A new, temporary Jobcentre is to be set up in Southend High Street in a bid to help local people impacted by the pandemic back to work.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will transform an empty premise on the High Street, close to Southend Central railway station, as the town looks to bounce back from the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a letter to James Duddridge MP, the DWP said it had seen increased demand for its services and expects that demand to continue to rise.
In response, additional Work Coaches have been recruited to staff the pop-up Jobcentre which will help support and deliver a full range of services needed for those impacted by Covid-19.
The site is expected to open in April.
Commenting, James said:
“As we begin our recovery from Covid-19, it is really important we use all the tools at our disposal to help those whose jobs have been impacted by the pandemic get back into work.
“This temporary Jobcentre is being set up in a Covid secure way and will be able to support local people through that process, and I look forward to seeing the site up and running in the Spring.”
Dave Cope, Essex DWP Service Leader said:
“It’s our mission in DWP to help people get back to work, and help the country recover from the impact of the pandemic. Getting into good work is life-changing for our customers, we’ve doubled our frontline workforce in Essex to make that happen, and we see the expansion of our service to our new site as key to working with the local community in Southend to get the economy moving."
