Those who are on benefits and out of work will be offered training on “skills bootcamps” as the government are aiming to get people back into work.
Jobs that have “previously been filled by overseas workers” such as hospitality, care, manufacturing and construction are facing shortages and there is a “hidden army of talent” in the UK that could fill those gaps.
The Work and Pensions Secretary Mel Stride said on Tuesday during a speech at a Jobcentre in London that “for too long” Britain has relied on foreign workers.
The Home Office have announced a range of measures to cut the number of foreign workers coming to the UK.
This includes a ban on foreign care workers who bring over their family and have introduced an increased salary threshold for workers that have skill to £38,700.
Stride said the rules are to reduce the number of people coming to the UK by 300,000 a year, however he acknowledged this could present a “recruitment challenge” for companies.
The Work and Pensions Secretary said that the government are building an economic model which will be designed “on British talent.”
“I know this presents a recruitment challenge for some employers in certain sectors, particularly those that have relied more on migration in the past, but this is also a huge opportunity for the thousands of jobseekers within our domestic workforce to move into roles that have previously been filled by overseas workers.”
Stride added, “I see no reason why a British worker cannot be a care worker. And I hear too many people saying ‘Oh, well, those jobs aren’t the jobs for the domestic labour market.’”
The government are to set up a taskforce for recruitment initiatives in the sectors which have shortages.
The government will bring in a target to tackle the shortage of HGV drivers with “bootcamps” with Jobcentre training schemes.
Stride said, “It is just a simple fact that if you can get somebody who’s willing and incentivised to work and you give them those skills over a short period of time, you can make a real movement of the dial in terms of having people go into those areas of employment.
“My message to businesses is clear: our Jobcentre teams stand ready to help you find the right candidate, and we want to work with you to overcome recruitment challenges.
“And my message is also to the British people. For too long we have relied on labour from abroad when there is great talent right here in the UK – I am determined to put that right.”
Shadow work and pensions secretary Alison McGovern said, “After laying bare the Tories’ damning failure on work, skills and training, Mel Stride is going to be furious when he finds out who has been in power for the last 14 years.
“Talking shops and billboards do not even scratch the surface of what is needed to get Britain working. The Tories should be prioritising proper plans to tackle worker shortages and adopting Labour’s plan to connect the immigration system to skills.
“The Tories cannot be the change from their own failings. It is Labour who have the plan to get Britain working by cutting NHS waiting lists, reforming job centres, making work pay and supporting people into good jobs across every part of the country.”
