#VirtualCoffee podcast with Mims Davies, Minister for Employment

Gavin from FE News catch up with @mimsdavies, Minister of Employment for a podcast to discuss employability support during the next stage of the pandemic

Mims has been the Minister for Employment for nearly two years, so has had responsibility for employability programmes during all of the pandemic. She discusses the joined up working between DWP, DfE and Treasury and other Government departments working collaboratively.

We then chat about employability support for the next stage of the pandemic? Firstly for young people, but also for adults who have been displaced by the pandemic.

Employability support for Young people

Mims discusses Youth Hubs and how they are a collaboration with different stakeholders to provide holistic support to young people to remove potential barriers to work.

We then discuss Kickstart and how there are 219,000 jobs registered with employers and over 30,000 placements. Mims explains that the team are now working hard to fill as many of these placements as possible with Jobfairs in local job centres to link employers and candidates up for roles.

Mims then discusses programmes to support Adults back into work

Mims discusses Restart and that this is due to launch soon and the early intervention programmes such as JETS and over 80,000 people who have been on the SWAP programme.

Mims discusses the support that will be in place to help people returning from furlough and programmes to help pivot into new roles.

Levelling up, local jobs and long term employability plans for regions

Mims discusses the plans to support levelling up to support people into local jobs and the strategic long term aims of regions. She discusses Plumpton College and a programme to help people into the fast emerging and high growth industry of wine production on the South coast to logistics support in the North East.

Addressing Skills Gaps such as Hospitality job roles

Mims discusses addressing Skills Gaps, the hospitality sector has had a lot of news coverage on the skills gaps for qualified chefs and front of house staff, as well as low numbers of HGV drivers.

Employment support for the Green Economy and Fourth Industrial Revolution

Mims then goes onto discuss the Green Economy, the future of work and the fourth industrial revolution and how DWP is supporting people to be ready for the jobs of the future and the future of work.