Challenge Host
Relevant Sectors
The recruitment industry, Government, learning and development, recruiting businesses cross-sector.
What are you looking to achieve?
There is growing evidence to suggest that some groups’ employment will be more impacted than others as a result of COVID-19. For those who are made redundant, there may be significant numbers who cannot find a new job because either they may not know where to go next or they may not yet have all the required skills for a new career.
We know there are a number of readily available data points that, if tied together, could provide real insight into the industry, sectors and jobs that are available, shed light on the skills needed to do that job, and help people to articulate their skills in that context.
What will be the Value and Impact?
This challenge assesses ways to support people who are most impacted by COVID-19 – low-paid workers, particularly in the category of young, women, BAME and disabled workers – and need to re-train or upskill in order to find a new job. It uses real-time data that is tangible and effective in the process supporting retraining and looking for an alternative role.
According to the latest estimates from the Office for Budget Responsibility, a worst-case scenario could amount to a peak unemployment rate of 13.2%, which would equate to 4 million people out of work and increased government spending as new programmes will need to be put into place to support those out of work.
By understanding a person’s current skills, how these could transfer cross-industry, understanding skills gaps, there is an opportunity to focus on the interventions needed in order to close those gaps, what existing resources are available or where gaps remain.
