DWP rolling out 'skills bootcamps' for Universal Credit and benefits claimants

The Department for Work and Pensions is rolling out "bootcamps" for benefits claimants to try and get them back to work. The DWP minister and boss Mel Stride has launched a massive 'Back to Work' plan today (Tuesday May 21) in a bid to fill vacancies.

The DWP said the plan for "skills bootcamps" will be similar to measures introduced in 2021 to target the shortage of HGV drivers. Gavin Edwards, the head of social care at Unison, said: "There's nothing wrong with promoting social care as a career and offering proper training to try to attract new recruits to the crisis-stricken sector."

The taskforce, which has already met, will seek to emulate “HGV driver shortage style” initiatives, which helped to fill vacancies in the sector through solutions developed with employers including targeted skills ‘bootcamps’, Jobcentre training schemes and cutting red tape holding back domestic recruitment.

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Mr Edwards said: "But forcing the unemployed off benefits and into caring roles, while keeping pay rates low, simply won't work. Most people will neither want to do the jobs, nor be remotely suited to them. This latest foolish idea shows ministers are clueless about how to fix care. It's yet another desperate attempt to distract voters from years of government failure and broken promises.

General Secretary of the Trades Union Congress, Paul Nowak, added: "Any government serious about upskilling its workforce wouldn't have made 40% cuts to education. If we want to plug gaps in our labour market we need a proper skills strategy - not preformative politics."

Shevaun Haviland, Director General of the British Chambers of Commerce, commented: "Our research shows that while firms continue to face skills shortages, many are not engaging with their local Jobcentre to find new staff. Improving awareness among employers of the role Jobcentres can play is crucial.

"We look forward to working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions and across Government to build a cross-sector labour market plan. The priority must be to connect people with opportunities and link up employers with the staff they need."