Earlier this year, Britain teetered on the brink of an all-out employment crisis as hundreds of thousands struggled to find work. With the recession discouraging bosses from expanding their staff and businesses folding left, right and centre, the employment market stagnated and left those unable to find full time employment relying only on Jobseeker’s Allowance in order to make ends meet.
Although the job market now seems to be moving in the right direction since the end of the recession, with rising numbers of full time positions opening up across the country, there are still a huge percentage of those who are able to work who cannot seem to find gainful employment.
Now figures released by the Government have indicated that their welfare to work programme may not be working quite as well as it anticipated, as the scheme has failed to meet targets designed to help the long-term unemployed find a permanent position. Only 3.53 per cent of participants in the programme have managed to hold down a job for six months or more, therefore falling short of the 5.5 per cent target set in June 2011.
The government believes the scheme will help 2.4 million find work
The figures cover the period of time between June 2011 and July 2012, and track the fortunes of the 878, 000 participants in the scheme. Of this number, only 31,000 have managed to find a job which they have remained in for six months or longer before signing back up for Jobseeker’s Allowance or a similar benefit.
Although the scheme has failed to meet the targets set, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) does point out that over half of the participants who signed up in June or July last year have spent at least some time off benefits. Additionally, as the welfare to work programme supports participants for two years at a time, it claims that the full results will not be seen until at least June 2013.
Mark Hoban, employment minister, says; “It’s still early days, but already thousands of lives are being transformed.
“One in four people have been in work, more than half of the early starters have been off benefit and performance is improving – previous schemes paid out too much up front regardless of success but, by only paying providers for delivering results, the work programme is actually offering the taxpayer real value for money.
“Clearly these figures only give a snapshot picture as we’re one year in, and the work programme offers support to claimants for two years, but these results are encouraging and something providers can look to build on.”
The scheme works by paying businesses and charities to help find employment for those who have been unable to find work for a long period of time. These organisations are known as “providers”, and can earn between £3,700 and £13,700 per position achieved depending on how much support had to be provided for the individual in question.
Participation in the scheme is mandatory for anyone over the age of 25 who has been unable to find work for a year, while under-25s must join after nine months of unemployment. However, this time can be reduced depending on the circumstances, such as if the claimant is a young offender or has a criminal record.
The trade body for the welfare to work scheme, the Employment Related Services Association, claims that more than 200,000 participants have managed to find work since the programme launched last summer. Currently, 20,000 new jobseekers join the programme every month.
Over the next five years, the Government believes that the programme will help 2.4 million unemployed workers find full time employment.
Do you think the taxpayer is truly getting value for money through this scheme, or should an alternative method be put in place – perhaps by using local councils or small scale charities to provide work experience in exchange for a wage rather than a benefit payment? Should the Government be responsible for finding work for the long term unemployed, or should individuals be responsible for finding their own jobs? Tell us your ideas for work schemes below.
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