Keynote addresses from Mims Davies MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Employment and Kate Green OBE MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Education.

The coronavirus pandemic has triggered the sharpest fall in economic output since records began. Despite unprecedented intervention to support businesses and jobs, we have seen a record rise in redundancies and rising unemployment. The crisis has both highlighted and deepened pre-existing inequalities in the labour market, making the government’s levelling up agenda even more challenging.

The convention focused on recovery and renewal.

Tackling long-term unemployment

While the economy is starting to recover, we are seeing a steady growth of long term unemployment. We know that the longer someone is out of the labour market, the more difficult it is to return to work. We explored how we can tackle the rise in long-term unemployment, including through the Government’s Restart programme, and support people into decent work.

Re-skilling for the recovery

The pandemic has led to rapid and disruptive change in the labour market, including in the skills employers need. Following the FE white paper earlier this year, we explored what we can do to ensure people can access the skills that they need to succeed in the post-pandemic labour market.

Preventing a pandemic generation

Young people are among those who have borne the brunt of the crisis, and youth unemployment has surged. We know that a period of joblessness when you are young can have a lasting scarring impact on earnings and employment. As Kickstart ramps up, we explored what we need to do to reverse the rise in youth unemployment, and ensure all young people get the best start in learning and work.

Driving local recovery and renewal

The pandemic has had a seismic impact on local economies across the UK. In many areas, it seems to have hit poorer communities harder, with the risk that we will see a deepening of pre-pandemic inequality. With the government looking to ‘level up’ opportunity across the UK, we will explore the role of local government in driving recovery and renewal.