§ Tony CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how long an individual must be unemployed before becoming eligible for training courses offered by his Department and its agencies. [147513]
§ Mr. BrowneTraining for unemployed people is available through a range of Jobcentre Plus programmes including Work Based Learning for Adults (WBLA), the New Deals, Employment Zones, Action Teams and our Ambition programmes. The provision of our training courses is targeted at those who will benefit the most from them.
Eligibility for these programmes, and specifically the period of time people are required to be unemployed before becoming eligible, depends on the particular circumstances of each individual customer. People known to face particular disadvantage in the labour market may be exempt from an unemployment qualifying period, and can join Jobcentre Plus programmes from day one of their unemployment. These can include: disabled people, lone parents and people with basic skills needs.