Job seekers offered free broadband
Job hunters can apply for six months of free broadband to help them look for a job.
Telecoms company TalkTalk and the Department for Work and Pensions have teamed up to address digital exclusion and lift barriers to employment.
The voucher scheme will give people access to uncapped broadband after it was trialled in Greater Manchester and Cheshire amid the second lockdown last year.
A no-contract voucher grants access to TalkTalk’s Fibre35 broadband, which gives an average speed of 38Mb/s.
The broadband firm has now launched the scheme to all Jobcentre Plus work coaches across the UK, so they can offer the vouchers to jobseekers.
Employment minister, Mims Davies, said: “We want to support jobseekers in any way we can on their journey to securing employment, which includes levelling up opportunities by making sure they are digitally connected and can access the full range of support offered by our Plan for Jobs and our JobHelp website.”
It follows other deals to help those struggling such as Vodafone’s Voxi brand offers UK jobseekers unlimited 5G data, calls and texts for £10 a month for up to six months.
The furlough scheme is set to end this week after supporting millions of workers for months. However, there are record levels of job vacancies.