Jobcentres across Britain are to go digital. Claimants will soon be signing on using electronic pads. According to the Department for Work and Pensions, that will help to improve security, reduce fraud in the welfare system and make job-seeking paperless.
Around 23,000 electronic signing pads will be installed at Jobcentres around the country. It means an end to the old paper booklets that the out of work carry around and sign every time they visit. This will save more than £1m a year, the Coalition Government says.
Minister for Employment, Conservative MP Esther McVey, said: “Every day, Jobcentres across the country are helping people into work, contributing to record falls in unemployment. But as the economy grows and the jobs market changes, so are Jobcentres. Long gone are the Full Monty days of job cards in the windows and queuing for your dole. We’re seeing record employment levels – and with this digital revolution, the government is doing even more to help people into work.
At the same time, free wi-fi and 6,000 digital job-search computers will be installed at Jobcentre Plus sites to give claimants chance to search and apply for jobs online. They will also be able to use the computers to keep on top on their claims, calculate benefits and update their CVs.
Removing the standalone jobpoints, and installing the new computers, will save more than £2m a year, it’s claimed. The new equipment has already been installed in a number of Jobcentres across the country.
