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What would you like to ask the Minister for Employment?

Steve Bridger

We have an exciting episode of the HR People Pod in the pipeline, where we will be taking the opportunity to interview the Minister for Employment, Alison McGovern, and we want your help!

To help shape the discussion on the episode, we want to hear from you around some of the concerns, challenges as well as optimism you have towards the government’s Get Britain Working proposals as well as the recent Keep Britain Working review. 

Below is a reminder of some of the key proposals set out within the Get Britain Working White Paper:

  • Tackling long-term sickness – ambitions to reverse the increase in economic activity caused by ill health, with long-term sickness-related economic inactivity at a near-record high
  • Youth guarantee – a pledge to provide all 18-21 year olds in England with access to an apprenticeship, training, education or help finding a job
  • Jobcentre reforms – transforming the Jobcentre system into a new ‘national jobs and careers service’, which will focus on skills and careers rather than solely monitoring and managing benefits claims

Related links:

The Keep Britain Working review subsequently calls for urgent collaboration between government and businesses. The document suggested the inactivity crisis is “unlikely” to be resolved by the Government efforts alone, emphasising that employers have a “key role to play in creating inclusive workplaces that protect mental and physical health and support the retention and rehabilitation of employees, including disabled people and people with health conditions”.

Related links:

Thank you and look forward to seeing your thoughts, questions and comments below.

Parents
  • Great question - thank you. I think I would like to ask

    1) What impact of the Get Britain Working White Paper would you like to see in 1, 3 and 5 years (e.g. what difference would you like it to have made) and how can we as People Professionals support the Government to achieve those impacts?

    2) Whilst there are large benefits to increased academic achievement, it could be argued that the focus on GCSE results over the past 20 years, has meant that more practical vocational skills are seen as less important either by schools, or parents, leading to significant skills gaps. Do you agree with this and do you feel that redressing the balance is important?

    3) Following on from that, the focus on academic achievement in schools means that many of the 'life skills' necessary to keep us happy and healthy (food and nutrition, cyber safety, critical thinking, understanding different viewpoints, financial wellbeing, resilience, collaboration, relationship building, exercise), have a lower priority in educational settings. Do you feel that having a higher focus in these areas, either in school settings and/or as part of apprenticeship training, could help reduce levels of economic inactivity due to sickness?
  • in reply to Teresa
    Oooh, careful. Next someone will suggest that perhaps it's not a good idea that 50% of the population can benefit from a University education ;)
  • in reply to Matthew
    Ha ha. Yes, I think I am showing both my age and background (left school and started full time work at age 16, and jumped straight to post graduate qualifications, both done whilst working full time) with my questions.

    I just remember a number of my year being moved onto City & Guilds qualifications rather than O levels and CSE's because they were more practical than academically minded. Many of those now own very successful engineering, vehicle maintenance, plumbing, carpentry or electrical companies. When my niece was at school the school just wasn't interested as she clearly wasn't academic and that's such a shame.
  • in reply to Teresa
    My Mother took her A Levels at 17 and was told by Universities she would need to take a Gap Year if she was to progress to tertiary education. This was unheard of for girls in Irish families in the early '60s so she went to work in banking then having been fascinated by something called "the computer" went on to become one of the country's first computer programmers.

    When I was born in 1972 she had to give up work, returning to the workplace via a TOPS typing course to pay my school fees. She then discovered a great talent for finance while working as a book keeper/administrator at a small engineering company then moved into retirement housing, achieved an MBA (with no first degree) and retired as a Financial Controller!
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