• Following the Chancellor’s growth speech yesterday, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall visited fast growing UK retailer B&M – who successfully filled almost 3,000 vacancies using local jobcentres in 2024. 
• The Work and Pensions Secretary has today set out overhaul the DWP’s approach to supporting employers to Get Britain Working again as part of Plan for Change.
• Comes as just one in six businesses has ever used a Jobcentre to recruit with the latest data showing tens of thousands of vacancies in key sectors. 
• New DWP team have built partnerships with 37 new industry leaders in just a few week as department transforms Jobcentres.

It comes as the Work & Pensions Secretary visits B&M – a retailer that has had huge success using the Jobcentre network. As a fast growing UK retailer, B&M has filled almost 3,000 vacancies through the jobcentre network, with over 85% of new recruits coming directly through the DWP – benefiting jobseekers and the businesses’ growth. 

The DWP has hit the ground running to reset engagement with employers through new teams to support employers, with dedicated account managers and a focus on growing the number of Jobcentre training programmes tailored to employer’s needs.

As B&M has opened new stores across the country, it has teamed up with the local DWP team to run information sessions – offering interested candidates a guaranteed interview. 

Over 73,000 jobs have been added to the labour market since the start of this Parliament according to the ONS, with new announcements in the Chancellor’s speech yesterday expected to add thousands more roles to the UK jobs market – including over 100,000 jobs in the local area around Heathrow. 

However, new figures show only 1 in 6 employers surveyed reported using the JobCentre Plus network to hire for their business – highlighting the need for genuine reform. 

That’s why as part of the Get Britain Working plan, the government will reform jobcentres by bringing it together with the National Careers Service to ensure people have better access to training and address local skills gaps and help train the workforce businesses need.

The reforms to get Britain working and modernise the employment support offer are just one part of the Government’s Plan for Change, which will lay strong foundations to kickstart economic growth and break down barriers to opportunity across the country. 

Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall said: 

To get Britain growing again, we need to get Britain working again.  

As the HR department for the Government’s growth mission, our job is to work with businesses to meet their recruitment needs.

To help employers grow, hire new staff, and boost opportunity in every corner of the country, we are determined to change our approach

As part of reforming Jobcentres we will overhaul our service to better meet employer’s needs – turning the DWP into a genuine public employment service. So businesses can fill jobs and people can build a better life for themselves and their families.

A B&M spokesperson said:

There is a wealth of talent and experience in Jobcentres across the UK. We encourage other businesses to get in touch with their local Jobcentre and discover the talent that’s available in their community.

The new dedicated team set up to support businesses of all sizes across the country with their recruitment needs has already added 37 new employers to the department’s roster in recent weeks, with notable names including Home Bargains, KFC and Swissport. 

In a letter to CEOs from 10 of the UK’s top businesses, DWP ministers said that at a time when recruitment can be a major cost, the DWP “provides a service to help businesses grow and support people into work.

To help other businesses replicate B&M’s success, the department is transforming its service for employers by:

1. Hosting summits with employers and stakeholder representatives across sectors crucial to growth – including construction, social care and clean energy in the next three months. 
2. Boosting the number of training programmes in these sectors on offer at Jobcentres to upskill jobseekers and provide employers with the work ready staff they need.   
3. Serving employers through a dedicated team with highly experienced experts to provide recruitment support, including designing tailored campaigns to tackle large numbers of vacancies. 
4. Providing an account manager for employers to get more information about how the JCP can help them and provide recruitment support – following feedback from businesses that they wanted an establish a single contact. 
5. Commissioning Sir Charlie Mayfield to lead an independent review into the role of employers in reducing health-related inactivity and promoting healthy and inclusive workplaces – which is already underway.