Colleges to boost training of unemployed

15:15 13th May 2009

Unemployed workers across the country are to get training from local colleges to help them back into work, it has been revealed.

The government has announced £83 million of funding that is designed to provide courses for people who have been out of work for six months or more during the current recession, in an effort to provide people with the necessary skills sets to return to employment.

The money could help thousands of people in the country who have been made redundant during the economic downturn to receive IT training and other courses to help them get back into work.

"We will not stand by and leave people abandoned on the dole with no support," said skills minister John Denham, announcing the new funding.

He added: "Our primary aim is to keep the time people spend out of work to a minimum while making the return to work a stepping stone to a more skilled future."

The minister also explained people who have a high standard of skills find it easier to obtain a job once they have been made redundant, meaning the need to provide IT training and other forms of training to people is vital to help tackle the recession.

Earlier this week, the UK Commission for Employment and Skills warned that the UK needs to invest heavily in its skills training if the country is to avoid sliding down the rankings of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.