How do we create two million jobs?

How can we create two million new jobs across the United Kingdom?

As so often in life, the solutions are staring us in the face. But sometimes it takes a lot of looking to see them. And a lot of thinking to work out which solutions can be replicated two million times. With this task in mind, the Jobs Foundation embarked on our foundational research, just under a year ago.

This week, we are extremely proud to report the findings of that research. Two Million Jobs: How businesses play a crucial role in helping people from welfare into work is a report that showcases brilliant British businesses and explores the ecosystem they need around them to help society thrive.

These are companies that provide opportunities to people trapped in long-term economic inactivity or for whom there are few paths into work. We wanted to find out what it is that these businesses do so well that other businesses could also be doing. Whether it be in the provision of apprenticeships and training programmes, or in a change of approach to how they hire.

Two Million Jobs is a lighthouse beam for both policy makers and the many businesses who want to provide more opportunities. The prize is unlocking swathes of talent and boosting our nation’s economic fortunes.

So, what has the Jobs Foundation learnt from interviewing hundreds of business people up and down the country?

That elusive ‘first chance’ is everything

Fundamentally, we discovered the transformational value of giving people the chance to get their foot in the door of a company. Interestingly, this applies broadly to young people as much as it does specifically to people from deprived backgrounds. And I suppose that isn't so surprising when you look at the path into employment.

Knowing how to act during a formal job interview, for example, can be difficult for many people as they try to enter the workforce. For candidates who are more experienced and/or from a wealthier background, the interview process is second nature. Passing through selective schools and/or universities makes interviews a normal part of life from an early age. For others, it is an experience that is both completely alien and highly intimidating.

To tackle this issue, many of the employers we met with told us that they have opted to sidestep this part of the hiring process. Instead, they found new ways to assess a candidate’s suitability for a role. For example, by testing them in a work-related environment to see how they perform.

Personally, I hate the ‘CV culture’ we have created. Corralling insta-versions of people into neat little boxes that set out your relevant grades, skills and, the absolute worst, hobbies. People, like me, who have been lucky enough to be given opportunities and were taught how to handle an interview, have a distinct edge in this faux environment. Finding ways to flatten that playing field and breathe in better appreciation of character and work ethic is critical.

Getting to work

The necessity of connectivity was a consistent theme in our research findings. One significant factor to emerge was the need for transport links. It feels crazy to say this in 2024, but a lot of attention still needs to be given to local provisions for actually getting people to work.

I complain bitterly of being stuffed into someone's armpit on the overcrowded Northern Line every day. But, in reality, I know I am incredibly lucky to have good transport links. For a great many people, this is not the case.?Public transport is so bad in Hartlepool, for instance, that Hartlepool College of Further Education has resorted to running its own bus service for their students.

Connecting higher education to employers’ needs

We discovered that the connectivity between higher education institutions and local employers is a key element of any region’s prosperity. It’s also a vital pathway into work for people from lower socio-economic backgrounds. In particular, the value of apprenticeships was repeatedly stressed.

Pembrokeshire College is a great example of this connectivity succeeding. It has direct links with several large, local employers – such as Valero Energy Ltd (UK) , the oil and gas refinery – and designs its courses so that the students’ skills meet local needs. In return, Valero provides apprenticeships to the college’s students.

A particular benefit of apprenticeships is the strong bonds of loyalty they can foster between employee and employer. Many of Sheffield Precision Medical Limited 's staff joined the company in their teens as apprentices and are still with the firm in their 50s. In some cases, apprentices will be the first person in their immediate family to have a job for decades. When you give someone a chance to escape poverty, they don’t forget what you did for them.

Businesses generally agreed that apprenticeship schemes are best when the bureaucracy is kept to a minimum and the scheme in some way makes it easier to take on riskier hires. Being able to take risks and hire someone who has no employment track record or qualifications – but has a great attitude and clear potential – often leads to someone getting a job they might otherwise not have been offered.

Successful businesses are the foundation of a successful society

We must never forget that this stairway of opportunity is built on the grit and determination of the entrepreneurs who take the enormous risk of setting up a new business. Without them, you have very little in the way of an economy.

As we like to say at the Jobs Foundation: 'A successful society requires successful businesses.' And that is really at the crux of what it will take to move two million people from welfare into work. To create employment, we need to support businesses.

So, to our new Chancellor (forgive the riff on the famous WW2 poster): "Your Businesses Need You." Because without business, you leave people trapped. Cut off from opportunity and their own potential. And that is truly unforgivable.?