West Worcestershire MP Harriett Baldwin has welcomed a series of measures which are aimed at helping people whose jobs have been lost or furloughed during the coronavirus crisis.

The Department for Education has launched an online hub where people can identify courses to improve their digital skills while at home including coding and digital marketing.

In parallel, the Department for Work and Pensions has enhanced its web resources to help people find current job opportunities in critical sectors like social care, retail, agriculture, delivery and warehouse opportunities.

The two initiatives are aimed at people who are unable to work or have recently lost their jobs as a result of the global pandemic. If employment contracts allow it, staff on furlough are able to take on other, different work.

Harriett commented: “The Government has moved swiftly to help businesses and individuals who have been negatively impacted by the shutdown and there are a number of support packages to help employers retain their employees.

“However, some employers have had to lay off staff, so the Government is swiftly acting to help people who are already looking for new opportunities.

“There are currently vacancies in a wide range of areas and the easily searchable database can point local people to new opportunities in key-worker sectors.”
Vacancies can be found at https://findajob.dwp.gov.uk/ and the skills toolkit can be accessed at https://theskillstoolkit.campaign.gov.uk/