Driving the local jobs recovery and supporting progression

Last week saw community organisations, employment and skills providers and a range of government partners come together for the Learning and Work Institute’s annual Employment and Skills Convention, to share learning about how best to drive the UK’s labour market recovery.

You can find an interactive programme of the event here on the Learning and Work Institute’s website, with all sessions available to watch.

A major theme was the way in which the pandemic has amplified pre-existing inequalities in both employment and health, with young people, disabled people and ethnic minority communities seeing the most negative impacts.

Local partnership is key

Reed in Partnership’s Head of Policy and Research, Sarah Welfare, spoke at a session on driving local recovery and renewal, highlighting the challenges facing jobseekers in poorly-connected areas of the country, such as poor transport and digital exclusion.

The point came through strongly from all contributors that the employment and skills landscape can be fragmented and confusing at local level - so we need to work in partnership to reinforce the joint impact of local and national services and make sure both individuals and employers can find the support they need. As Minister for Employment, Mims Davies MP, says: “Its incredible what we can do when we all pull in the same direction to achieve a shared ambition.”

A call for action on progression

The event saw the launch of an important report by the In-Work Progression Commission, led by Baroness Ruby McGregor-Smith, setting out actions that employers and Government at all levels can take to support individual to progress from low pay. In its evidence to the Commission, Reed in Partnership shared stories of participants who had achieved progression and higher earnings, supported by Reed employment advisers.

You can read our evidence on our Policy and Research page and find the Commission’s report on the DWP website.