Salvation Army urges for increased employment support

This Employability Day (Friday 13 September) The Salvation Army is urging Government to commit to long-term investment to help the people struggling to find work due long-term issues such as physical and mental health problems, a lack of education or relevant skills, or unaffordable childcare.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) currently funds local employability services like The Salvation Army’s Employment Plus service which specialises in helping people who been unemployed for long periods often for reasons beyond their control. But this fund is ending in 2025.  Without a sustainable, long-term replacement, the future of services that increase the employability of people who want to work but are held back due to their circumstances will be at serious risk, just as they are needed more than ever.  

A recent report by The Salvation Army, Transforming Lives through Employability, found that on top of the 1.5 million people in the UK who are registered as unemployed, there are a further 1.7 million people who are economically inactive but want to work, making 3.2 million the real unemployment figure. Only people who are registered as unemployed can receive Government funded employability assistance so those who can’t register often have nowhere to turn for help.

To mark Employability Day, The Salvation Army’s Employment Plus service, which has provided employability support to 40,000 people over the last two years, will be hosting a number of open events for jobseekers throughout the UK.  

Rebecca Keating, Director of Employment Services at The Salvation Army said:

“Employability Day is a celebration of the thousands of jobseekers who have been helped into work by our employability advisors at The Salvation Army. We work with people who are desperate to work but who face the biggest barriers to getting work, such as physical and mental health problems, a lack of education or relevant skills, or unaffordable childcare.  

“If the Government is to reduce economic inactivity and successfully grow the economy, people who are locked out of the job market must get the support they need to join the workforce.

“Holding back on investment in employability support services is a false economy, as other public services will have to pay the price when economic inactivity pushes people into poverty, homelessness and ill health. If the Chancellor is serious about lifting communities out of poverty and getting people ready to fill the new jobs she wants to create as part of her growth agenda, we urge her to prioritise long-term funding for local employability services in her first Budget this autumn.”

The Salvation Army’s Employment Plus service operates in 120 local communities across the UK, providing a bridge between those furthest from the job market and traditional routes into employment by helping people overcome obstacles to entering the workforce.