistic and there are around 700,000 autistic people in the UK, according to the National Autistic Society. Not all autistic people will be able to work, but the charity’s research found that the vast majority want to.

Working age autistic people are often locked out of employment due to a lack of understanding and knowledge from employers and colleagues, and anxiety-inducing environments that can be distressing. It is hoped that the framework will help to break down these barriers and see more autistic people in jobs they love.

The Minister for Disabled People Chloe Smith said: “Everyone deserves an equal opportunity to find a job they love and to progress in their career, but we know we must do more to help people with autism.

“By testing this autism framework and offering new specialist training to our jobcentre staff we are helping to deliver more employment opportunities for those who would otherwise feel locked out, as we work towards seeing one million more disabled people in work by 2027.”

The framework explores how best to support autistic people into employment, including ensuring jobcentre appointments with autistic ‘customers’ take place in the right environment and educating local employers in the additional requirements of autistic workers.

For example, many autistic people become distressed in busy, bright or noisy environments. As part of the pilot, jobcentre staff will therefore be asked to carry out appointments with customers triggered in this way in quieter rooms, with more appropriate lighting.

Work coaches will also be able to help providers and employers in the local communities understand the additional needs required by autistic employees, which should in turn create more opportunities for autistic jobseekers in settings where they can thrive.

If successful, the framework could be rolled out to more jobcentres in England, Scotland and Wales, benefitting thousands of people with autism.

Christine Flintoft-Smith, Head of Autism Accreditation at the National Autistic Society, said: “We are pleased to be working in partnership with the DWP to make sure autistic people get the support they need delivered in the way they need it, when they visit Jobcentres. We both want to work to close the autism employment gap and make sure autistic people are getting the help they need to get jobs.

“Our framework of best practice has been developed with input from autistic people, specifically for Jobcentres. We want all Jobcentre staff to understand autism, be able to think about their practice and make the necessary changes to the support and environment that autistic people need.

“We look forward to our continued work with the team at DWP to get jobcentres working better for autistic people, and to get more autistic people in the jobs that they want and deserve.”

Hector Minto, Lead Accessibility Evangelist (Eh? – Ed.) at Microsoft, said: “Technology has the potential to greatly empower disabled people in the workplace, but awareness is often low, people don’t know that there is support built into modern digital experiences.

“In creating this training with DWP, built on our own internal training, we found there is terrific passion and energy in this workforce to share their knowledge with jobseekers. I am confident that it will drive real impact and help us tackle a real challenge in society.”

Edinburgh protest against cut to Universal Credit

Demonstrators gathered at High Riggs Jobcentre yesterday to demand the re-instatement of the £20 cut to Universal Credit. The protest was called by Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty in response to a call from Disabled People Against the Cuts for UK-wide protests.

Participants included disabled people, pensioners, workers and a group of school students.

Police attended but did not intervene.

The demonstrators denounced the UK government cut, due to be implemented from the end of this month. Protestors held placards with the hashtag #20MoreForAll, demanding the £20 increase be extended to “legacy benefits” like Job Seekers Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance.

Campaigners have raised alarm at the hardship which a £20 cut will cause to the six million Universal Credit claimants, who include the low paid, unemployed, families and sick and disabled people.

Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty leaflets distributed at the protest quoted research by the Child Poverty Action Group.

The research reveals that over the last decade nearly 100 cuts have been made to social security entitlement and the value of payments has fallen as social security rates have been either frozen or increased by less than inflation.

Thus even with the £20 increase a typical Universal Credit claimant would be hundreds of pounds worse off in 2021 than in 2010.

Ethel MacDonald of Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty said: “The brutal cut in Universal Credit is yet another example of governments attacking the poor to benefit the rich.

“This is also an attack on wages and conditions, aiming to force people to accept insecure low paid jobs. Many on Universal Credit are of course already in such badly paid work, since 39% of Universal Credit claimants are in employment.”

The ECAP spokesperson urged people to organise: “ We need to organise at the grass-roots to resist the cut to Universal Credit, the entire austerity agenda, and the whole profit-based system.

“Claimants need to join together and support each other – for example by accompanying each other to appointments and assessments.”

ECAP stress: “After today’s protest, the struggle against the cut continues. What’s more, we are opposing the DWP’s reckless return to compulsory jobcentre appointments – this endangers both claimants and jobcentre workers, due to the continuing covid threat. We totally oppose all sanctions, and urge claimants to contact us for solidarity.”

