WIREDGOV

An ambitious new programme to provide 5,000 training and employment opportunities for households where no-one is in work was launched yesterday by the Welsh Government.

Dedicated one to one help through the Lift Programme will help hard to reach people who have not been able to take up training or find work.

In eight areas there will be two employment brokers who will work to find local people from workless households who could benefit from the programme. They will identify reasons why a person may not be in work, such as a lack of qualifications or health issues. Each person taking part will have personal development plans to monitor their progress and adapt the help they are getting if needed.

The scheme is not aimed at those who are temporarily out of work, but will focus on those who face the greatest barriers to becoming employed and may have spent more than six months out of work or training.

Lift will be piloted in eight of the Welsh Government’s Communities First clusters which cover the most disadvantaged areas in the country.

• Mon Cluster – Anglesey.
• Carmarthenshire Cluster – Carmarthenshire.
• Swansea North West Cluster – Swansea.
• Afan Cluster – Neath Port Talbot.
• Taf Cluster – Rhondda Cynon Taf.
• Cardiff East Cluster – Cardiff.
• Caerphilly Basin Cluster – Caerphilly.
• Tredegar & Ebbw Fawr Clusters – Blaenau Gwent.

It will also support those who are at risk of becoming long-term unemployed, such as being a young single parent household; being a household in which the adults have few or no formal qualifications; people with weak employment records and individuals with disabilities. Research shows that households with these characteristics are much less likely to gain employment than others.

Ministers have asked each Welsh Government department to become involved in the programme by identifying training, work experience or employment opportunities that may help those taking part. The brokers will also make contact with local public sector organisations and businesses to identify opportunities.

Lift is part of the Tackling Poverty Action Plan and will run until the end of 2017. It will have an initial budget of £500,000 for the first year and £1 million for 2014-15 and will also be supported by existing Welsh Government spending across departments.

Communities and Tackling Poverty Minister Jeff Cuthbert said:

"We have a clear aim of helping some of the most hard to reach people in our society to find work and improve their life chances. These are often individuals who for a long time have not been in any form of employment or training. Some may have a long history of unemployment in their family. We will provide one-to-one advice and help through our new Lift employment brokers to make sure we are doing all we can to find the right opportunities.”

Deputy Minister for Tackling Poverty Vaughan Gething said:

“Employment is still the best route out of poverty. If we are to make Wales a more equal place it is vital we focus our efforts on those who need the most help, many of whom may have been out for work for some years. This is about providing real help that will make a lasting difference.