Jobseekers in Oxfordshire are to be given an ultimatum either attend a compulsory course in moving from welfare to work, or lose benefits.

A spokesman for the Department of Work and Pensions told the Oxford Mail that the Jobseekers Mandatory Activity (JMA) programme was the first course to present jobseekers with an ultimatum: attend or lose money.

Oxfordshire has been chosen as one of just 10 areas to pilot the programme, which targets anyone over 25 who has been claiming benefit for six months or more.

It requires jobseekers to attend a three-day intensive work-focused course run by providers contracted by Jobcentre Plus.

The Oxfordshire pilot scheme will operate for two years from this week.

The DWP spokesman said: "Participation in Jobseekers Mandatory Activity programme is compulsory. If someone fails to attend the course they will be sanctioned one week's Jobseekers Allowance.

"If they fail to attend any of the follow-up interviews, they will also lose a week's Jobseekers Allowance."

Each jobseeker will leave the course with an action plan. Jobcentre Plus Advisers will then provide three fortnightly interviews, building on the action plan and job search skills.

Minister for employment and welfare reform Margaret Hodge said: "The JMA programme will help people identify their own barriers to getting work and what they can do to overcome this.

"The pilot will build on existing measures by testing the effectiveness of the intensive course.

"I'm confident that it will help target jobseekers early and give them the positive direction and support they need to get them back into employment."

The six-month period was chosen by the DWP because evidence indicates that the longer someone is out of work the more their confidence and motivation reduces, putting them at an ever-increasing disadvantage in their search for jobs.

Areas the course will cover include: confidence building and motivation; examination of job aspirations; identification of strengths and skills; identification of barriers to work and how these may be overcome; identification of any training needs, and routes into work.