Jobcentre staff in Huddersfield have hailed the success of a scheme to help jobless people get workplace skills.

Staff have run 10 sector-based work academies since April. 2016, to help 188 unemployed people into employment or provide them with skills to improve their chances of getting a job.

The academies run for up to six weeks, during which participants get pre-employment training, a work experience placement and a guaranteed job interview while continuing to receive their benefits. Employers in sectors including textiles, hospitality and catering have been involved in the scheme.

Jo Ledgard, Kirklees operations manager for Jobcentre Plus, said: “The work academies are a government measure to get Britain working. They are designed for those ready for work and receiving unemployment benefits and to meet the future recruitment needs of employers. The training course element provides the candidate with the skills for the job.”

Her comments came as figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed UK unemployment at its lowest total since 2006 – although the number of people in work has also fallen.

The jobless total was 1.6m in the quarter to November – down by 52,000 on the previous three months to its lowest since early 2006. The UK now has one of the lowest jobless rates in Europe at 4.8%, according to the ONS. However, the numbers in work fell by 9,000 to 31.8m.

Unemployment in Yorkshire and the Humber fell by 27,000 to 133,000 in the quarter to November, 2016.

ONS figures also showed the number of people claiming unemployment benefits has been halved since December, 2010.

Among parliamentary constituencies, the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in Huddersfield stood at 1,665 last month (DEC) – down by 580 on the same month in 2015. The figure is down by 1,686 since 2010, representing a 50% fall in the claimant count.

The Colne Valley tally for December was 1,030 – lower on December, 2015, and down by 460 or 65% on the figure for a decade ago.

Across Kirklees, the claimant count last month stood at 5,385, which is down by 70 on December, 2015, and 5,586 or 51% lower than December, 2010.

Employment Minister Damian Hinds said: “We start the new year with another encouraging set of figures. Employment continues to run at a near-record high, unemployment remains at an 11-year low and both figures are stronger than this time last year – highlighting the strength and resilience of our labour market as we step up to the challenges of 2017. There’s good news in Yorkshire and the Humber, where there is a record of just under 2.6m people in work with a record number of 1.23m women in work as well.”