No One Left Behind: delivery plan

5. Supporting Economic Recovery

No One Left Behind was highlighted in the Scottish Government response to both the findings and recommendations of the Advisory Group on Economic Recovery (AGER) and Enterprise and Skills Strategic Board Sub-Group (ESSB).

This response is set out in Addressing the Labour Market Emergency which recognises the strong partnership commitment between the spheres of government in Scotland, underpinned by collaboration from a wide network of public, third and private sector providers, advocacy bodies, agencies and employers to ensure individuals have access to tailored support appropriate to their needs.

Scottish and Local Government partners welcomed the recommendations of both AGER and ESSB in helping to shape the response to the crisis and the recognition that the employability sector has never been more crucial. The immediate actions suggested included support for business; support for those facing redundancy; training to help people move to new jobs; and support for young people and other groups facing the greatest barriers to securing work.

In response, the Scottish Government committed £100m of new investment for employability and skills support. The main focus of financial support is the delivery of the Young Person's Guarantee, with other investments being made in redundancy support through Partnership Action for Continuing Employment; a Transition Training Fund targeting help at those in sectors where there is the greatest risk of job losses; The Flexible Workforce Development Fund in 2020/21 will ensure that both levy payers and SMEs across Scotland can continue to invest in their existing workforce and respond to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Scottish Government formally launched the Young Person's Guarantee on 5 November.

This sets out our ambition that within two years, every person aged between 16 and 24 will have the opportunity, depending on their circumstances, to study; take up an apprenticeship, job or work experience; or participate in formal volunteering.

Delivering the Guarantee is crucial to supporting young people's employment prospects and preventing the life-long scarring effects of unemployment. The long-term aim behind the Guarantee is to ensure that young people in Scotland are better supported to access all available opportunities and a no wrong door approach is created.

Aligned with No One Left Behind, implementing the Guarantee will require a collective endeavour. The Scottish Government have established an Implementation Group bringing together partners from the public, third, and private sectors as well as young people's organisations and businesses. An Activity Plan which sets out the initial high-level activities required to successfully implement the Guarantee has been published.

Work is also underway to effectively integrate and align the Young Person's Guarantee with local and national employability provision. This will include, for example, Our Future Now and Discovering Your Potential, Fair Start Scotland, Community Jobs Scotland, Employability Fund, Parental Employment Support Fund and No One Left Behind delivery. This alignment also extends to working with UK Government, Local Government and other stakeholders to support the implementation of Kickstart, which is a key element of the UK Government's youth offer. This alignment activity will help ensure additional elements are added to Kickstart which reflect the principles and ethos of the Scottish approach including wrap around provision, access to quality training including apprenticeships and support the real living wage.