From today businesses will be able to take advantage of up to £2500 recruitment and 'on the job' training subsidies, as an incentive to take on people who've been looking for work for six months or more. The subsidy is worth £1000 and the company can, depending on location, access up to £1500 worth of in-work training.
The recruitment and training subsidy, or 'golden hello', is part of a package of measures announced by the Prime Minister in January, designed to give even more support to people who've been claiming Jobseeker's Allowance for six months.
The other elements of the package include more support for people who want to set up their own business; access to 75,000 new work-focused training opportunities; and the opportunity to do work-focused volunteering.
James Purnell, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, said:
"The impact of the global recession is being felt here at home, and finding a job is not easy. We are investing £2bn to help people get back into work as quickly as possible.
"Today businesses can take advantage of the new recruitment subsidy, where we will provide up to £2500 as an incentive to take on someone who has been claiming unemployment benefit for six months. This includes a subsidy of £1000 and depending on their location they will also have the opportunity to access up to £1500's worth of in-work training to give that person the right skills for the job.
"This is just part of a range of measures coming in today to give people all the support we can - from CV writing and job searching to skills checks and training opportunities - to make sure that where it happens unemployment is short and people can quickly find their way back to supporting themselves and their families."
John Denham, Secretary of State for Skills, said:
"It's very important that people struggling the most to find work will get extra support to improve their skills to help them gain employment.
"We know that people whose skills are up to date are more likely to find a good job, and that employers with well trained staff do better than those that don't invest in the skills of their workforce.
"That's why we are doing everything we can to boost training opportunities to help people through this tough time and help prepare for the upturn when it comes."
As well as the enhanced offer for jobseekers reaching the six month point, more help available from day one of unemployment also comes on stream today. It includes greater support for job searching, CV writing, help with skills, interview preparation and access to more Local Employment Partnership vacancies.
