Skills Training and Youth

In a survey of 91,000 employers, the UK Commission for Employment and Skills found more than one in five vacancies were down to a poor skills base.

The UKCES found 146,200 job vacancies (22%) last year were unfilled because of inadequate skills, compared with 91,400 (16%) two years earlier.

The warning comes as the UK economy is reported to show signs of recovery.

In a survey of 91,000 employers, the UK Commission for Employment and Skills found more than one in five vacancies were down to a poor skills base.

The UKCES found 146,200 job vacancies (22%) last year were unfilled because of inadequate skills, compared with 91,400 (16%) two years earlier.

The warning comes as the UK economy is reported to show signs of recovery.

On Tuesday, figures released by the Office for National Statistics showed the UK economy grew by 1.9% in 2013, its strongest rate since 2007.

The UKCES report - Skills for Sustainable Recovery - found there were 655,000 vacancies in the UK between March and July 2013, up from 586,500 in 2011.

Plumbing

It suggests that the problem of inadequate skills, qualifications or experience in the workforce is hitting some industries harder than others, with more skills shortages found in areas such as manufacturing, construction and plumbing, as well as in health and social care.

The study said employers struggled to find employees with the "core generic skills" of communication, literacy and numeracy.

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Vacancies in 2013 because of inadequate skills

UK: 146,200 (22% of vacancies)

England: 124,800 (22% of vacancies)

Scotland: 13,400 (25% of vacancies)

Wales: 5,100 (20% of vacancies)

Northern Ireland: 2,900 (19% of vacancies)

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Vacancies in 2011 because of inadequate skills

UK: 91,400 (16% of vacancies)

England: 76,900 (15% of vacancies)

Scotland: 6,700 (15% of vacancies)

Wales: 4,000 (18% of vacancies)

Northern Ireland: 3,900 (21% of vacancies)

The report said: "There has been an increase in the proportion of skill-shortage vacancies resulting from a lack of communication skills, particularly oral communication (41%, up from 37% in 2011), as well as a lack of literacy (34% up from 28% in 2011) and numeracy skills (26%, up from 24%)."

It also found nearly half of employers across the UK (48%) admitted to recruiting people with higher levels of skills and knowledge than were required for the job.

The research found the number of establishments providing training for their staff was back to levels seen before the recession.

However, the amount spent on training decreased from £1,680 per employee in 2011 to £1,590 in 2013.

The UKCES said only a minority of businesses were prepared to give education leavers their first job, but when they did, they found these new recruits to be generally well-prepared for work.

College leavers were reported by employers to be more "work ready" than school leavers of the same age.

Douglas McCormick, a commissioner at UKCES, said: "Whilst the rise in the number of vacancies is a good sign that the economy is recovering, there's a real possibility that businesses might not be able to make the most of the upturn because they don't have the right people.

"This shows that businesses need to start thinking about planning their talent pipeline now - not waiting until they are unable to fulfil contracts because of a lack of skilled staff."

Matthew Hancock, Minister for Skills and Enterprise, said: "Employers in some sectors report persistent skills shortages, which is why I have been working hard to design a skills system that is rigorous in the training it provides and responsive to the needs of employers.

Careers advice

Neil Carberry, director for employment and skills for the CBI, said: "The flipside of faster growth is an escalating skills crisis.

"We must expand access to high-quality apprenticeships and other 'learn while you earn' schemes and ensure that these meet the needs of both businesses and employees.

"To equip young people with the knowledge they need, there must also be a sea change in the quality of careers advice in schools, so they are more aware of the opportunities and rewards of working in key sectors which face skills shortages."

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said: "It's great that more businesses want to recruit. But with jobseekers outnumbering vacancies by four to one, it's hugely frustrating that across the UK a large number of jobs go unfilled because of local skills shortages.

"Employers, unions and government must each play their part in tackling the UK's damaging skills shortages."

DWP sanctions ...reasonable or unreasonable...You choose??

Sanctions can be imposed for a long period of time even when a claiment has evidence in their defence

Sanctions and their levels

Universal Credit IDS and DWP team

Before it did not look good

The time table that is not going to plan

So what happened to IDS when he had to answer the questions 

Well.......................................
What is happening to the system IDS and team answer to the M.P's Department for Work and Pensions




Annual Report and Accounts
 Witnesses Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith MP, Secretary of State, Lord Freud, Minister for Welfare Reform, Howard Shiplee CBE, Universal Credit Director General, and Mike Driver, Finance Director General, Department for Work and Pensions

IDS and team on Universal Credit

Job seeker support with a tablet

It is possible with modern technology to support a job seeker outside your local JOB CENTRE

An adviser can cover a number of subjects with an internet enabled tablet including

• Sanctions
• Benefit eligibility
• Applying for benefits
• Benefit Calculator
• Universal Job Match
• Food Banks and Credit Unions
• Local Homess support
• Careers Advice
• local advice and much much more

It is possible to support East European Job seekers in a way that the Job centre (DWP) have not
Just making the pages available in the job seekers national language saves time and energy.

