§ John RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will make a statement on the work of the Jobs Transition Service. [89050]
§ Mr. Nicholas BrownWe have introduced the Rapid Response Service, formerly known as the Job Transition Service, to provide support for people affected by redundancies and help them make the transition into sustainable new jobs. The nature of the help provided by the service is tailored to the needs of the individuals, the employer and the local labour market. This can include offering information, advice and guidance to those affected, help with jobsearch, facilitating retraining where necessary or developing customised retraining programmes. People affected by redundancy can also have early access to Jobcentre Plus programmes such as the New Deals and Work Based Learning for Adults.
In Scotland the Rapid Response Service builds on and complements the work already undertaken by the Scottish Executive's Partnership Action for Continued Employment (PACE) initiative. Training provision for individuals involved in a large scale redundancy in Scotland is normally met by PACE partnerships or Training for Work (TfW). However, the Rapid Response Service can provide specific, job-focused training in cases where TfW or PACE partnership support is not appropriate. The Rapid Response Service also provides its full range of non-training services in cases of major redundancies in Scotland.
By December 2002, the Rapid Response Service nationally had provided support to over 200 companies and made its services available to over 67,000 people facing redundancy.