Jobcentre to recruit 170 ‘work coaches’ amid Covid-19 crisis
Suffolk Coastal MP Therese Coffey announced the 170 new 'work coaches' for East Anglia in her role as work and pensions secretary. Picture: DEPARTMENT FOR WORK AND PENSIONS - Credit: Department for Work & Pensions
Jobcentres across East Anglia are to recruit 170 “work coaches” to help people find work during the coronavirus crisis.
The 'work coaches' will be part of Jobcentres. Picture: PA - Credit: PA
The pandemic has caused economic turmoil for many businesses, families and individuals, with thousands of workers in the region losing their jobs as a result of redundancy.
MORE: ‘Very worrying time’ - unemployment in Ipswich nearly DOUBLES amid swathe of job cuts
The government’s furlough scheme has enabled companies to keep many employees on - but places like Ipswich have seen a large rise in unemployment, with 3,005 more people claiming out of work benefits between March and July this year.
However, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) - led by Suffolk Coastal MP, Dr Therese Coffey - is now recruiting thousands more work coaches in Jobcentres across the UK to help give people the skills they need to find new work.
Their role will be to “use sound judgement to help people through some difficult, challenging times in their lives”, by giving people help with their CVs, interview skills and how to look for the right job.
The 170 work coaches being recruited across East Anglia will also provide “expert mentoring” through people’s job search, with the DWP telling applicants: “Your tailored coaching can make a huge difference to their ability to find, stay in and progress in a job.”
The department, which has also brought in the Kickstart scheme to help young people and the JETS programme to give expert help to those out of work for three months, added: “More expert work coaches means more personal, tailored support for jobseekers who are looking to get going with a new career or to move on from a struggling sector.”
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Dr Coffey added: “Work coaches deliver invaluable local employment advice, opportunities to develop skills for new sectors and vital new job support schemes such as Kickstart and JETS, which we have put in place to give everyone the chance to succeed and will help drive East Anglia’s economic recovery.
“I urge local people to help Suffolk build back better by applying to be a work coach now.”
Visit the DWP website for information.
