Getting Lambeth Working

Unemployment in Lambeth is higher than the national average and tackling worklessness – or getting people into work and removing barriers to employment – is one of the main priorities for Lambeth First.

In the Sustainable Community Strategy we set ourselves the target of achieving an employment rate of 70% in the borough by 2012. Recently we have exceeded this, but the global economic downturn is likely to present new challenges in achieving this target.

What is worklessness?

Worklessness is a relatively new term that describes people who are out of work but who want a job. It includes people claiming unemployment benefits, people not currently in paid work who are seeking employment, and those who are economically inactive.

Why is it important that people in Lambeth are working?

Worklessness is a key cause of a number of social and economic problems across Lambeth. We believe many of the issues facing our borough can be resolved by tackling the causes and the effects of worklessness.

Being out of work is a cause of crime, poverty and exclusion. There are clear links between not being in work, poor health and education standards, low aspirations, higher crime and communities that are less integrated.

We believe that increasing employment will:

• Provide greater financial resources so people can live healthier lives
• Reduce poverty through improved family incomes
• Reduce benefit dependency
• Facilitate workplace interaction of people from different communities which will promote community cohesion
• Improve living standards which will reduce people’s incentive to commit certain types of crime
• Enable vulnerable communities to become economically active through targeted support services/projects
• Allow access to better skills and education for all residents
• Facilitate better family support services for single parents to become economically active

How is Lambeth First tackling worklessness?

We are committed to developing an enterprising Lambeth, supporting new business growth and improving skills and employment opportunities for all residents.

To achieve and maintain our target of a 70% employment rate we will improve access to education and training services to help people gain the skills they need to get a job.

Our Worklessness Delivery Group is focusing the work of the entire partnership on tackling worklessness across the borough through a range of initiatives.

Lambeth Council is taking the lead in improving the borough’s employment rate, working with a range of partners to deliver advice and training opportunities to people in Lambeth.