The Department for Work and Pensions has announced it wants charities and community groups to look at setting up or supporting local Work Clubs to help unemployed people secure work – but is not offering any funding to help them do so.
Yesterday Chris Grayling, minister for employment (pictured), said: “Areas affected by unemployment often need a tailored approach to the problems they face and this is best provided locally by the experts on the ground rather than imposed from above.
“We’d urge charities, businesses and other organisations to consider the benefits of setting up Work Clubs, which can take on a number of forms depending on the needs of the community.”
Work Clubs are part of the government’s wider Get Britain Working measures which are aimed at getting people into jobs. A few clubs are already operating across the country, in areas including Banbury, Bicester and Warrington. The content of sessions varies from CV writing to interview techniques and developing basic IT skills.
National employers like Asda have already been involved, designing and delivering Work Club sessions in areas such as Birmingham.
However, when asked whether there would be any money available for civil society groups to carry out the government’s wishes, a DWP spokeswoman said: “We have no details on that.”
Sir Stuart: 'Funding needs to be urgently addressed'
DWP’s call came just a day before NCVO chief executive Sir Stuart Etherington said in a speech that funding is the "elephant in the room" that must be addressed urgently if the government’s vision of the Big Society is to become a reality.
In a speech at NCVO’s Autumn Conference in Manchester today, Sir Stuart said the Big Society agenda is doomed to fail unless adequate funding is put behind it.
He said: “We cannot argue for special treatment for our sector, just because of who we are. But we can argue that we should not be penalised or singled out for cuts because of who we are. And we can argue that if government is serious about achieving the Big Society, then it needs to ensure that our organisations are enabled to play their full part.”
