APPENDIX 15
Memorandum from COSLA (JG 21)
1. THE EXTENT
AND CAUSE
OF ANY
JOBS GAP
As Fife Council highlights in the opening to
its response to the inquiry. "There are many reasons for
geographical jobs gaps ranging from structural changes in industry,
aspirations in different communities for work that is no longer
available and inappropriate training delivery which is not linked
to the labour market."
Perhaps the reason most often cited is the mid
to late 20th century trend away from manufacturing jobs to service
sector jobs. The skills of those who have worked in the traditional
industries do not match the needs of the developing service sector
and supply side initiatives are not addressing this point adequately.
While it is acknowledged that local, national Government and European
sponsored initiatives have made some effect at local level, a
substantial amount of regional policy resources are directed towards
the manufacturing sector. This may not always be the most effective
use of resources in terms of reducing the jobs gap as the service
sector may have more job opportunities.
A further factor to be considered is the location
of jobs. People living in rural and semi rural areas can face
great difficulties when trying to make journeys to work by public
transport. Small firms are already fairly widely dispersed and
support measures should take location into account in order to
further the geographic spread of employment. One issue is the
adequacy of the public transport infrastructure while another,
particularly for unemployed in the inner cities, is the cost of
using it. This was something the New Deal was to address as part
of the support it could provide. Consideration should continue
to be given to removing issues around public transport as a barrier
to closing the jobs gap.
2. WHICH GROUPS
ARE MOST
AFFECTED?
Groups identified as most affected are young
unemployed men, older workers, low skilled workers, ethnic minorities
and people with disabilities. These groups are of course not mutually
exclusive. While it is sensible to target the growth sectors for
job opportunities, careful targeting of specific opportunities
in these sectors may not wholly meet the needs of these groups.
It should be recognised that opportunities arise across the whole
spectrum of industries and occupations. Getting a substantial
number of people on the first rung of the jobs ladder may be as
effective as trying to seek out "higher quality" jobs.
The latter tends to cream off the best prepared people while the
former may be better at cutting into long term and persistent
unemployment.
In Scotland remote, rural and island communities
can face particular issues regarding recruitment, retention and
opportunity costs. There is real potential given the increased
availability of technology in certain industries that there may
be less of a need for the workforce to travel to one central location.
This may lessen the transport to work issues which affect the
level of job gaps in such communities.
3. HOW SUCCESSFUL
THE OFFICIAL
MEASURES, SUCH
AS THE
CLAIMANT COUNT
AREA STATISTICS
AND THOSE
PROVIDED BY
THE LABOUR
FORCE SURVEY,
ARE AT
PRESENTING THE
SPATIAL DISPARITY
IN UK UNEMPLOYMENT
As a general point COSLA and the Scottish local
authorities believe that no national statistics should be considered
in isolation. Rather they need to be combined with an effective
local labour market system from which information is extracted
and disseminated in a meaningful way. COSLA and the LGNTO look
forward to working closely with, among others, the proposed Labour
Market Intelligence Unit at Scottish Enterprise to improve the
quality and dissemination of LMI at both national and local levels.
Through specific surveys such as the People Skills Scoreboard,
the LGNTO is gathering and using the information on the workforce
in local government to plan for skills and employment needs into
the future.
The plethora of agencies and other bodies collecting
information specific to their individual needs could and should
be co-ordinated in a more effective manner. Such co-ordination
of information would enable a clearer picture of emerging trends
in employment, gaps that currently exist and the potential for
ensuring thatgaps do not occur in the future. The range of bodies
collecting such information is increasing and duplication of effort
is now becoming an issue for urgent attention. Where too narrow
a measure is used, or indeed where too many factors are considered
as the basis for predicting such strategic matters the credibility
and validity of such projections decreases. A robust system of
information management that is flexible enough to accommodate
sectoral and national needs should be developed and funded.
An example of where attention has been focussed
on the apparent jobs gap, which is here defined as unemployment
and which is hidden from the official claimant count is in Fife.
The following excerpt is taken from Fife's response to the inquiry.
"The existence of hidden unemployment is
viewed with concern since research would seem to suggest that
real unemployment levels in industrial areas such as Fife are
considerably above the claimant count unemployment levels. National
research by Sheffield Hallam University (March 1997) attempted
to calculate the extent of hidden unemployment across the regions
of Britain. The research showed that in Fife's case as at January
1997 the real unemployment level in Fife was estimated at equivalent
to 30,100 persons (an unemployment rate of 17.4 per cent) compared
to the official claimant count of 13,467 persons (an unemployment
rate of 8.4 per cent). Whilst it is difficult to verify such estimates
locally (without extensive survey work) anecdotal evidence suggests
that areas such as Fife, experiencing major industrial restructuring,
are characterised by significant levels of hidden unemployment.
High Levels of both claimant count and hidden unemployment are
indicative of barriers to work."
4. THE IMPACT
OF ANY
JOBS GAP
ON THE
EFFECTIVENESS OF
SUPPLY SIDE
POLICIES, SUCH
AS NEW
DEAL
Concern has been expressed that opportunities
under the Jobs Option in New Deal may sometimes occur in industries
and sectors where there are no jobs available for the clients
on completion of their six months. It is essential to the overall
success of the New Deal that at a local level all delivery options
are co-ordinated through partnership working to ensure that training
is linked to labour market needs and that clients progress through
training to sustainable employment.
Thereafter it is crucial that the outcomes of
the training are monitored closely to ensure employment is not
only achievable but sustained.
Some local authorities operate, or have operated,
Employment Grant Schemes. Most of these have been amended or withdrawn
in light of New Deal. However, the Employment Grants Scheme model
was never seen only as a supply side measure—the funding
not only steered employers to recruit unemployed people but often
acted as a catalyst and the means for small firms to create the
financial "breathing space" they need while the new
recruits become productive, thus helping to secure jobs in the
long term. The potential for New Deal (Employment Option) to act
as a business support tool, creating as well as filling employment
opportunities, should be recognised and promoted.
