Secretary of State’s Peterborough visit sees ‘trailblazer’ funding announced to help transform young lives

‘Trailblazer’ funding has been announced to help more young people in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to ‘earn or learn’. 

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Liz Kendall was at Peterborough College yesterday, joined by Mayor Dr Nik Johnson, where she unveiled a national package of reforms to help more people out of economic inactivity and into employment. 

She launched the Get Britain Working White Paper, backed with £240 million of Government funding, aiming to tackle near-record levels of people out of work due to long term sickness, as well supporting the approximately one in eight young people not in education, employment or training. 

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough was named as one of only eight areas in England getting trailblazer funding to help match young people at risk of falling out of education or employment with opportunities to gain skills, training, and work experience.  

Partnership working with Mayors and local leaders is central to the Get Britain Working initiative. It will support the Combined Authority to build on its existing work to break down barriers to employment, education and training which young people face.  

Work already being done includes: 

– Opening up routes to apprenticeships, internships, further education, and workplace skills. 

– Helping shape and inspire better work futures through the Careers Hub. 

– Addressing a higher education ‘cold spot’ with the establishment of ARU Peterborough. 

– Working with employers to help secure and skill-up talent they need to grow. 

– Working with training providers and further education colleges, including providing funding, to enable new provision to help more young people gain in-demand skills. 

The White Paper includes a new ‘Youth Guarantee’ where every 18-21-year-old in England will have access to an apprenticeship, quality training and education opportunities or help to find a job. 

Dr Nik Johnson, Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, said: 

“The ‘Get Britain Working’ package will be transformational in helping break down the barriers to good quality employment. As a trailblazer we’ll be able to build on our experience and help even more young people get on in life. Through local knowledge and partnerships we can deliver real opportunities that change lives, providing access to invaluable education, training, and work, and the independence, purpose, and sense of achievement that come with it.” 

The Combined Authority is also the accountable body for the new ‘Connect to Work’ supported employment program, and part of Get Britain Working. Working in partnership with Cambridgeshire County Council, Peterborough City Council, and other constituent authorities, the Combined Authority will lead its development and delivery.  

Connect to Work is a voluntary program for economically inactive adults, such as those with a disability and/or health conditions, and those with complex barriers to work. The Combined Authority will lead a systems approach across employment and skills services, primary and secondary health care, the voluntary and community sector, and in partnership with local employers and the Department for Work and Pensions, to build a coherent support program for over 1,000 adults motivated to work. 

The Combined Authority will link these crucial employment and skills programs to the Local Growth Plan (to be published in the Spring) and the new Work, Health, and Skills Plan. The focus will be on the continued development of a lifelong learning culture, where personal and professional development delivers benefits for our people, our economy, and our communities.