British job-hunters must get ‘first crack of the whip’, ministers rule

22 Jan 09
Vacancies for jobs in areas such as teaching and nursing must be advertised in jobcentres before being publicised abroad, a new government rule stipulates

23 January 2009

By Alex Klaushofer

Vacancies for jobs in areas such as teaching and nursing must be advertised in jobcentres before being publicised abroad, a new government rule stipulates.

The measure — introduced by the Home Office under existing legislation — is an attempt to stop employers from hiring cheaper immigrant workers rather than British ones.

Currently employers have to advertise a job nationally for two weeks before looking overseas, but there are fears that some recruiters might be 'hiding' jobs from British applicants by advertising only in trade magazines.

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said that publicising the jobs more widely through the Jobcentre Plus network would give British job-hunters the 'first crack of the whip'.

The pressure on the government to come up with more recession-busting measures has increased with the publication of the latest jobless figures this week.

According to the Office for National Statistics, unemployment rose by 131,000 to 1.92 million between September and November, the highest since 1997.

Public sector union Unison said that while it was good for employers to recruit locally, the measure did not address the underlying issue of a shortage of skilled staff.

A spokeswoman said: 'The problem in terms of nursing is that we don't have enough nurses, and we need to encourage more to return to nursing after an absence.'

PFjan2009

Did you enjoy this article?

AddToAny

Top