Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps he is taking to ensure that training programmes offered by his Department to people seeking work reflect the skills required by local economies.

Jobcentre Plus employer partnership leads work closely with local employers to understand labour market need and with local training providers to ensure provision is available to address skills gaps. This approach is exemplified in our successful Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAPs) which combines work experience, job specific training and a guaranteed interview to support claimants into local vacancies. The benefit of this integrated approach is clear, having achieved over 88,000 SWAPs starts this financial year.

Jobcentre Plus leads also engage with national employers to identify regional employment opportunities and will play a key role in the development and implementation of employer representative body led Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs). LSIPs will set out local priorities needed to ensure training is more responsive and aligned with the employer view of the skills most needed to support local economic growth and boost productivity and improve employability and progression for learners. LSIP guidance is available online