‘Devastating impact’ of virus on region’s jobs market

Newly released figures show almost 2,000 businesses were dissolved in the Leeds City Region alone in March – a 62% rise compared to last year’s figures from the same month.

The West Yorkshire Combined Authority and the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership (LEP) have now announced a new “Matchmaking” employment hub, part of a growing list of measures to help the region’s Covid-19 economic recovery plan.

The Employment Hub launches has been designed for both employers and job seekers, with he aim to highlight where new opportunities are being created.

It is hoped the hub will help those seeking roles, and the employers who are adapting to new demands. It will include –

• Matchmaking: referring suitable candidates for new roles and ensuring available workforces are signposted to job opportunities in the hub database
• Redundancy support: businesses looking to make redundancies (particularly those with less than 20 redundancies who don’t qualify for DWP redundancy support) can refer staff to the Employment Hubs for job search support
• Accessibility and inclusive recruitment: as part of the current European Social Fund supported programmes, the scheme provides ongoing support to those furthest from the labour market to prepare them for employment opportunities post Covid-19
• For those seeking employment now, signposting to businesses advertising vacancies or matching and signposting individuals to new job opportunities

Councillor Susan Hinchcliffe, chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority and Leader of Bradford Council, commented: “In such a short time, Covid-19 has had a fast, but destructive, impact on the futures of businesses and their employees, creating an incredibly anxious time for individuals and an uncertain economic outlook for our region.

“But there are also new opportunities and gaps in the resourcing our workforce needs now to get through the crisis and plan for recovery.

“This extraordinary situation is difficult for everyone, so the Employment Hub (which we already operate successfully with all five West Yorkshire Local Authorities) has been adapted to cope with this new situation.

“The hub will fulfil a need for the thousands of West Yorkshire job seekers to successfully access great opportunities, and should be a destination for the region’s employers who need to find good people who, through no fault of their own, are now available on the market.”