Extension of Plan for Jobs measures

Earlier this week, the Chancellor announced that the Government are extending many of the Plan for Jobs measures and introducing new policies to support those in and out of work.

Over a year ago, the Government launched their Plan for Jobs, an ambitious plan to help people back into work, earn more and gain the right skills to succeed in the jobs of tomorrow as the country recovers from the pandemic.

The Government are now extending many of these schemes and introducing a new package of measures to help as many people as possible as the economic recovery continues, making the choice to invest significant funds in the Plan For Jobs, rather than spend more on welfare or extending furlough.

Peak unemployment is now forecast to be two million fewer than previously feared and has fallen for six months in a row, and the labour market is performing extremely strongly, with job vacancies at record highs.

In order to maintain the economic recovery and ensure as many people get the right jobs and skills that they need, the Government are extending many of these measures and announcing a new package of support. This includes; the Kickstart scheme; the JETS scheme; the Youth Offer and apprenticeship hiring incentives. The Government are also expanding work coach support, providing a new work offer for those aged over 50 and prioritising those coming off of furlough through Job Finding Support.

This follows the £400 billion package of support to protect jobs, incomes and livelihoods that the Government provided throughout the pandemic.

Locally, the Norwich for Jobs project launched its new campaign Our city, our recovery, our futures and is calling on young people and businesses to come together to enable Norwich to flourish beyond the Covid pandemic.

The Coronavirus outbreak has been one of the biggest public challenges for a generation, and it’s caused a lot of change for people in Norwich. Workplaces and young people have both faced a lot of upheaval. We do not want the pandemic to extend into more damage to people’s jobs. So, Norwich for Jobs is acting once again. We know that this project can make a difference in our city because we have done it before.

As we begin our recovery from the pandemic, it is clear to me that we need to come together and rebuild a city that we can all be proud of. It is about our city, our recovery, and our futures. The Government has already launched the Kickstart scheme to help 250,000 young people into work. I was pleased to see the that the Chancellor went further in the budget by doubling the incentive payment to small businesses to take on apprentices of any age to £3,000, alongside £126 million to triple the number of traineeships next year. They have also launched the Restart scheme to help hundreds of thousands of long-term unemployed; doubled the number of Work Coaches; and introduced the Lifetime Skills Guarantee to fund Level 3 Qualifications for all adults.

The Norwich for Jobs partnership have thought about how partners can work together effectively to enabling young people and businesses in Norwich to flourish beyond the Covid pandemic and tomorrow we are launching a new campaign, Our city, our recovery, our futures and are calling on businesses and young people to come together to enable Norwich to flourish beyond the Covid pandemic.

I urge businesses to get involved because together we can come back stronger, and together we can help young people to get the chances they desperately need. There are currently over 4,500 18 – 24-year olds in Norwich claiming universal credit due to being out of work or needing additional work. Around 2,000 of those young people are job-ready to get straight into work, whether in a new Kickstart role, apprenticeship, or other junior role. Locally, we can make a huge difference and help provide them with the opportunities, confidence and skills needed to find their future career.