The Department for Work and Pensions has announced a new £22 million support scheme intended to help unemployed people over the age of 50.
The package will fund new measures that will help thousands of people across the UK who are over the age of 50 and unemployed. As a result, they will be given further individual support to help them find work before retirement.
As reported by the Daily Express, around one in 10 people over the age of 50 have left work over the last five years as a result of redundancies. The research was carried out by Legal & General Retail Retirement (LGRR) and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr).
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Out of the estimated 177,000 over-50s who are made redundant each year, approximately 20,000 leave the workforce entirely. People who are older are more likely to face redundancy, with many finding the pandemic a particularly difficult period to find work.
The newly announced DWP package will target these individuals, helping them get back into work. Job centres throughout Scotland and the UK will collaborate with local employers to teach them the value of older workers.
Mid-life MOTs will also be available, which will help people considering retirement think about jobs that could increase their income based on their skills and experience.
Minister for Employment Mims Davies stated: “Older Workers are a huge asset to this country, and there are currently more than 400,000 over 50s in roles than before the pandemic. We’re increasing funding and support at every step of their journey up the career ladder, to ensure everyone gets the support they need to get into work, progress and use their experience to boost their earnings and plan for a better future.”
The news of the support package was applauded by the Centre for Ageing Better, who stated that it would help older people who tends to face greater challenges than their younger peers.
Chief Executive at the Centre for Ageing Better Carole Easton commented: “Seeing DWP continue to recognise the importance of a bespoke approach to older workers is really welcome.
“We know that older workers face unique challenges, such as ageism in the workplace and a possible gap in skills compared to some of their younger counterparts, so we will gladly support any tailored action that begins to chip away at these significant roadblocks standing in the way of older people accessing fulfilling work.”
In addition to ageism, research has revealed that many people over 50 are more likely to have caring responsibilities. Around 12 per cent of men and 16 per cent of women between the ages of 55 and 64 provide care to others.
The DWP's new support package coincides with the UK Government's Restart scheme, which gives Universal Credit claimants who have been out of work for at least nine months enhanced support to find jobs in their local area. Since being launched, around 250,000 people have used it to find work.
This is part of the UK Government's renewed focus on growing the economy and helping people find work and boost their earnings.
The £22million DWP support package includes:
- New measures to help a quarter of all jobseekers on benefits get back into work
- Multi-million package will increase Jobcentre support for over 50s including those thinking about retirement
- Long term unemployed will be referred to the multi-billion-pound Restart scheme which is already supporting a quarter of a million back into work.
More information can be found at Gov.uk.
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