Long-term unemployed will be offered training

Britons who have found themselves out of work for more than six months will be required to receive mandatory training or a work placement if they wish to continue receiving benefits from next year, it has been revealed.

As part of the Flexible New Deal – part of the government’s welfare reform strategy – secretary of state for work and pensions Yvette Cooper has claimed that the move will help people get back to work.

New specialist companies will offer tailored advice to Britons who have been unemployed for a year, with revenue being asserted on the number of people the companies help find a sustainable job.

And Britons who have not secured themselves their own work experience will be asked to attend a work trial or placement.

"Everyone has to do their bit to find work or take up the new help that’s on offer. Otherwise it’s not fair on everyone else who’s trying desperately hard to find a job and support their families," said Ms Cooper.

Recent research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has revealed that one in ten men are predicted to be out of work by the start of 2010.