The coalition’s Work Programme launched at the end of last week, but Carmen Watson, the MD of Pertemps, warned that in order to be a success, the programme must match workers with sustainable PAYE employment.
The Work Programme is designed to incentivise organisations to take on more staff and reduce the number of long-term unemployed people in the UK.
Watson says this is going to be a monumental task. The UK still has 2.6 million unemployed people and many of them have been out of work for a long time. Employers need more education if the programme is going to create sustainable employment and a competitive market.
All the key stakeholders will need to collaborate in order to minimise risk and chance of failure. This will mean education providers, employers, government and recruitment companies all getting together to help place candidates in long term positions.
Recruitment companies have a vital role to play in administering the selection process. Once suitable training has occurred, agencies can make sure candidates are matched with the most suitable companies and employers who have invested in job creation will benefit from the right employees.
Sarah Gordon, the chair of the Diversity and Inclusion Forum at the REC, agrees that recruiters have an integral role to play. Employers want candidates with the rights skills and potential and recruiters can act as a filtering mechanism to ensure only candidates that are genuinely job-ready are put forward. She also pointed out that temporary work opportunities provided a crucial stepping stone into permanent employment for many people.
The government has committed £5 billion to this scheme and in its first two years, the Work Programme aims to help two million people back into employment.
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Image: Fingers by Andy Mangold
