JOBSEEKING will be JET-propelled thanks to a new programme being launched by the government today (Monday).
Open to people living in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire the JETS – Job Entry Targeted Support – is backed by a £238 million investment and dedicated to supporting those who have become unemployed as a result of Covid-19.
It is open to those who receive Universal Credit (UC), All Work related Requirements (AWRR) or New Style Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) and have done so for at least 13 weeks. The JETS scheme will offer specialist advice on how people can switch careers, as well as CV and interview coaching.
The Department for Work and Pensions says that it hopes the programme will give job hunters the boost they need to return to employment through an action plan agreed with their personal Work Coach, peer support and opportunities to build their skills.
They add that it will be tailored and flexible support.
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Therese Coffey said that it will give a helping hand to more than 250,000 unemployed people across the country.
“We have provided unprecedented support for jobs during the pandemic including through furlough and subsidising the incomes of the self-employed, doing all we can to protect peoples’ livelihoods – but sadly not every job can be saved,” she said in a statement.
“This scheme will help those left out of work as a result of Covid-19, and is one strand of our wider Plan for Jobs which will also support young people onto the jobs ladder through Kickstart, offer the training needed to pivot into new roles through our Sector Based Work Academy Programme and prepare people for getting back into work.”
And the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, said that JETS would be a boost for those without employment.
“Our unprecedented support has protected millions of livelihoods and businesses since the start of the pandemic, but I’ve always been clear that we can’t save every job,” he said.
The multi-million-pound programme is part of the Government’s Plan for Jobs, which sees the department recruit an additional 13,500 Work Coaches, doubling the total number to 27,000 this financial year.
