Employment and skills support

We have put together some employment and skills support.

Princes Trust support hub

The Princes Trust has created a support hub with a live chat feature to provide advice and guidance to the public.

Apprentices or apprenticeship employers

If you're an apprentice or an apprenticeship employer and you've been affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19), there is a range of support and advice available: 

If you’ve been made redundant

Wigan Council redundancy support

We will support residents who have been affected by recent redundancies. We are working with a range of partners to develop a support package for any Wigan residents affected. This will include:

  • Employment advice and guidance
  • Skills support and retraining
  • Help searching for jobs
  • Signposting to local job vacancies.

If you have lost your job due to closure, and would like some support, all you need to do is complete our online form below and a member of the employment and skills team will be in touch shortly.

National Careers Service

The National Careers Service has a dedicated support service which can help you with short-term advice and guidance, and longer-term planning. This includes:

  • Digital and telephone redundancy support, funding advice and careers advice
  • Linking you with Jobcentre Plus for their rapid response to redundancy service
  • Supporting you to manage your career digitally
  • Online training support and advice.

You can contact the National Careers Service on 0161 393 6473 (option 2) to find out more.

Redundancy support service for apprentices

We have launched this service to support apprentices who have been made redundant or think they might be in the future.

You can call 0800 015 0400 to get free advice, find new opportunities, and access local and national support services offering financial, health and wellbeing, legal and careers advice.

Working Well Early Help Programme

This programme offers free specialist support for people with a disability or health condition who are working, absent or newly unemployed in Greater Manchester.

Call 0300 456 8107, email workingwellearlyhelp@maximusuk.co.uk or visit the Working Well Early Help website for more information about the programme.

Help to find employment

Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)

DWP have a range of help available to jobseekers including essential advice about which sectors are recruiting now, transferable skills and how to secure a new role. ­

Employment Legal Advice

Employment Legal Advice (external link) is a new service to help individuals across Greater Manchester to access free employment-related legal support.

If you think you might benefit from their help, you can either:

New online learning opportunities

Due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, many providers delivering there courses online. Take a look at what’s available:

© Wigan Council