This month's article is going to focus on the new delivery programme supported by the DWP focusing on employment opportunities for Littleham residents referred to as "Way to Work".

As readers will be aware the statistics for Littleham indicate that 2.1% of people living in Littleham have never worked or are long term unemployed - this is 1.0% lower than the average across the South West of England, which stands at 3.1%.

This is broken down further into 1.5% that have never worked and 0.6% who have become stuck in long term unemployment. (Source The Move Market). Littleham is also known for being one of the most deprived Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs) which the EDDC has recognised as requiring a need for collaborative area-based work.

So, you may well ask what does this mean? Well the answer is that at a national level to improve these work opportunities for those looking for work the DWP and the government have launched this programme which they believe will support people into work quicker, fill vacancies, and reduce numbers of people on Universal Credit.

The process is such that the scheme expects Universal Credit claimants to search more widely for available jobs from the fourth week of claiming, rather than from three months as is currently the case.

In essence it's a new partnership between government and employers to get 500,000 jobseekers into work by the end of June 2022. As it stands at the present time the economic situation is such that there are at least 1.2 million vacancies to fill, so there are lots of opportunities, many of which need no prior experience.

DWP Work Coaches will now offer increased dedicated face-to-face time for jobseekers, and this tailored support will significantly improve a candidates chances of finding work.

So with these large number of vacancies to fill this could well be good news for Littleham residents looking for job opportunities provided that as candidates their skill level or flexibility requirements matches up with the vacancy.

The scheme also assumes that candidates will need to be enthusiastic and motivated so that they will easily fit into their new work environment.

This is also a very positive initiative because at last since the start of the pandemic the economy is once again opening up since there was a feeling as Darren Morgan, Director of Economic Statistics at the ONS, suggested that "If you lost your job then, there was little point in looking for one, given the economy was closed".

Finally, if you have read this article and have yourself recently found work with such support offered by the DWP do get in touch and share your experiences.

If you would like to contact your councillor, please click here.