Employability Day, 30 April 2021, is the UK’s largest celebration for organisations supporting often disadvantaged people to gain, sustain and progress in work. Led by the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA), it’s an annual opportunity for the employability sector to celebrate all that it accomplishes and wants to achieve for jobseekers in the UK. In these unprecedented times, as the sector’s work proves to become more crucial than ever, ERSA is leading the call for people of all professional and personal backgrounds to consider a career in employability.

With recent Government contract announcements of the new Restart employability programme, the sector is at its busiest in terms of levels of financial support and expansion. Over a course of three years, the Restart funding package of £2.9b will help over 1 million unemployed people find work in England and Wales as the employability sector manages and proactively changes the challenge of unemployment during and following Covid-19.

With all hands on deck for the next few years, the industry itself must upscale at pace and fill a diverse range of positions, across all levels of skills and expertise. In a nutshell, the sector itself, who are themselves employers, is short staffed and requires jobs to be filled as a matter of urgency.

Minister for Employment Mims Davies MP said:

“As we progress along the roadmap to recovery and key sectors of the economy reopen, the employability sector is playing a vital role in matching those looking for work with the increasing number of vacancies out there and helping people to progress.

“This Employability Day, I’d encourage everyone to explore the plethora of opportunities available in the sector itself, and help us level up opportunity across the country as we push to build back better.”

Elizabeth Taylor, CEO of ERSA, the membership body for the employment support sector, says:

“Our sector has a breadth of roles to be filled, from frontline advisers, trainers, and youth workers to wellbeing professionals, admin and IT staff. The sector offers fulfilling roles, professional career development and accreditations. All wrapped up in a buoyant, growing and innovative industry, working with like-minded people to help those that need it most.

“Employability is a hidden industry – an area you might know little about unless you’ve had first-hand experience of unemployment – but it’s a sector that embraces the skills and lived-experiences that workers can bring from other areas.”

Jayne Garner, now Head of Delivery for major employability provider Ingeus, is a case in point. 20 years ago, Jayne worked in the heady, high flying world of recruitment, but became disillusioned, knowing her skills could be put to better use. She became a frontline advisor, working with long term unemployed people, and hasn’t looked back. She is now an award winning driving force in enhancing the long term life chances of people to find and sustain employment, managing a team of 120 colleagues to do just the same.

Jayne adds: “I didn’t appreciate the opportunities that were open to me within the employability sector, but when I did, I made the decision to take the plunge and not regret something I hadn’t done. It was the best decision I ever made, and today I embrace the challenges that each day brings me. At the end of every day, I know my efforts have made that difference and that my day-to-day is worthwhile.”

Interested in the opportunities the employability industry offers? The ERSA website lists ERSA members’ vacancies for the new DWP Restart Programme: https://ersa.org.uk/restartjobs

or search online for employability jobs:  

https://findajob.dwp.gov.uk/search?q=employability+&w=

https://jobs.theguardian.com/landingpage/2868250/jobs-employability-html/

https://uk.indeed.com/Employability-jobs

https://www.totaljobs.com/jobs/employability

https://www.red5people.co.uk/job-category/employment-support/

https://www.thelevycompany.co.uk/employability

https://www.alderwoodrecruitment.com/employability-welfare-work-jobs

https://www.myiep.uk/page/IEPTalentAcademy

Employers with live vacancies (including employability organisations themselves) are invited to contact the prime provider partnership for free recruitment and employability services: https://www.dwppartners.co.uk/get-in-touch/

ENDS

Picture caption:

Elizabeth Taylor, CEO of trade body ERSA calls on jobseekers and career switchers to support the unprecedented boost in demand for employability services.

For further media information please contact:

Helen Wardle, Fivefold Ltd: 07757 355339 helen@fivefold.ltd

Notes to Editors:

About ERSA

The Employment Related Services Association (ERSA) is the representative body for the employment support sector.

ERSA’s membership spans the private, voluntary, and public sectors and ranges from large multi-nationals through to small specialist charities.

www.dev.ersa.org.uk