While MSPs will debate the Universal Credit cut at Holyrood today, the decision lies with Westminister. The UK Government insists the UC uplift was always intended to be a temporary measure and that their focus is on getting people into work.

Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty ecapmail@gmail.com

www.edinburghagainstpoverty.org.uk

Twitter @ecap_org

https://www.facebook.com/edinburghagainstpoverty

Jobcentre ballot over return to workplaces plan

Jobcentre workers are to be balloted in a move that could lead to industrial action. The move is in response to the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) insistence that staff and customers return to jobcentres to deliver face to face services.

Civil service union PCS says that since 12 April, DWP “has been asking considerably more staff to return to jobcentres to carry out face to face interviews with customers. This is despite staff working from home successfully for up to a year, carrying out these interviews by phone.”

The union argues “that coronavirus still poses a threat to safety and that to extend services in jobcentres now is unsafe, and places staff, their families and customers at risk. We are therefore balloting PCS members working in jobcentres to ask if they would be prepared to take industrial action over DWP’s decision.”

The ballot is consultative and a further ballot of members would be required before strike action could take place.

PCS said its demands include “stopping the extension of face to face services, with face to face interviews taking place only with those identified as most vulnerable until the vaccine programme is complete and low rates of infection have been sustained for a significant period.

“We are also asking that DWP sticks to the agreement made in autumn last year, that work coaches can decide how to progress their own workload, including making decisions about how to interview customers.”

The electronic ballot closes on 21 May.

Guidance for benefits claimants who volunteer

Over the last year Voluntary Action Scotland (led by Volunteer Glasgow and Trust Volunteering Inverclyde), Department of Work and Pensions and the wider TSI (third sector interface) network have been collaborating on making it easier for those who claim welfare benefits to volunteer. Continue reading Guidance for benefits claimants who volunteer

Job experts out and about to spread work message

Jobcentre staff are getting out and about and taking work support direct to jobseekers as part of a new blitz targeting unusual locations –from football clubs to prisons and homeless shelters.

Employment numbers have reached a record 30.8 million and the number of people on the main out-of-work benefits is the lowest it’s been for a quarter of a century and now Jobcentre Plus Work Coaches – the government’s ‘army of jobs experts’ – are heading out to meet the public in children’s centres, youth hubs, homeless shelters, and rural work clubs to offer targeted support to people who need it most.

This more direct approach to helping jobseekers back to work has also seen roaming Work Coaches partnering up with professional football clubs, including Arsenal, Everton, and Tottenham Hotspur, to set up schemes that help young people build confidence and skills to prepare them to find work.

And they are setting up shop in prisons across the country to help prisoners who are soon to leave custody prepare for a new life away from crime and in work.

New figures released last week show that an average of 1,500 more people were in work every day over the last year and the number of people on the main out-of-work benefits is down by more than 850,000 to under 4 million – the lowest it has been since 1990.

Employment Minister Esther McVey said: “Our hardworking Jobcentre Plus staff have made a huge contribution to Britain’s jobs success this year. By doing things differently, and getting out to where jobseekers are, they’re helping thousands into work every day.

“We have broken record after record in 2014 – with huge falls in youth and long-term unemployment and the highest number of women in work on record.

“This new approach is working. What we can see at the end of the year is that our welfare reforms are ensuring that people have the skills and opportunities to move into work.

“But behind these record figures there are countless stories of individual hard work and determination – stories of people turning their lives around, of families who are now feeling more secure over the Christmas period with a regular wage, and of young people escaping unemployment and building a career.”

Specialist Work Coaches are based in prisons across the country where they can help parolees sign up to Jobseeker’s Allowance up to 6 weeks before they are released. Once they sign up, they are automatically placed on to the Work Programme to help them build up skills and experience.

The Work Programme is designed to get the hardest to help jobseekers back into work and has now helped 368,000 long-term unemployed claimants find sustainable work.

Jobcentre Plus staff have also helped budding entrepreneurs to set up more than 60,000 new businesses through the government’s New Enterprise Allowance scheme, which helps jobseekers, lone parents and people on sickness benefits, with a good idea, to start up their own business.

Since 2011, more than 360,000 people of all ages have taken up opportunities through employer-led sector-based work academies, or work experience placements through Jobcentre Plus, to give them a job taster and a guaranteed job interview.

