Unemployment is rising steeply in London with 1.1m jobs at risk. London had 1.07 million furloughed employees and 433,000 on the self-employed equivalent, the highest number amongst all regions in the UK. Some groups of people are especially vulnerable, including young people, BAME, clinically vulnerable, women and the low paid and low skilled. For these groups, the risk is that prolonged unemployment could lead to long term implications for their future earnings, employment prospects, and health and wellbeing. Structural challenges in society predating the COVID-19 crisis remain and need to be addressed, including income inequality. For example, once housing costs have been accounted for, London’s income inequality is almost twice that of the rest of the UK.

Mission: “No Londoner, particularly those disproportionately affected by the pandemic or Brexit, is left without access to education, training or a job opportunity.”

We’ll need to work together so that:
• Short term – all Londoners can access the support they need to gain good jobs
• Medium-term – rising levels of unemployment are reversed over the next two years
• Long term – more working families are lifted out of poverty; the employment gap for vulnerable groups of people is reduced; and there are sufficient childcare places to support women in work

Areas of focus might include:
• Skills and training to support Londoners into new jobs, such as industry training and lifelong learning opportunities
• High-quality advice and support to get Londoners into work, such as support for newly unemployed adults
• Supporting living wage jobs and progression in employment Core Questions
• What do you think of this mission?
• Is there anything critical to London’s recovery missing from this mission?
• What does this mean for you personally and for your community?
• What actions or interventions would have the most impact?
• How will we know that we’ve succeeded?
• Who has a role to play to meet this challenge?

Moderation points:

1. What can City Hall, employers or other organisations and communities do to help people back into work? For example:
   • Offer more apprenticeships, improve career offer
   • Increase joint working between JobCentre Plus and local services
   • Broaden the Adult Education Budget to widen access and eligibility, offer pre-employment training, support lifelong learning etc
   • Actions to reduce the employment gap for vulnerable groups including
   women, BAME, disabled people.

Our Response:

The mission statement raised the following points and questions to which our responses are below in italics :

Mission: “No Londoner, particularly those disproportionately affected by the pandemic or Brexit, is left without access to education, training or a job opportunity.”

This requires an acceptance of the fact that older people in London are already at a disadvantage – as over 50s make up a disproportionate number of the long term unemployed ( DWP) and that statistics drawn from Age UK plus previous Wise Owls, Wise Age and  Third Age Employment Network research all indicate that it is increasingly difficult for older working people once out of work to find another full time job – and this increases with each year over 50 ( Age UK less than 10% of men over 55 get another full time job once unemployed) .

It should also be noted that older people, like younger under 25s  have been impacted more than those in the main age working group ( 25-49) by COVID related redundancies and the loss of income by the self employed, and that as the support schemes are wound down that is likely to become worse.

Therefore it is to be hoped that there will be special consideration given , along with youth for support for over 50s. This 50+ support  should be  in terms of A) training in work to ensure they remain competitive, training for unemployed over 50s that is tailored to their needs. The case needs to be made to both the DWP for sufficient resources to be allocated to such specialist training which Wise Age among others have shown to be effective in getting 50% of unemployed over 50s back into employment or self employment and also to employers who have historically provided 50% less training to their over 50s staff than to younger staff.

This also requires apprenticeship schemes to be continued to be available for adults aged 50+ , something which has also provided to be beneficial to both older working age people and also employers such as local council and NHS apprenticeship providers in the past. As there are  a high proportion of over 50s working in the NHS, in social care and in local authorities this would be of benefit to all concerned

We’ll need to work together so that: • Short term – all Londoners can access the support they need to gain good jobs • Medium term – rising levels of unemployment are reversed over the next two years • 

The above responses  should help address these 2 goals. In addition to achieve these goals it should be remembered that the silver economy or grey pound is key to restarting the economy and so older people’s concerns over their safety need to be addressed both in office, school and other enclosed work spaces and in public transport to get them to work . Older consumers often prefer to have the option of being helped by senior staff which is another reason that older workers and age diversity should be encouraged to be taken up by employers. 