Most people classed as being in poverty 'have job' (Dec 2013)

Its  o longer just the unemployed that are struggling with the money...Part time and 0 hours contract employees face the same as the unemployed

Reaching out to the Unemployed at your Job centre

Over the last few years I have regularly reached out to Unemployed people at my local Job centre.
This has led to interesting interaction and stories that were very real. Often people had clearly not been provided with the Key support they needed and were mis informed.A solution is

for volunteers to be equipped with tablets to provide Job seekers with the information that they need. You might ask why DWP havent done this themselves. Well, one day they might but in the meantime............
With current government cut backs the challenge for staff of being well informed and providing the key information as it is required limits the job seeker to what they may be told
An example would be information on national support available locally. Here I am providing a possible solution at low cost. Much of the information and support that claimant s need is already available on line and with a degree of knowledge of understanding as to its location can be found. Drastically reducing a number of the issues that Job seekers may have and reducing the work and time that charities put into meeting job seekers. A tablet can produce the internet access required and the links to the information that can save time and resource in a cost effective way reducing time wasting. and appointments.. So could this be a solution that local Church and Community groups could support. Maybe even sponsor.
From the Job benefit claim to the Tax credit information or other forms of guidance.

George Osbourne's Work Programme revamped

George Osborne extends 'work for benefit' for jobless

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The long-term unemployed will have to undertake work placements in return for their benefits, under tougher rules unveiled by Chancellor George Osborne.

Welfare must be "fair for those who need it and fair for those who pay for it", he told the Tory conference.

Cleaning up litter

By running a budget surplus in the good times, he would "fix the roof while the sun was shining".

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Analysis

Ross HawkinsPolitical correspondent

There is nothing new about making jobseekers work on pain of losing their benefits.

The government began what it called Mandatory Work Activity back in 2011.

Under the scheme, JobCentre advisers sent people on four-week placements on pain of losing their Jobseeker's allowance. It was down to private contractors to source the placements.

There is nothing new in the policy affecting many thousands of people.

Between May 2011 and February 2013, there were 146,810 referrals to Mandatory Work Activity placements.

Although government figures show there were only 53,720 occasions on which people actually started the placements.

Those who failed to begin may have got a job, decided not to claim the benefit or simply refused to take part.

And there is nothing new in putting some people on work placements once their time on the Work Programme has finished.

Plans to do that were announced in May. George Osborne is changing the system, though, by extending the placements from four weeks to six months.

Only about a third of the 200,000 Jobseekers Allowance claimants affected will be on the work placements.

The other two thirds will either have to attend a jobcentre every day or undergo programmes to address the reasons they cannot find work like illiteracy or mental health problems.

The new system will affect people completing the Work Programme without finding jobs from April 2014.

• Q&A: How 'Help to Work' works?

Labour said Mr Osborne could not be trusted to deliver a surplus, having had to backtrack on his earlier pledge to eliminate the structural deficit in 2015.

"By opposing the measures Labour announced last week to freeze energy prices and expand free childcare for working parents, the Tories have shown once again that they only ever stand up for a privileged few not for hard working families," shadow minister Rachel Reeves said.

On welfare, Mr Osborne said that while the government would not "abandon" the long-term unemployed, no-one would be able to get something for nothing.

Those who had not found work after two years on the existing Work Programme - where contractors are paid a fee to get people into a job - will face a new scheme called help-to-work.

To still qualify for jobseeker's allowance they will have three options - work placements, such as cleaning up litter; daily visits to a job centre; or taking part in compulsory training, for example, to improve their literacy.

People would have to remain on help-to-work until they found employment - unlike the current scheme which is limited to six months.

Those who breach the rules will lose four weeks' worth of benefits. Anyone who breaks the rules a second time faces losing three months' worth of benefits.

'Useful work'

Mr Osborne told the conference: "We are saying there is no option of doing nothing for your benefits, no something-for-nothing any more.

"They will do useful work to put something back into their community; making meals for the elderly, clearing up litter, working for a local charity.

"Others will be made to attend the job centre every working day.

"And for those with underlying problems, like drug addiction and illiteracy, there will be an intensive regime of support. No-one will be ignored or left without help. But no-one will get something for nothing."

A Department of Work and Pensions assessment of mandatory work activity - a similar compulsory work scheme introduced by ministers in 2011 - found it "had no impact on the likelihood of being employed". And on the work programme, DWP figures suggested one in 10 of those seen found a long-term job.

Unions said the help-to-work plan was an admission that existing schemes had failed.

And business groups said "warm words" on enterprise and wealth creation must be backed up by a "relentless focus" in the years ahead.

"Breaking government addiction to debt and achieving a surplus in public finances is the most important ambition any administration can have," the Institute of Directors said

The Reality in the areas of high Unemployment

The classic challenge has been with us for years. The challenge is that the Programme thus far has not been set fit for the needs of industry. often the training has lacked as has the opportunities in the respective areas.

many of the jobs taken up are part time or 0 hours which then leads to an immediate suspension of support. Because of the set up many are left in an area if income generation without the needed support. This Blog has already featured posts indicating the issues.How the Work Programme has failed

Having claiments attending the Job Centre Daily means the Job centre has to have the capacity to meet that need. Reality is it hasn't.thus more fall through the system