One North East, Jobcentre Plus, the Learning and Skills Council, Business Link, Government Office and ANEC have come together to establish the Skills and Employment Response Group (SERG). SERG is leading a joint response to redundancies and unemployment during the recession – mapping out the help that is available to both businesses and individuals, identifying where the gaps in provision are and aligning resources to meet these.
The response to the economic downturn covers four themes:
Resilience: To help the region’s employers to retain as much of their current workforce as possible during the economic downturn through measures to cope with the new economic environment.
Redundancy / Redeployment: To minimise the number of people who become unemployed, if or when redundancies become necessary. Or to put it another way – to move as many people as possible ‘from a job, to a job’.
Recruitment / retention: To ensure that entry or re-entry to the world of work is as swift and effective as possible for individuals who are unemployed (whether as a result of the current economic downturn or on a longer term basis) and that they are helped to stay in work and move up the career ladder.
Readiness for the upturn: To look beyond the current downturn and maximise the region’s readiness to emerge in a strong position for the economic upturn.
In order to ensure that businesses and people know where to go for help, SERG has publicised three key contact numbers through the ‘Real Help for Business and People Now’ campaign. The numbers are:
• For business advice and support: 0845 600 9 006. www.businesslink.gov.uk/northeast
• For help for individuals in getting back to work: 0845 606 0234. www.direct.gov.uk
• For help for individuals in changing jobs and updating skills: 0800 027 7944. www.nextstepnortheast.org.uk
A campaign website is being developed to assist with communications - www.realhelpnortheast.co.uk
One North East has worked with the funding partners within SERG to develop a database bringing together funded activity in the Skills and Employment agendas in an accessible format. SERG members can access this area by clicking on the following link www.serg-realhelpnortheast.co.uk
SERG reports to the Board of Skills North East, the Regional Employment and Skills Partnership, and to the North East Public Sector Economy Forum which comprises the Heads of all key public sector agencies in the region including Government Office North East, One North East, the LSC, Jobcentre Plus, Homes and Communities Agency, Strategic Health Authority, Department of Transport, and the Association of North East Councils (ANEC).
For more about the work of SERG, click here.
Real Help for Business & People Now [pdf]
(339 KB)
SERG Statement of Activities and Priority Actions [pdf]
(139 KB)