People in Wales are set to benefit from a £10 million investment aimed at improving local work, health, and skills support as part of the UK Government’s initiative to tackle inactivity and Get Britain Working.
The first trailblazer programme in Wales, launched in Denbighshire by UK Minister for Employment Alison McGovern and Welsh Government Minister Jack Sargeant, will for the first time provide targeted interventions tailored to local needs, rather than the current “one size fits all” approach.
This includes help with CV writing and job searching, one-to-one mentoring, counselling services, wellbeing provision, and access to condition management services for those with health conditions.
Trailblazer areas are specific places selected to trial out new and innovative approaches to employment support – these areas receive targeted funding and resources to roll out new strategies for reducing unemployment, tackling inactivity and improving job opportunities.
During their visit to Working Denbighshire yesterday, both Ministers witnessed the support available, including meeting Work Coaches who offer expert, tailored assistance.
Wales is one of nine places receiving support through the UK Government’s £125 million economic inactivity trailblazer programme, targeting areas with the highest levels of inactivity.
Local leaders in Denbighshire, Blaenau Gwent, and Neath Port Talbot will design employment support schemes tailored to their community’s unique challenges.
This localised, multi-agency approach aims to help people back into work, which is one of the most important ways to put extra money in people’s pockets and unlock growth as part of the UK Government’s Plan for Change.
UK Government Minister for Employment, Alison McGovern said:
“Everyone deserves to thrive, including people suffering from long-term health conditions.
“No one will be written off and left on the scrapheap. That’s why we’re allocating the Welsh Government a £10 million boost to shake-up and connect health and employment services, delivering on the Plan for Change.
“Everyone deserves to benefit from the security and dignity that good work affords, and this trailblazer will help people to access this support.”
Welsh Government Minister for Culture, Skills and Social Partnership, Jack Sargeant said:
“This £10 million investment is an instrumental step in our collaborative approach to supporting people across our nation back into good employment. By working in partnership with the UK Government, Wales trailblazers will create a tailored approach that meets the unique needs of the three communities it is aiming to help in its first year.
“Our focus is on delivering integrated services that truly connect health support with employment opportunities, recognising that good work is fundamental to wellbeing. The Welsh Government is committed to ensuring no one is left behind, and this trailblazer programme demonstrates how devolved employment support can be responsive to local needs while contributing to our wider economic ambitions for Wales.”
Secretary of State for Wales, Jo Stevens added:
“This £10 million programme to get people into work will deliver tailored support where it is most needed. Blaenau Gwent, Denbighshire and Neath Port Talbot have been selected as areas where we can make the most difference.
“It’s an approach that we know works and builds on the success of the Welsh Government’s Young Person’s Guarantee which already provides support for young people to gain skills or get into work.
“Work improves physical and mental health and raises people’s standard of living. The trailblazer scheme ensures that anyone who’s able to work is helped into employment.”
The trailblazers are the latest milestone in the UK Government’s £240 million Get Britain Working reforms which includes transforming Jobcentres to focus on people’s skills and careers, guaranteeing young people the chance to earn or learn and providing mental health support to help people to start and stay in work.
Yesterday’s launch in Wales follows the launch of the first trailblazer in South Yorkshire earlier in April, which plans to deliver a new service working with employers to hire those with health conditions – with both programmes focused on boosting growth by getting communities back to health and back to work.
In the coming weeks, similar trailblazer schemes will launch in Greater Manchester, the North East, York and North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire and three in London.
In addition to inactivity trailblazers, the UK Government has boosted the National Living Wage, increased the National Minimum Wage and is creating more secure jobs through the Employment Rights Bill to support people into good work and get Britain growing again.
Funding provided to the Welsh Government for this programme also delivers on the Prime Minister’s promise to kickstart a new era of devolution, resetting relationships with devolved Governments so they have the support they need to play their part in delivering economic growth as part of the Plan for Change.
