LinkedIn and the government of the United Kingdom have brokered a partnership that will support thousands of jobseekers in their careers, improve the timeliness of job and skills data, and enhance hiring and workforce mobility.

The UK government, in a statement on Monday, said that the partnership followed last week’s meeting between the secretary of state, Pat McFadden, and LinkedIn’s chief global affairs and legal officer, Blake Lawit.

The government said, “Thousands of jobseekers could be supported into a new career as the government joins forces with LinkedIn to bolster careers advice. It will see timely anonymised data on jobs, skills, hiring and workforce movement shared with Skills England from LinkedIn’s network of 40 million UK accounts, giving the government a new way of viewing the labour market.

“In the future, this could be used by the new Jobs and Careers Service to provide jobseekers with more tailored advice on industry-specific skills and career routes, helping them to reach their goals.”

The government stated that the recent Skills England Annual Report found that a further 1.8 million extra jobs will be needed in priority sectors by 2035, adding that the Department of Work and Pensions will work with LinkedIn to map how people move between jobs, with the aim of helping them widen their career options and businesses to look beyond traditional recruitment pools.

Mr McFadden noted that young people today “are far less likely than previous generations to stay in the same career for life, which is why we must give them the tools to build a fulfilling, lasting career path”.

According to him, the partnership with LinkedIn will provide a clearer understanding of the jobs market, including what employers need, where opportunities are, and how people are building their careers, in order to boost economic growth.

The chair of Skills England, Phil Smith, said, “I’m really excited about this partnership. LinkedIn has become such a hub for businesses that are recruiting and people on the lookout for jobs.

“The resulting insights from their anonymised data will be incredibly valuable to Skills England and the new Jobs and Careers Service – particularly when it comes to identifying local skills gaps and helping young people to fill them. We’re looking forward to joining forces to make a major difference.”

The partnership comes as the government is implementing the biggest employment reforms in a generation, including the creation of a new jobs and careers service, as well as a major drive backed by a £2.5 billion investment to give young people the chance to earn or learn.