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One year on, we can see that the Plan for Jobs is working as intended. Peak unemployment is now forecast to be two million fewer than previously expected. The latest forecast is that unemployment will peak at 6 percent rather than the previously expected 12 percent. The Plan for Jobs includes policies such as Kickstart - a scheme to fully fund and create 250,000 jobs for young people at risk of longterm unemployment and Restart – a three-year long scheme that offers up to 12 months of intensive, tailored employment support to increase the prospects of the long-term unemployed on Universal Credit to find a job. Other measures include tripling the number of Traineeships for 1624 year olds, giving SMEs £3,000 when they take on an apprentice of any age and a Lifetime Skills Guarantee so that any adult without a Level 3 qualification will be fully funded by the government to access free L3 courses, worth £3,500 each. Skills Bootcamps have also been extended providing short, flexible training courses lasting 12 to 16 weeks for adults wanting to upskill and retrain in digital, construction and technical skills.
Richard Fuller, MP for North East Bedfordshire Last summer, the government launched its ‘Plan for Jobs’ – an ambitious plan to help people back into work, earn more and gain the right skills so they can compete for the jobs of tomorrow. This plan aimed to focus the whole of the UK Government on protecting, supporting and creating jobs across the country.
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As a result, the labour market is performing strongly with job vacancies in June around 29 per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels and the number of people in jobs has now grown for five consecutive months. The furlough programme saved millions of jobs and as the economy recovers we have seen furlough numbers decline from a peak of 11 million last year, to 5.5 million earlier this year and to 1.9 million at the end of June – outperforming expectations that 2 million people would still be on furlough at the end of September. At the end of July, apprenticeship numbers also hit an all-time high with 18,950 vacancies available for the summer giving more and more young people new opportunities. Other parts of the economy are also showing signs of growth. Household incomes have been largely protected throughout the pandemic, consumer confidence has returned to pre-crisis levels, business confidence and intentions to invest are at historically high levels and business insolvencies in 2020 were lower than in 2019. At the end of July, the IMF also announced that the UK’s economy is set to be the fastest growing in the G7 this year. The economic damage wrought by the pandemic has caused the worst recession in this country for 300 years. In response, the government has provided over £400 billion of support to protect jobs and businesses. We are not out of the woods yet but progress is encouraging. If you would like any information on the measures in the Plan for Jobs, please visit www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/plan-for-jobs.
