RECRUITMENT SUPPORT
I also know the industry is facing a critical skills shortage. That’s where our Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) come in. SWAPs offer pre-employment training, work experience, and a guaranteed job interview – tailored to the role and your needs. It’s a practical way for businesses to trial candidates and fill skills gaps. We’re making a record-breaking 100,000 SWAP placements available in 2025/26. SWAPs and our talented work coaches show what’s already working. But we know there’s more to do. Current data shows 79 per cent of employers haven’t contacted or received information from DWP in the past year. That’s not good enough – and we’re determined to change it. Job-ready candidates We’ve already taken action. We’re giving businesses a single point of contact in jobcentres and have created a dedicated team focused on employer needs. This team supports tailored recruitment campaigns and helps deliver training in high-growth sectors – ensuring candidates are job-ready. But this is just the beginning of a broader transformation. As set out in our Get Britain Working White Paper , we are creating a new jobs and careers service – one that’s locally tailored and designed with employers. We want a system where all businesses, large and small, choose to engage with Jobcentre Plus because it delivers what they need. To build this better service, we’ll be undertaking a structured engagement programme with employers this year. If you’d like to work with us – whether that’s setting up a SWAP or receiving recruitment support – please contact the Employer Services Line. I want jobcentres to be where people access the best jobs, and construction offers just that. I want jobcentres to be the recruiter of choice for industry. That’s why we’re delivering reform now to support
BUILD BRITAIN BETTER Alison McGovern MP, Minister of State for Employment, shares exclusive insight with the FMB on how the government is reshaping Jobcentre Plus to support construction bosses
I t’s clear that to get Britain growing again, we must get Britain building again. That’s why we’ve committed to delivering one and a half million homes in England by the end of this parliament and announced £39 billion for affordable social housing in the recent Spending Review. But building more homes means backing the construction industry with the workforce it needs. That’s why we’re investing £625 million to train 60,000 new construction workers by 2029. And at the Department for Work and Pensions, we’re clear: Jobcentre Plus will be at the heart of delivering this ambition. We’ve signed a refreshed partnership agreement with the Construction Industry
Training Board (CITB) that empowers jobcentres to work more closely with the construction sector, offering work experience and tailored placements that meet both employer and jobseeker needs. I want to talk directly to you, construction employers, about how your local jobcentre can help your business. Across the country, our 600+ jobcentres and thousands of skilled work coaches are ready to provide free recruitment support to help with: ● sifting candidates; ● delivering pre-employment training; ● promoting vacancies to active jobseekers; and ● hosting interviews and recruitment events at jobcentres.
you with the talent you need to fill roles, grow, and build. This article has been edited for length. Scan the QR code to read the full text.
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Master Builder
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