Extract from Lords repeat of a Commons Urgent Question on Arcadia and Debenhams: Business Support and Job Retention - Dec 3
Friday, 4 December 2020 08:04
Baroness Prosser (Lab): The Minister will be aware that the vast
majority of jobs that will be lost due to the collapse of Arcadia
and Debenhams this week are held by women. That is mostly because
jobs in retail can often be offered with part-time hours and a deal
of flexibility. What plans does the Minister have to initiate
programmes to get those women back into jobs—for example, working
with employers to identify a greater selection of part-time
employment and perhaps dedicated training...Request free trial
(Lab): The Minister will be aware that the vast
majority of jobs that will be lost due to the collapse of Arcadia
and Debenhams this week are held by women. That is mostly because
jobs in retail can often be offered with part-time hours and a deal
of flexibility. What plans does the Minister have to initiate
programmes to get those women back into jobs—for example, working
with employers to identify a greater selection of part-time
employment and perhaps dedicated training programmes to enable
women to reskill or upskill?
(Con): The noble Baroness is quite right to focus on
the proportion of women who are employed in retail specifically. We
are doing all we can for all affected employees and have doubled
the number of front-line work coaches across the network of
jobcentres, who will help with preparation of CVs and interview
practice. Our plan for jobs also includes a series of measures to
protect, support and create jobs. We are also helping those who
have lost jobs in the pandemic back into employment through our
£238 million JETS programme. I will write to the
noble Baroness on the specifics of women employees and the projects
we have to support them, having done some research...
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