A national training and HR "Advancement Agency" to help those at the bottom of the tax credit economy climb the skills and career ladder, has been proposed by former Home Office minister John Denham.

The Labour MP said that the Government's success in creating jobs is being undermined by a sense that social mobility has stalled.

In his lecture "Making Work Work at left-wing think-tank the Fabian Society this week, Mr Denham argued that the Government should recognise that “getting a job is just the start.”

He proposed ‘Advancement Agencies’ to help those in low status jobs and provide the training and human resources support which small businesses don’t have.

"Having created something close to full employment, we can’t allow New Labour’s aim of a society where everyone has an opportunity to realise their full potential to become a façade behind which the lives of most workers stuck in low-paid jobs are hidden," Mr Denham added.

Mr Denham called for:
· A new network of Advancement Agencies offering similar personalised support as the New Deal to those in work, to help them climb the ladder.
· The Agencies would also be a professional resource for small employers – four out of five of whom don’t have a human resources policy.
· Part of the funding would come from rationalising the proliferation of different advisory bodies to provide a more effective personalised service.