New scheme comes as part of the government's drive to help people back into work and kickstart economic growth under its Plan for Change
- New 'Jobcentre on wheels' service launched to drive up employment across Great Britain.
- Any member of the public - as well as DWP customers - can access job support through the mobile Jobcentres being tested in Bolton and parts of Wales.
New mobile Jobcentres are pulling up to football matches and retail parks to deliver vital employment support directly to local communities.
The vans have been visiting family hubs, retail car parks and mosques in regions with particularly high levels of unemployment and inactivity as the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) tests new and inclusive ways to help people back into work. This includes a van pitching up at Bolton Wanderers Football Club last weekend to provide job support to fans on match day.
In Bolton alone, nearly 1-in-3 of people are currently inactive, with unemployment significantly higher than the national average. This van and others like it are performing a vital service to areas like Bolton, breaking down barriers to opportunity and bringing the expertise and support of the DWP straight into the heart of the communities that need it most.
The mobile Jobcentres are staffed by experienced Work Coaches who offer expert support with job searching, training opportunities and can provide information to those with health conditions or disabilities and accessing childcare costs.
As well as existing customers, the service is open and accessible to all members of the public and forms part of the government's wider plans to tackle inactivity, support people into jobs and make everyone better off under its Plan for Change.
With the vans in Bolton, Flintshire, Denbighshire and Wrexham already proving a success, a van in Scotland will launch later this month and cover Moray and the Highlands.
The Minister for Employment, Alison McGovern, saw the Bolton mobile Jobcentre in action today (Monday 10 February) as members of the local community received advice outside the Great Lever Family Hub, a Start Well Children's Centre.
Minister for Employment, Alison McGovern, said:
For too long, people have been denied the opportunity of securing a good job and getting on in their career. Under our major employment reforms, we want to see everyone, in every corner of the country, become better off.
This mobile Jobcentre is a perfect example of an inclusive and accessible DWP solution that ensures no one misses out on the job support they deserve. Getting more people back into work is a key part of our Plan for Change to deliver economic growth, create better opportunities and put more money into the pockets of working people.
Sam Ashton, a Work Coach based on the Bolton mobile Jobcentre, added:
The new Bolton mobile Jobcentre hit the road in January and has already pulled up in various locations across the town including at the Toughsheet Community Stadium. We have been supporting customers with a whole host of needs, whether that is with their job search, or accessing childcare costs.
We're really looking forward to helping even more people in harder to reach areas and make it much easier for them to access our services.
The government is delivering on the biggest reforms to employment support in a generation as set out in the Get Britain Working White Paper. Key measures include overhauling Jobcentres, introducing a Youth Guarantee to ensure all people aged 18 to 21 are earning or learning and connecting local work, health and skills plans.
