In July, 26,630 individuals in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough claimed benefits due to unemployment. This could rise further as the furlough scheme comes to an end in October.

Employers in the region have also highlighted gaps in recruitment, demonstrating that they have roles that are hard to fill or that require specific skills that are not currently widely available in the pool of applicants.

The CPCA has, in recognising this time as critical for "government-led, business-driven interventions", developed a Retraining Scheme to enable employers to retrain jobseekers for available roles.

Through the scheme, employers in engineering, ICT/technology, life sciences, healthcare, logistics and construction will be supported to define the skills and behaviours needed for the roles they have available. Potential employees will be matched and retrained to ensure they can get back into work as quickly as possible.

Sector partners are being sought by CPCA; companies that can commit to offering new jobs for people to be retrained as part of the scheme.

People who have been made redundant or are at risk of redundancy can now register for the scheme to learn new skills in a new industry with the help of government funding.

James Palmer, Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, said of the scheme: "With so many people across our region out of work or at risk of redundancy, I’ve made the Retraining Scheme for Cambridgeshire & Peterborough our priority, putting rescue packages in place to help businesses kick start our recovery.

"Our Retraining Scheme will help employers quickly utilise transferrable skills in the workforce, alongside the government’s employer incentives and support to retrain people into new industries or types of work. It has never been more important that we kick-start our economy and help people get back to work."

For more information and to register your interest please visit the Retraining Scheme website.