Learning and Work Institute (L&W) is developing and delivering pilots to support workers who need to reskill as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
While Covid-19 is primarily a public health crisis, the public policy response has also created economic challenges. Unemployment continues to rise and the sectoral nature of this recession means that many workers will be required to retrain and change careers.
These employment impacts are not equally distributed and exacerbate previous inequalities. Those with greatest need to up- and re-skill are more likely to: live in localities with already high unemployment, work in sectors that are more at-risk, have lower qualification levels and less access to training, and are currently in low paid work. In other words, they are least resilient to losing their jobs.
In order to address this challenge, there is a need for high quality, locally based programmes of career changer support that will engage at-risk workers and develop and deliver skills provision to meet the needs of current and future jobs.
This programme will provide direct support to more than 6,000 beneficiaries across the UK. Five place-based pilots (two in England and one each in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) will be tailored to reflect the needs of local labour markets and the skills of local populations.