Publications

An advice and best practice guide for councils

Basic skills include literacy, English to Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), numeracy and digital as well as other capabilities like health, financial and citizenship. They help people find work and be active citizens and adapt to economic and social change, including that caused or accelerated by the pandemic.

Youth unemployment, generally defined as someone aged under 25 who is not in work and who is actively seeking work, has risen sharply during the pandemic and has lasting, damaging effects.

Long-term unemployment is most generally defined as being out of work for 12 months or more and this is something expected to increase following the pandemic. Helping people back to work quickly will aid recovery and ensure everyone can share in recovery.

Retraining for the purposes of this guide refers to people moving to new jobs or careers where a significant development of new skills is required. This will be increasingly important as working lives lengthen and coronavirus potentially accelerates some structural economic changes.

The LGA in Parliament report highlights the breadth of services councils deliver and the depth of analysis the LGA provides as the national voice of local government.