In Bootle, Merseyside, Jobcentre Plus has staff working from the local Youth Hub to provide guidance and advice to young people in the area and to offer chances to gain skills and experience through Sector-based Work Academies – which are employer-led training courses that lead to a guaranteed job interview.

And in Scotland, Stranraer Jobcentre Plus staff have established weekly work clubs in rural areas to provide help on budgeting, mock interviews, CVs and cover letters, and job applications.

Have you been supported into work this year? Has Jobcentre Plus helped you start your own business? Get in touch!

Jobseekers must ‘hit the ground running’

New rules ‘treat people like adults’

Simply ‘signing-on’ for benefits will be a thing of the past under new rules coming into force at the end of this month which will mean jobseekers will have to do more to find work.

Employment Minister Esther McVey has hailed the new rules as a ‘fundamental shift in expectations’ which helps put to an end the one-way street to benefits where people start claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) by just signing-on without first taking steps to make themselves attractive to employers.

From the end of this month, jobseekers will be expected to take the first basic steps to make themselves employable before meeting with a Jobcentre Plus adviser. More regular meetings with their adviser – weekly instead of fortnightly – are also planned ‘so they get more support up front’.

Minister for Employment Esther McVey (pictured below) said: “With the economy growing, unemployment falling and record numbers of people in work, now is the time to start expecting more of people if they want to claim benefits. It’s only right that we should ask people to take the first basic steps to getting a job before they start claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance – it will show they are taking their search for work seriously.

This is about treating people like adults and setting out clearly what is expected of them so they can hit the ground running. In return, we will give people as much help and support as possible to move off benefits and into work because we know from employers that it’s the people who are prepared and enthusiastic who are most likely to get the job.”

To prepare for their first interview with a Jobcentre Plus adviser, jobseekers will be asked to do things like preparing a CV, setting up an email address and registering for the government’s new jobs website. This change will mean people start their JSA claim ready to look for work and will show they are serious about finding a job as quickly as possible.

People who need it will also have more regular meetings with their Jobcentre Plus adviser – weekly rather than fortnightly – to ensure they are doing everything they can to look for work and to quickly identify any gaps in their worksearch.

All new JSA claimants will also now have a quarterly review with their adviser where they will review their progress and job goals to identify what more they can do to move into work. This will mirror reviews that are carried out in the workplace to look at achievements and areas for development.

The Westminster government says that the employment picture is improving across the country. They say the new measures are being introduced as figures show the number of people claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance fell by over 363,000 on the year, the largest annual fall since 1998. The number of young people claiming JSA has been falling for the last 21 months.

Office for National Statistics figures also show that the employment rate has hit a 5-year high and a record 30.19 million people are now in jobs. Private sector employment has increased by 1.73 million since 2010, showing the government’s long-term economic plan is proving successful.

The latest figures also show the number of job vacancies increased in the last 3 months by 23,000 to 588,000.

The number of people who are unemployed fell by 63,000 in the last 3 months, with the number of people who have been unemployed for over a year falling by 38,000. The number of unemployed young people also fell by 29,000 and has been falling now for the last 6 months.

The government says it is committed to helping people off benefits and into work and the vast majority of people move off JSA quickly – over 75% of people end their JSA claim within 6 months.

Do you think the new rules help get more people into work? Let us know ..

Eighty attend Dosh Day

Around eighty people attended North Edinburgh’s first ever Dosh Day at North Edinburgh Arts Centre this afternoon, taking the opportunity to find out how they can cut their costs and maximise their household income.

The event was organised by the Lottery-funded Money Matters project. Castle Rock Edinvar’s Head of Neighbourhood Regeneration Heather McNaughton explained: “A group of Housing Associations in Edinburgh work together with the Citizens Advice Edinburgh to help tenants to access debt advice and to encourage people to use support to maximise their income and remain out of unsustainable debt. As part of the project we had previously co-ordinated a “Dosh Day” in Craigmillar which was very successful and we are now bringing the concept to North Edinburgh with the kind support of local organisations and agencies.”

Citizens Advice Bureaux, Granton Information Centre, Community Renewal, JobCentre Plus, Cyrenians and Volunteer Centre Edinburgh were among the organisations attending on the day, so there was no shortage of sound financial advice.