LONDON (AP) -- Anticipating hundreds of thousands of job losses as the recession bites in Britain, Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Monday offered employers new incentives to hire and pledged new funds to train those who lose their posts.
At a summit in London, Brown promised industry leaders short term help in return for a longer term focus from British business to develop the high-tech and environmental industries.
The British leader said as many as 1 billion new skilled jobs are likely to be created worldwide in coming years -- largely in environmental technology, advanced manufacturing, health care and education.
Welfare and Pensions Secretary James Purnell said the government would invest 500 million pounds ($762 million) to provide new training to people out of work for more than six months.
Brown said companies which agree to hire people previously out of work for more than six months would receive a 2,500 pounds ($3,710) payment from the government.
"We cannot always prevent people losing the last job but we can help people get the next job," Brown told delegates.
But as Brown held the summit, British construction equipment maker JCB announced plans to cut another 700 jobs while logistics firm Wincanton said it is considering up to 1,000 redundancies.
Britain's Chambers of Commerce organization has warned that British businesses will likely lose large numbers of employees as they cope with the impact of the recession.
"It is clear that the speed and scale of the decline in the U.K. economy will result in a very significant increase in unemployment in 2009," said David Frost, director of the Chambers of Commerce.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has warned that at least 600,000 British jobs could go in 2009. It added that job losses were likely to continue into 2010, taking the final toll to about one million.
Brown said he believes British industry can capitalize on an increasing demand for high-tech goods and services from economies in China, India and other parts of Asia.
"I want Britain to be ready to seize these new opportunities and secure a large share of the new global wealth," Brown said.
Despite gloomy forecasts, Brown said Britain's economy has around 500,000 job vacancies -- with 10,000 new vacancies created every day. He did not specify what types of jobs he meant, or whether he was referring to full-time or part-time employment.
Brown pointed to an announcement by Morrison Supermarkets PLC, the U.K.'s fourth largest supermarket, that it was creating 5,000 new jobs over the next year. The store had previously announced it was likely to begin hiring staff as it expands its number of stores.
