Speaking at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, Rudd said that the government needs to focus on helping people better themselves, moving to higher paid, higher skilled roles.

Of those workers on low pay in 2006, just one in 6 had escaped that earnings bracket a decade later. Rudd announced two new projects for job centres: the first is designed to help claimants make good decisions about job switching. DWP staff should be able to assist workers to make informed decisions about new opportunities.

The second project is focused on improving the ability of the DWP’s employer-facing staff to have effective conversations with local employers about progression and good quality flexible working.

Rudd acknowledged the growing role of automation in the workplace. She said: “Automation is driving the decline of banal and repetitive tasks. So the jobs of the future are increasingly likely to be those that need human sensibilities: with personal relationships, qualitative judgement and creativity coming to the fore.

And there is a clear role for government to help people take advantages of these changes, and to help businesses create high-quality jobs. I don’t underestimate the challenges ahead. Jobs are being made, remade and reshaped every day, as we find new ways to be useful to one another.

Changing career, perhaps several times, in the midst of working life can be daunting – particularly if you have a family to look after….The work we are doing across government, and particularly in my department, is designed to support people through this. We want every person, no matter their background, to progress in the workplace and outperform what society says they should be able to do.”