Private and voluntary sector organisations could be given a much greater role in helping jobless people into work, according to plans signalled by Work and Pensions Secretary John Hutton.
Speaking during a visit to Australia, Mr Hutton will hail the "radical" use of private and voluntary providers in the country's welfare system.
And he will indicate that he expects to expand their role in the UK, attracting companies from abroad by offering long-term contracts and performance-related rewards.
Mr Hutton's comments come as employment minister Jim Murphy announces a new drive to help ethnic minorities into work by encouraging them to learn English.
Citing research which suggests as many as 40,000 people lack the language skills to find work, Mr Murphy will say that emphasis should be shifted from providing translation services to help them claim benefits towards offering English classes to help them into jobs.
In a speech in Sydney, Mr Hutton will say: "In the UK, we have largely eradicated traditional forms of unemployment. Our welfare reforms and stable economy have helped over 2.5 million more people into work since 1997.
"But the challenge for the coming decade is to tackle entrenched poverty and worklessness, particularly amongst lone parents and incapacity benefit claimants, by helping people not just get a job, but a career.
"We need to bring about further sustained increases in the overall employment rate if Britain is to remain competitively strong and a cohesive society.
"The Australian welfare system has shown that the radical use of private and voluntary sector providers has delivered tremendous benefits, including a dramatic improvement in efficiency.
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"In the UK we face the twin challenge of how we can be more ambitious for our people, helping four million economically inactive individuals get into work whilst facing the toughest public spending round in a decade."
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