UK Government launches new resources for job seekers and employers affected by COVID-19

News

The coronavirus pandemic is having a dramatic effect on the UK jobs market. Many workers have already been made redundant or are at risk of losing their jobs, particularly in some lower paid roles. At the same time, thousands of new vacancies have been created in other sectors - including health, food production and retail, and logistics - which have seen a surge in demand due to the pandemic. 

In response, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has created two new websites aimed at bringing these markets together:  

• employerhelp: this offers a wide range of recruitment advice and guidance for businesses on reaching new sources of labour - there are currently 1.7 million registered users on the Government’s Find a job service - and widening responses to job adverts. Tips include recognising the transferable skills of applicants from other sectors and not making job requirements too specific
• jobhelp: which provides jobseekers with useful information on what types of opportunities are available, particularly in critical and growing industries, advice on looking for work in new sectors, as well as practical guidance on the application process and redundancy.

To support and promote this initiative, the DWP has developed two new toolkits to enable stakeholders to signpost to each new website through their communication channels. The employer help toolkit signposts to the new resource for recruiting organisations, while the job help toolkit is for use when promoting the guidance and vacancies available on the site for jobseekers. Downloadable resources include newsletter articles, email and social media templates, videos and images. 

An ongoing partnership between IWFM and the DWP seeks to increase routes into, and raise the skills and professionalism of all those working in, the UK’s workplace and facilities management industry. This agreement has led to the development of a long-term campaign to promote the profession as a career of choice. It was formally launched in 2019 with a schools workshop programme and will be extended into other employment market sectors.