Pathways to Work: government awards contracts for final roll-out

The government awarded eight contracts to the private and voluntary sectors on Thursday as part of its final phase of the Pathways to Work programme for the long-term unemployed.

The final roll-out of the programme will mean that by April 2008 all incapacity benefit claimants will have access to a local Pathways service.

Under the Pathways to Work programme personal advisers will provide specialist help and support to help individuals move back into the workforce.

The minister for employment and welfare reform Caroline Flint said: “Working in partnership with the private and voluntary sectors will help us to remove the barriers to employment that people on incapacity benefits sometimes face and help us to achieve our goal of full employment in our generation.”

Phil Hope, the minister for the third sector, added that this final phase of the programme was: “an important endorsement of the role that third sector organisations can play in delivering innovative public services such as this.”

Contracts were awarded to Carter & Carter Group plc, Instant Muscle Enterprise Limited, Reed in Partnership, Remploy, Royal British Legion Industries, Shaw Trust, TNG and Working Links. 

More information

Department for Work and Pensions

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