Jobcentre Plus: is it working for business?

…Advisors whose sole job is to work with employers to discuss recruitment needs or training needs that they might have. We’ve got excellent links with the bulk of the employers across the Peterborough area from massive employers such as Amazon, right down to your one-man band. It doesn’t matter to us, we will support any and every employer.’

The Work Experience Scheme gives employers a sneak peek at a voluntary candidate before offering them employment

Some of the schemes Peter highlighted include a Work Experience Scheme and a Sector Based Work Academy. While the details vary – the overall point of each of these schemes is to match employers needs with suitable talent. For example, the Work Experience Scheme gives employers a sneak peek at a voluntary candidate before offering them employment. The Sector-Based Work Academy takes this one step further and is a three-stage process starting with pre-employment training based on specific feedback from employers. This would then be followed by a period of work experience to give the candidate a change to demonstrate their skills, and the final stage is a guaranteed interview for candidates.

‘Obviously this is where our work with employers comes in,’ explains Peter, ‘because we have to sell this package to businesses and get them to sign up to it. But we have had some really good results from it. We’ve also got a Wage Incentive Scheme where a business can claim up to £2,275 for employing a person under the age of 25 who has been claiming benefits, because it’s recognised that young people might have left college with fantastic skills, but no work experience. So this encourages employers to take them on.’

To find out more about the schemes available, contact the Peterborough Jobcentre Employment Advisors on 01733 296424.