Labor is planning a radical overhaul of job hunting in the UK by promising to hand big powers to local authorities and turn jobcentres into training and advice centers for would-be entrepreneurs.
The party is also considering allowing Universal Credit claimants to undertake much more comprehensive study programs and training opportunities while still claiming benefits.
Policy is likely to be adopted from two key reports by Gordon Brown and David Blunkett, which will form the building blocks for Labour’s manifesto bid.
Alison McGovern, the shadow employment minister, said there was very little commitment from the Department for Work and Pensions on how jobcentres could match the local skills needed and that local authorities were best placed to review the employment support offer.
“To grow our economy, every place needs an economic plan. We want to grow the economy across the country and make sure everyone feels the benefit. You can’t do that without local places being at the forefront,” McGovern said.
“A lot of DWP policy at the moment is done in a very high-handed way from Whitehall, whereas we want to learn from the places that do it best and make sure that every place has a really good plan for jobs for all its people.”
The Brown Commission on the Future of the UK said the transfer of Jobcentre Plus should mean they would become a hub for local employers, open to those looking to upskill, re-enter the workplace later in life life or after childcare responsibilities, or starting businesses and resources for civil society. , union and private sector support.
He said health services should have closer connections with employment support and should be data centers for local market information.
Blunkett’s learning and skills report also recommends funding people to study with agreed providers and that the DWP “should allow people to study full-time or part-time, while enjoying the benefits of an agreed course”.
Under the current system, there are limits to people’s ability to train and study and continue to receive universal credit. Many experts have cited the requirement that people spend a minimum amount of time each week looking for work, which limits the ability to study or train full-time.
A study by the Work Foundation this year found that many Universal Credit claimants expressed frustration that they were not being pointed towards the right training to build long-term careers in sectors.
In cases where people were able to undertake part-time training, the majority of those cited in the study said they still had to spend 16 to 35 hours a week looking for work in order to continue receiving benefits.
McGovern, the MP for Wirral South, said it was clearly wrong for people to be penalized for wanting to improve their skills.
He said the top-down scripts handed to job coaches in Whitehall would never be flexible enough to adapt to local skills gaps or help people get into skilled jobs in the long term.
“My frustration is that DWP is not involved in the conversations about the big initiatives that are happening between councils, skills centers or big developers. All their policies are set by Whitehall. The conversations people have with job coaches are all driven by Westminster,” he said.
McGovern, a former Southwark councillor, said councils were often already building their own initiatives to try to bridge the gap locally. “It’s not the job hub sitting with skills hubs or employers working who can fit in where. Southwark council has created a whole new body, Southwark Works, to fill what DWP should be doing.
“We should empower local authorities to look at what the opportunities are (all sectors have labor shortages) and let towns and cities sort it out.”