Questions to the Mayor of London – answered at on 17 September 2020.
Across the UK, almost 200,000 additional people aged over 50 were classified as economically inactive between March-May as compared to December-February. How are you supporting older Londoners who have lost their jobs as a result of Covid-19 to re-enter the workforce?
Supporting Londoners worst hit by the pandemic, including people aged over 50, into good jobs is a top priority for London’s recovery. I have introduced flexibility to allow Adult Education Budget (AEB) funded providers to spend more of their allocation on pre-employment support and job-focused training. This will allow providers to meet the specific needs of older Londoners to help them re-enter the workforce.
I have also introduced AEB flexibility to allow unemployed learners who have already achieved a first level 3 to take a subsequent level 3 qualification. This will enable many older Londoners to reskill and access employment opportunities. Through my European Social Fund ‘Sector Skills Programme’, I will be investing £6 million to enable unemployed Londoners to gain industry relevant skills and progress into employment.
I continue to lobby government to ensure London gets the funding it needs to help Londoners back into work, and that national employment programmes meet the needs of all groups, including older people.