Senior Wakefield councillors look set to invest £550,000 in the Council’s
flagship Step-Up employment programme, to help residents and employers to access job opportunities.
Members of the Cabinet will be asked to agree to the funding to support
the programme’s development and for support to be factored in to future
council budget plans, subject to annual reviews.
Wakefield Council’s Step-Up Programme supports residents and
employers to access job opportunities, qualifications, career progression
support and recruitment in one place.
The Step-Up team helps people to find work, improve their skills or make a
career change.
It also helps improve future job prospects and for employers to secure
the skilled workforce.
Cllr Darren Byford Cabinet Member for Economic Growth and Regeneration,
said: “Supporting people into employment has always been a
priority and this programme is making a critical contribution to our districtwide
recovery effort to the pandemic.”
Since January, the Step-Up programme has supported 663 residents.
The funding would enable the council to extend the programme to work with
more residents with jobs to support them to progress.
Step-Up’s community-based approach to employment and skills development
has been confirmed by independent researchers to be the most effective
way to support people into work.
