Grants to help jobseekers back into work

EAST Riding Council has backed government plans to get young local jobseekers into work as its cabinet heard updates on a raft of measures to support employment through coronavirus.

East Riding Council’s cabinet heard government grants worth £93,462 would help job centres get 18 to 24-year-olds into work through its No Limits employment programme.

The scheme is set to target the 1,807 Universal Credit recipients currently seeking work in the East Riding by helping them with job applications, developing skills and improving motivation.

Cabinet members heard from the council’s Economic Regeneration lead Alan Menzies that 94 small to medium-sized businesses had approached officials interested in creating apprenticeships.

Mr Menzies added government grants were being offered directly to businesses to take on apprentices under Chancellor

Rishi Sunak’s A Plan for Jobs scheme unveiled in his Summer Economic Update.

The measures come as the council also received £50,000 from a £750,000 government grant for the Goole Town Deal to offer rented mopeds to young workers there.

The council’s Kickstart scheme leases mopeds to young people for a year at £16 a week to help them get to jobs unreachable on foot or by public transport.

Mr Menzies said the council had access to £1.2m from the Apprenticeship Levy fund to create posts internally and in local authority run schools.

The officer said the council was looking at transferring up to 25 per cent of surplus funding from the Levy to the Humber Coast and Vale Excellence Centre to support new health and social care roles.

The total includes £1.2m in government top-up funding and helps to fund staff training as well as taking on new apprentices.