Long term – more working families are lifted out of poverty; the employment gap for vulnerable groups of people is reduced; and there are sufficient childcare places to support women in work.

In the long term there needs to be greater engagement with employers from all sectors and sizes and their networks to promote the proven benefits in increased productivity, profitability and reduced staff turn over to employers practising age diversity ( see McDonalds example). In particular the ageism which is prevalent in many recruitment agencies  – which is regularly feed back to Wise Age and at PAIL meeting plus older peoples organisations who deal with the unemployed – needs to be addressed through education and information campaigns aimed at the predominantly young staff in the employment and recruitment sector which emphasise the benefits older workers and age diversity brings. It should also be noted that research post 2008 shows that employers retaining and employing seniors suitably trained helps increase the productivity and therefore recruitment of younger workers. Trade Unions need to be actively engaged in this work

 Areas of focus might include: • Skills and training to support Londoners into new jobs, such as industry training and lifelong learning opportunities 

See above, ensuring equal opportunities focusing on young and old  

• High quality advice and support to get Londoners into work, such as support for newly unemployed adults. This requires more local authority and GLA support programmes and apprenticeship schemes and more emphasis on tailored local support provision via the DWP aimed at  younger and over 50s clients

• Supporting living wage jobs and progression in employment Core Questions 

• What do you think of this mission?

There is currently a lack of focus on the needs for an age diverse workforce and the requirements of an equal opportunity approach towards training and apprenticeships 

 • Is there anything critical to London’s recovery missing from this mission?                 

Yes more promotion of the benefits of age diversity to employers in all sectors. More tailored support at local level and for particular sectors – including the charity and voluntary sectors There needs to be a greater focus on inter- sectionality  which understands that for those already disadvantaged by gender and /  or ethnicity face even greater exclusion after 50 and it gets worse with each year of age 

 • What does this mean for you personally and for your community?

It means that older people especially those who are from BAME backgrounds and for those with health and disability issues are likely to be left behind in the recovery unless their needs are also understood and integrated into the solution. It should be remembered that where the older head of the household is unemployed it impacts on younger family members who are also likely to become or stay unemployed and lead to increased poverty and depression

 • What actions or interventions would have the most impact? 

Providing equal access to training and support for unemployed , workless plus those at work who are under 25 and those who are over 50 .

Promoting the benefits to employers of age diversity including increased productivity, profitability and staff morale 

Supporting older people to become mentors and enablers of younger people within the workplace.

Support for business start ups and self employment advice and support , with access to funding for entrepeneurs of all ages. Drawing on older peoples  business expertise to help others set up or re-start sustainable businesses 

• How will we know that we’ve succeeded? 

When there is greater provision of training and apprenticeships for under 25s and over 50s. When the levels of employment rise for youth and older workers

When more people of all ages are able to return or set up as self employed or better still small business owners• 

Who has a role to play to meet this challenge? 

The LRB/ GLA /London Councils, London boroughs, apprenticeship schemes ( including the NHS), voluntary, charitable organisations representing and helping younger, older and other disadvantaged groups locallt, employers from all sectors and their ntwroks, trade unions 

Moderation points: 1. What can City Hall, employers or other organisations and communities do to help people back into work? For example: • Offer more apprenticeships,  YES- for young and old

improve career offer 

• Increase joint working between Job Centre Plus and local services  YES with funding for training, work schemes and apprenticeships and geared to local needs and aimed at older and younger workers and those facing disadvantages due to ethnicity . and or ethnicity and or health conditions / disabilities

• Broaden the Adult Education Budget to widen access and eligibility, offer pre-employment training, support lifelong learning etc 

Yes plus in work training and paid work schemes for all ages 

• Actions to reduce the employment gap for vulnerable groups including women, BAME, disabled people.

YES AND FOR OLDER PEOPLE – WHERE INTERSECTIONALITY MEANS THAT  AGE INCREASES EXCLUSION FROM EMPLOYMENT as  older women, BAME communities and those with disabilities face even greater exclusion