The coronavirus pandemic has triggered a deep and sudden recession. There are almost 700,000 fewer people on company payrolls than in March, and we risk further rises in unemployment as the current furlough scheme ends and economic restrictions are tightened again in parts of the country.

The Government’s plan for jobs and winter economy plan contain many welcome measures to limit the impact on employment and help people find new jobs quickly. However, it has taken several years for employment to recover following previous recessions and most forecasters are increasingly sceptical we will see a ‘V-shaped’ recovery in which employment rapidly recovers. In addition, some of the changes we have seen during the crisis are likely to be acceleration of long-term trends, such as increased home working. This means some sectors are unlikely to return to pre-crisis employment levels, while new opportunities will be created elsewhere.

This interactive webinar focused on how we tackle the jobs gap and what else needs to be done to support jobs, to create new employment, and to help people find work and retrain.

Speakers include:

• Dr Fiona Aldridge, Director for Policy and Research, Learning and Work Institute (chair)
• Stephen Evans, Chief Executive, Learning and Work Institute
• Bim Afolami MP, Conservative MP for Hitchin and Harpenden
• Jack Kennedy, UK Economist, Indeed

This webinar is kindly sponsored by Aptem Employ