5. THE EXTENT
OF LOCAL,
NATIONAL GOVERNMENT
AND EUROPEAN
SPONSORED INITIATIVES
AIMED AT
CREATING A
BETTER BALANCE
BETWEEN THE
SUPPLY AND
DEMAND FOR
JOBS AT
THE LOCAL
LEVEL, AND
WHETHER THESE
ARE SUFFICIENT
Aligned to the issue of employability and the
range of policies created to provide opportunity is the need for
clearer co-ordination of consultation processes on the various
aspects that impinge on social and economic re-generation. In
particular there is a need for individuals and employers to act
within an integrated framework to facilitate greater development
and for routes or pathways through the options available to be
explicit and equitable across the whole of society.
Funding mechanisms for many activities that
would enhance employability can vary within the four countries
that constitute the United Kingdom—a clearer methodology
for the allocation and distribution of resources through a smaller
range of agencies would be welcomed.
The resources currently used to create National
Occupational Standards is to be commended, however the uptake
of these Standards for wider use and the linkages to vocational
qualifications and other formal qualification needs to be re-assessed.
Priority needs to be given to creating a fully integrated and
clearly explained qualification system that is both user-friendly
and seen by industry (I include the public sector in this term)
as serving their needs.
The creation of National Training Organisations
is again seen as a positive move, however the under-resourcing
of these emerging bodies may lead to the sub-optimisation of sectoral
initiatives that could provide models for wider use. Many NTOs
are well placed to provide valuable input into economic and social
re-generation through their work, but if not included in consultation
or provided with access to funding will not reach their full potential.
6. EXAMPLES OF
GOOD PRACTICE
IN THIS
AREA
There are many examples of good practice across
the local authorities in Scotland. The examples below are given
as they were forwarded to CoSLA/LGNTO in response to a request
for information to inform this inquiry.
(a) Individual
Glasgow City Council
Examples of good practice in this area are the
positive action schemes which Personnel and Administrative Services
within Glasgow City Council have devised and secured funding to
operate through the European Social Fund. These programmes are
targeted at unemployed single parents with the aim of breaking
down the barriers to entering the employment market through the
provision of training and vocational guidance leading towards
an SVQ level 1 qualification.
(b) Partnership
West Dunbartonshire Council
West Dunbartonshire Council has direct experience
of a geographical jobs gap. The overall lack of jobs in this area
means that West Dunbartonshire suffers the highest percentage
rate of unemployment in Scotland.
The reasons include the decline of traditional
industries and the fact that the skills available do not match
the needs of the developing service sector. A high percentage
of those now working in key sectors in parts of West Dunbartonshire
do not live in the area.
This situation has resulted in West Dunbartonshire
Council establishing an Economic Development Forum with its partner
organisations, to tackle the issue. This Forum has produced a
six point plan for tackling these issues, which was presented
to Scottish Executive Ministers in early 1999.
Fife Council
In Fife the delivery of effective training and
support to clients is seen as an important element of the overall
strategy of overcoming social exclusion through a range of service
delivery from support in the community through guidance and training
to employment. This is combined with a strategy which aims to
encourage inward investment, business start up and business development
in order to increase the number of employment opportunities in
the area. It is crucial that both areas work closely together
to ensure success and to decrease any jobs gap which exists. Some
good local examples are as follows:
(i) The delivery of training within a strategic
framework devised by a range of crucial players within the training
field in Fife. The Vocational Education and Training Strategy
Group was set up three years ago to create a strategic overview
of all training delivery in order to maximise delivery to the
benefit of local communities. This group is composed of representatives
from the Council, the Colleges, employer's organisations, the
Enterprise Company and the Employment Service.
(ii) The above group established a Labour
Market Information Group in order to examine ways of improving
the co-ordination and quality of labour market information in
Fife. This was one of its main strategic aims. Accurate and up-to-date
information on the local labour market was seen as vital to the
effectiveness of supply side measures ranging from careers advice
to the provision of vocational training
The outcome of the work of this group has been
to establish a major rolling survey of local companies, eliciting
information about their workforce; recruitment trends; skill shortages
experienced; training needs; and training activity. The survey
is carried out quarterly and in the course of one year covers
1,000 companies. The questionnaire and sampling techniques for
the survey were developed for the LMI group through a commissioned
consultancy project. The survey was piloted in December 1998 and
two further quarter's surveys have been conducted. A bulletin
analysing the results of each quarter survey is published. The
data is providing a valuable resource to partner organisations
in carrying out their respective advisory and training functions.
This will enable measures to be better targeted on actual skill
shortages and employment opportunities in the local economy. The
LMI service has been developed with the assistance of EU funding
and has been highlighted by the East of Scotland European Partnership
as an example of good practice.
(iii) The development of specific localised
labour market agreements linking recruitment and training for
unemployed clients to specific newly created jobs (used within
the Retail and Care sectors). This benefits both the clients
who know they are training for specific employment opportunities
and the employer who has clients trained to their specific requirements.
(iv) Customised Training for Work delivery
linked to employer specific needs.
(v) The development of Opportunity Centres
throughout Fife which bring together all Council Services within
the area of guidance, training and employment along with the Careers
Company, Colleges, private training providers and the Employment
Service to deliver a co-ordinated range of services within a one-stop-shop
environment to all clients within local communities. This initiative
allows easy access to all services and capitalises on the expertise
of all the staff from the different organisations to the benefit
of the public and avoids overlap in relation to service delivery
thereby maximising the use of all resources.
Jane Ritchie
COSLA
7 October 1999
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