Senior government officials spoke to Lambeth jobseekers during a visit to Central London’s largest Restart Scheme centre on Thursday 8th December. Peter Schofield, Permanent Secretary for the Department for Work and Pensions, attended the Ingeus offices on Clapham Road to see the comprehensive employability support provided to out of work London residents.
The Government’s Restart Scheme provides Universal Credit claimants who have been out of work for at least nine months enhanced support to find jobs in their local area. In partnership with Jobcentre Plus and local employers, the Restart Scheme provides a full year of free guidance including building confidence and skills; addressing financial, housing and wellbeing issues; and practical job search advice.
The Permanent Secretary met local residents at the Ingeus base and discussed their experiences alongside Preeta Ramachandran, DWP Area Director; and Liz Maifredi, Partnership Manager.
Permanent Secretary, Peter Schofield, who joined Ingeus participants for a ‘Sip and Search’ – a friendly job search group, said:
“My department is focused on supporting people into quality, sustained employment. The Restart Scheme provides tailored support to jobseekers experiencing different barriers to finding work and it has been great to see the scheme in action and meet some of the jobseekers here at Ingeus in Lambeth.”
The guests toured the centre, heard from London Learning Consortium providers about sector-based work academies, British Transport Police about vacancies, and observed CV and interview skills workshops.
In Central and West London, Ingeus delivers the Restart Scheme on behalf of the DWP with partners Seetec Pluss, Get Set UK, Twin and Groundwork. Almost 7,000 Ingeus participants registered across its London sites in the past year declared a disability and more than 12,000 classed English as their second language.
“The Restart Scheme was designed to give personalised support to anyone in the local area trying to move toward a working life,” says Emma Warren, Ingeus Regional Director.
“Some became unexpectedly unemployed due to the pandemic, others face health, skills, or social barriers – breaking down these obstacles is an important part of our work. Our teams and partners have the specialist knowledge to do that and I am proud to have been able to give our commissioners a taste some of our training workshops and skills opportunities, and introduce them to our partners, local employers and wonderful participants.”
