Addressing the labour market emergency: Scottish Government response

Theme four – Helping vulnerable people into employment

Key Actions in this section:

• We will invest at least £50 million to support youth employment including delivery of the Job Guarantee and additional investment in Developing the Young Workforce.
• We are investing £33 million in employability services this year, including No One Left Behind.
• We are extending Fair Start Scotland (FSS) services for a further two years to March 2023 to provide support for unemployed disabled people, health conditions and other barriers to moving into fair and sustained work.
• With our partners, we are reviewing all Employability services to protect provision for those accessing employability services.
• We will invite public sector buyers to focus community benefit requirements on activity that will aid economic recovery and tackle inequality.
• We will publish an updated No One Left Behind Implementation Plan setting out our continuing commitment to the transformational change in the delivery of employability services and the key actions to be undertaken in the coming months and years.

The labour impact of COVID-19 is both broad and uneven. We know, that without specific focus and targeted support, certain groups of our population will be more exposed to the risks and challenges now presented in finding secure employment. This must, and will be, a collective effort across all tiers of Government and beyond. Scotland has faced similar challenges in the recent past and we will build on the strong foundations of our previous approaches and successes, to once again support those whose need is greatest.

What we were asked to do

The sub-group’s recommendations included supporting young people with improved links to schools and employers and a more consistent approach to building a better understanding of the workplace across Scottish secondary schools. The need to support young people under 25 into work-based placements was also highlighted.

The group also highlighted opportunities for economy focussed community benefits from public procurement to support for disadvantaged groups, including women and disabled people, alongside the need to increase tailored support including work experience through industry led schemes.

What we are doing

Employability support in Scotland is developed and delivered in partnership with services focussed on supporting people of all ages who face disadvantage in the labour market. Since the start of the COVID-19 crisis, services across Scotland have responded to increased demand for support and the need for new ways to deliver.

We are:

• Building on our award winning Developing the Young Workforce Programme, which provides an existing infrastructure to ensure our approach is led by labour market intelligence
• Investing £33 million in employability services this year, including No One Left Behind. This is our joint ambition with Local Government and other key stakeholders and partners to develop an all age employability system that supports people experiencing barriers to accessing the labour market to achieve their full potential whilst delivering our shared priorities on sustainable inclusive economic growth, fair work and social justice
• Extending FSS services for a further two years to March 2023 to provide support for unemployed disabled people, health conditions and other barriers to moving into fair and sustained work. FSS is delivered through a key worker approach as recommended by the sub-group report
• Through Parental Employability Support Fund (PESF), investing £5 million in 2020/21 to support low income parents to access or progress in work, supporting parents to upskill, re-train and increase their overall household income. Like FSS, PESF offers holistic support via an employability key worker
• Reviewing with partners all Employability services to protect provision for those accessing employability services.

What we will do

• We will invest at least £50 million to support youth employment including delivery of the Job Guarantee and additional investment in Developing the Young Workforce
• Led by Sandy Begbie CBE, previous leader of Edinburgh and Lothians’ Developing the Young Workforce Group, the development of a Job Guarantee will build on and complement the UK government’s Kickstart initiative, which will offer paid work for young people claiming Universal Credit
• We will invite public sector buyers to focus community benefit requirements on activity that will aid economic recovery and tackle inequality
• Publish, in the coming weeks, an updated No One Left Behind Implementation Plan setting out our continuing commitment to the transformational change in the delivery of employability services and the key actions to be undertaken in the coming months and years and
• We will continue to work with our existing service delivery partners, including building on our Working Partnership Agreement for Employability with Local Government to ensure collectively, we flex our approach and service offer for people impacted to respond to the economic and social impact of this crisis.

How we will implement change

As noted above, we know from previous recessions and because of the nature of the sectors most immediately affected by the COVID-19 crisis that some groups are and will continue to be most affected by the current economic downturn. This includes young people, women, those in low paid work or living in our most deprived areas, disabled people, lone parents and ethnic minority people. The ESSB sub-group report rightly highlights the need to support these groups.

Young People

Established in 2014 the Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) Regional Employer Groups are a network of 21 industry led regional groups tasked with strengthening employer engagement with education.

Rob Woodward, Chair of the Regional Employer led groups is already working alongside Sandy Begbie CBE to develop proposals for a Job Guarantee.

In the coming months we will work with partners including; our agencies; employers across all sectors; local authorities; and the third sector, who deliver critical services to our most disadvantaged young people. We must ensure we equip young people with the right skills for a changing labour market and help them move successfully though education and training into sustained work as we move towards a wellbeing economy and net zero emissions. Young people who face additional barriers in the labour market, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, minority ethnic young people, lone parents and disabled young people will be a priority.

Case Study

DYW West Hire Me

In partnerships with Renfrewshire Council and West College Scotland, DYW West runs the Hire Me programme. Designed for those Renfrewshire school pupils who are expected to leave school with little or no qualifications, the programme brings together a range of activities to support them into finding a positive destination. The young people gain qualifications and work ready skills through workshops, short college courses and work experience. With support from industry they are offered support in completing application forms, cover letters, job searches, CV preparation and interviews.

Procurement

We agree with the sub-group’s view that community benefits in public procurement can aid economic recovery and tackle inequality through, for example, delivering jobs and training for priority groups, sub-contracting opportunities for SMEs, the third sector and supported businesses.

Echoing the excellent outcomes of projects like the Queensferry Crossing and the Scottish Government Warmer Homes Scotland contract, we will further promote the use of community benefits to drive local economic wellbeing. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance will engage with leaders across the public sector in Scotland to drive this renewed impetus which is a vital component of our broader commitment to advance a community wealth building approach to economic development across Scotland.

All-age Employability Support

The No One Left Behind approach, published in 2018, sets out our principles for helping people into fair, sustainable jobs. This is central to delivering many of our ambitions around Inclusive Growth, tackling child poverty, tackling severe and multiple disadvantage and public health reform among others. This approach supports the recommendations for tailored support for those who experience the most disadvantage in the labour market.

A strong partnership ethos, underpinned by the Scottish and Local Government Partnership Working Agreement for Employability supports collaboration at all levels to ensure individuals have access to tailored support appropriate to their needs. We recognise the crucial role of local government, the private and third sector to ensure that employability services deliver flexible, person centred support.

Phase 1 of No One Left Behind commenced in April 2019, taking two previous programmes, Activity Agreements and Scottish Employer Recruitment Incentive (SERI), which had already been delivered by local authorities and expanded them into an all age, all stage, key worker led model, maintaining our commitment to opportunities for all. No One Left Behind helps people of all ages to gain skills and confidence. It is there to help people prepare for employment, training, education and/or volunteering. To take part participants must not be in a job, education or training. They receive support from an Employability Key Worker who identifies barriers and agrees an individual plan to help them reach their goals.

To ensure a joined-up response across employability services in Scotland, we have convened a COVID-19 Response Employability Operational Group, with our partners, to collaboratively develop and respond to our shared understanding of the impact of the pandemic on the Scottish labour market and employability system. This has allowed the flexibility to quickly refocus delivery to address changing economic and social challenges and provide “wrap-around” support.