Job Entry Targeted Support Scheme: What is there in the new £238-mn scheme for job seekers?

Summary

• Rishi Sunak launches a new employment scheme to help the jobless become more employable and find new work
• Thousands of new work coaches are being hired under the JETS scheme
• Coaching for resume building, interview, skill development, and sectoral expert advice on cards
• Labour Party criticizes the plan as being inadequate and late
• Fears of rising unemployment starting 1 November 2020 with the end of furlough scheme continue
• Daily coronavirus cases touched a new high on 4 October 2020, government mulling over imposing a 3-tier lockdown to contain the rising number of infections

The UK Government has launched a new employment plan called the Job Entry Targeted Support (JETS) scheme on 5 October 2020 with an investment of £238 million. The scheme is targeted to help those workers who were rendered jobless during the past three months of July to September 2020.

The scheme has been launched across several destinations in the nation including Cheshire, North East Yorkshire, Merseyside, Isle of Wight, South London, and West London. It is targeted towards claimants of universal credit and new style jobseeker’s allowance who have been out of a job for the past 13 weeks.

These people shall be receiving tailored and flexible support to help them get back into the employment stream. They will receive coaching for resume building, facing an interview, and expert advice on sectors that are absorbing people.

The scheme plans to provide a personal work coach who will chalk out a unique return to work plan for each job-less person who was made redundant recently. Skill development services shall also be offered.

The plan will be executed by the UK Department of Works and Pensions who is hiring 13,500 new work coaches. The JETS scheme is part of the government’s plan for jobs, which was announced earlier in the month of July 2020.

Rishi Sunak’s furlough scheme to end

Rishi Sunak said that he had been clear that given the widespread impact of the coronavirus pandemic, every job could not be saved. However, JETS scheme would offer opportunities to the people who have lost their jobs for rebuilding their career.

It is pertinent to note here that the timing of the JETS scheme is critical as the government’s furlough scheme is scheduled to end on 31 October 2020, which has supported more than 9 million people since the beginning of the pandemic. Once this scheme ends, many people might not get absorbed back by their employers, given the sluggish state of the British economy.

Therefore, there are rising fears of unemployment beginning 1 November 2020. To address this concern, Rishi Sunak had earlier announced a new Jobs Support Scheme on 24 September 2020 which would replace the furlough scheme and would be open to viable jobs and offer targeted support to the ailing firms. It is a wage subsidy scheme and is budgeted to cost the government exchequer much less than the furlough scheme.

Rising unemployment

Many companies such as Rolls Royce, Lloyds, easyJet, BP, Renault, Pizza Hut, John Lewis, and Boots have been announcing job cuts since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to Bank of England estimates, the unemployment rate in the country is projected to almost double by the end of the year 2020, to 7.5 per cent, due to the devastating impact of the pandemic.

At the same time, Thérèse Coffey, work and pensions secretary said that close to 0.25 million jobless people could get back to employment, because of the JETS scheme.

Labour party views

The opposition Labour Party has criticized the JETS scheme pointing out that it was not sufficient to address and had come out late. It will only provide a piecemeal support to a struggling economy, the Party lamented. Further, the scheme is heavily dependent on work coaches for its success, who are already overburdened, added the Labour Party.

Moreover, the opposition party warned that close to a million citizens who are currently on furlough reside either at a location that has Covid-19 restrictions or at a place with high infection rate. These people shall be in trouble to find another job quickly once they are out of the furlough (also called the coronavirus job retention scheme).

Rising Covid-19 infections

The nation has set another daily record on Sunday 4 October 2020 when 22,961 fresh coronavirus cases were reported for the day across Britain. With this, the total number of reported cases crossed the 0.5 million mark.

The daily cases have been rising rapidly since the beginning of September 2020, which is a worrisome trend. The daily corona infection number was as low as 1295 on 1 September 2020.

According to sources, in case the current set of restrictions are unable to contain the deadly virus, a three-tier lockdown could be imposed by the UK government to bring down the increasing rate of coronavirus infections across the nation.

Finally, the UK government has rolled out the Job Entry Targeted Support scheme which is expected to support people who have recently lost jobs because of the negative impact of the coronavirus pandemic. It would coach them on various fronts to make them more employable and get hired by the sectors that are growing. It is a good move, however, it may be inadequate to stop the rising rate of unemployment across the nation, as the opposition has indicated. Government’s hands are tied with a limited budget on the one hand while the coronavirus cases are speedily moving up on the other, and the nation might have no choice but to be ready to face the inevitable in the times to come.