Jobcentre Plus ‘needs urgent reform’

In order to react to labour market changes quickly, Jobcentre Plus offices in the UK need to be looked at, one group has urged, which could see recruitment strategies changing.

Steve Huxham, chairman of the Recruitment Society, said that perception may be causing a problem for job centres, explaining that those looking for graduate employment and middle-class, white collar jobs may not see the sites as the most appropriate.

“For a publicly-funded service, the aspiration of Jobcentre Plus has got to be that they are equally adept to deal with the graduate market as they are for the middle management market,” he added.

Mr Huxham went on to note that the model Jobcentre Plus offices are currently working to need to be seen as fast enough to work in the modern world.

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His comments come after the Federation of Small Businesses said urgent reform of job centres was needed, with 34 per cent of its members believing the service was currently ineffective or very ineffective.