After government last year announced plans to unite offerings from the education and work departments, commercial documents reveal that work is ongoing on the early stages of a digital platform
The Department for Work and Pensions is progressing with the development of digital prototypes for government’s pending Jobs and Careers service.
The service – unveiled in a policy proposals published nine months ago – will see the DWP’s network of Jobcentre Plus facilities merged with the National Careers Service currently run by the Department for Education. The Get Britain Working white paper outlined that the government wishes to create a service that better serves both individual jobseekers and the organisations that hire them.
Uniting the offerings of the two departments “will create a greater awareness and focus on skills and careers, as well as genuine collaboration in the decision-making process for current and future skills and careers provision”, according to the policy document.
“Anyone engaging with the service should have their skills needs assessed, and then be able to swiftly access the relevant training,” it added.
Work to create the Jobs and Careers service began with the establishment in late 2024 of a new data-sharing agreement between the DWP and DfE. This year was scheduled to bring a “pathfinder” exercise which was intended to experiment with increased cooperation between the two existing services, as well as exploring the scope for “delivering better employment, earnings, and skills outcomes through better aligning our advice on progression, skills, and careers, [including] consideration of what we can learn from other countries”.
Beginning in the early part of 2025, government also planned to “work with employers of all shapes and sizes (including local employers and partners), employer representative bodies, and recruitment service representatives in a structured programme of engagement” – intended to ensure the unified careers and skills offering best supports the needs of companies.
Alongside this exploratory work, the DWP is also working on the creation of initial versions of the digital platforms through which the service will ultimately be delivered.
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On 30 July, the department entered into an initial two-month contract with consultancy Deloitte, which will support the development process. The deal is valued at £170,145, the accompanying commercial notice indicated.
The document said that the supplier will “deliver an initial proof-of-concept Jobs and Careers prototype to production, including the proof-of-concepts surrounding the development, deployment, and hosting of a mobile-friendly responsive web application”.
The white paper released last year indicated that the government intends for the new, united service to represent a progression of the valuable support already provided by the DWP.
“The new service will build on Jobcentre Plus’ existing employer offer, reflecting the wider range of people that will access the new service,” the policy document said. “It will support a broader range of employers, including those requiring skilled and specialist talent, to find the candidates they need. We will also work with employers to understand how to overcome the impact of recruitment practices which can act as a barrier for applicants, ensuring that a wide range of candidates can access employers’ vacancies regardless of these barriers.”
The paper added: “The service will be crucial in ensuring more of our domestic workforce, and especially those in regions of higher unemployment and economic inactivity, can take full advantage of the opportunities and job creation that the Industrial Strategy and the government’s wider sectoral priorities will bring.”
Alongside the rollout of the service throughout England, government will seek to make similar advances in other parts of the UK.
“In Scotland and Wales, we will work with the devolved governments to build on the good collaboration already in place between Jobcentre Plus, Skills Development Scotland, and Careers Wales,” the white paper said.
