Thousands of residents across the Liverpool City Region, including Armed Forces veterans, care leavers and people experiencing homelessness, are receiving tailored support to help them secure and sustain employment through the Connect to Work programme.
The initiative forms part of the Government's £3.5 billion Get Britain Working strategy and supports the City Region's wider ambition to build a more inclusive and productive economy where opportunities are accessible to all.
Designed to support people with disabilities, long-term health conditions and complex personal circumstances, the programme provides personalised employment assistance to residents who may face barriers to accessing the labour market. It also helps people already in work who are at risk of losing their jobs, enabling them to remain in secure and sustainable employment.
In March, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority secured tens of millions of pounds in funding from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to deliver the programme across Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral.
Connect to Work brings together jobseekers, employers and support organisations through two specialist pathways:
- Individual Placement and Support (IPS), delivered by the City Region's six local authorities.
- Supported Employment Quality Framework (SEQF), a more intensive support service managed by The Growth Company.
Participants receive one-to-one support from employment specialists who focus on their strengths, aspirations and individual circumstances. Support is tailored to meet personal needs and can include workplace adjustments and additional guidance to help people succeed in employment.
Councillor Marion Atkinson, Cabinet Member for Skills and Employment, said:
“There are many people within our communities who are willing and want to work but they need a little bit of extra support to succeed. Connect to Work gives us the opportunity to achieve that.
“By putting funding and decision-making into local hands through devolution, we can tailor support to individual needs – whether they’re living with a disability, managing a long-term health condition, or facing other complex barriers.
“Now with even more help available through the SEQF support we will be able to assist even more residents into secure jobs they will remain in.”
The programme operates using a "place, train and maintain" approach, combining employment, health and skills support to help residents not only find work but build long-term careers.
For employers, Connect to Work creates access to a wider pool of motivated candidates who may traditionally be underrepresented in the workforce. Meanwhile, support organisations can draw on specialist expertise to strengthen the services they offer and improve employment outcomes for the people they work with.
As local leaders continue to champion devolved employment support, the programme demonstrates how targeted, community-based interventions can help reduce economic inactivity while creating more inclusive opportunities across the Liverpool City Region.
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