The DWP is to send work coaches onto mental health wards to assist with CV writing and interview preparation, the BBC has revealed.
In an exclusive interview with the BBC, Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall praised trials in Leicester and Maudsley hospital in London, which offered employment support to people with serious mental health conditions, including in-patients.
"The results of getting people into work have been dramatic, and the evidence clearly shows that it is better for their mental health," Kendall said.
"We really need to focus on putting those employment advisers into our mental health services. It is better for people. It is better for the economy. We just have to think in a different way."
However, according to Kendall, people using jobcentres may be much less likely to encounter those same employment advisers. Instead, they will benefit from “more personalised support using AI” whilst only people “who really need it” will get face-to-face support.
Kendall also urged employers to “think differently” about employees with mental health conditions.
You can read the full BBC article here.
