A Government minister visited Wigan’s job centre to learn about the borough’s labour market.

Employment minister Alison McGovern, along with Peter Cheese, chief executive officer of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, went on a tour of Wigan Jobcentre and held forums with employer advisors and work coaches.

A roundtable was held to promote the Jobcentre as the recruiter of choice, which involved staff as well as local employers including Kraft Heinz, M&S, Wigan Council, Wigan and Leigh College and Calisen.

Wigan’s work coaches have recently seen more than 260 people in the 50+ age group returning to work, resulting in a 13 per cent fall in unemployment compared to last year.

Employment minister Alison McGovern, second from left, takes part in the roundtable at Wigan Jobcentre

placeholder image — Employment minister Alison McGovern, second from left, takes part in the roundtable at Wigan Jobcentre

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The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is calling on employers across Wigan to take advantage of a wide range of recruitment support available through job centres.

They can hold recruitment events tailored to individual employers, job fairs for several businesses and work academies with guaranteed job interviews and boot camps to help prepare candidates.

For job seekers, the DWP is offering opportunities to build life-long skills through pre-employment training and voluntary work experience.

A roundtable discussion was held at Wigan Jobcentre with employment minister Alison McGovern

During August, a security sector-based work academy programme (SWAP) is being held with Capricorn Security due to high demand in the area.

A previous SWAP had a focus on supporting women into security and resulted in 30 per cent female attendance.

This was partly due to under-representation within the sector, as well as Edge Hall Road Community Stadium in Orrell becoming home to Wigan Athletic and Wigan Warriors’ women’s teams.

Steward roles are available for the three stadiums in Wigan and Leigh and any job seekers who are interested should contact a work coach for further information.

For anyone interested in working at sea, a SWAP has been arranged with Stena Line Ferries, while there is also a SWAP for roles in the care sector due to the number of health and social care vacancies in the area.

New data from the ONS shows 3.681m people in the North West are employed – down 13,000 on the quarter but up 64,000 on the year.

The employment rate is at 73.3 per cent – down 0.7 percentage points on the quarter and up 0.3 percentage points on the year.

There are 190,000 unemployed people – up 33,000 on the quarter and up 27,000 on the year. The unemployment rate is 4.9 per cent, which is up 0.8 percentage points on the quarter and up 0.6 percentage points on the year.

Ms McGovern said: "Today’s figures show real progress with economic inactivity down, and 384,000 jobs added to the economy since last summer, putting more money in people’s pockets.

“We are determined to see unemployment fall, that’s why we’re focused on getting people into good jobs by joining up work, health and skills support and transforming job centres to focus on genuine support not ticking boxes.

“As we grow the economy and transform opportunity in every area with our Plan for Change, we will ensure no one will be left on the scrapheap.”