Memorandum submitted by Reed in Partnership
INTRODUCTION
Reed in Partnership is delighted to contribute
to the Public Accounts Committee's inquiry into increasing employment
rates for ethnic minorities.
To assist the Committee we have developed a
number of recommendations outlined at the end of our submission.
ABOUT REED
IN PARTNERSHIP
In 1998, Reed in Partnership began as the private
sector pioneer of New Deal with an £8m contract in London.
Since then we have delivered and managed over 50 DWP/JCP contracts
with a combined value of almost £400 million. We now manage
large contracts across London, Yorkshire, Merseyside and Glasgow
working with around 100 subcontractors, 2,000 partners and over
10,000 employers. Since our launch, we have helped 170,000 disadvantaged
customers with improved motivation, skills, and jobsearch capacity,
with over 80,000 finding employment.
Our business has expanded and diversified throughout
this period with the addition of contracts for Learning and Skills
Councils, Regional Development Agencies and Local Authorities.
Through these contracts we have promoted skills development, provided
support to businesses and managed grant funding.
Our approach to welfare-to-work
We run a range of mandatory and voluntary employment
programmes along with skills brokerage and business support services.
Some of our contracts include:.
— Employment Zones for JSA claimants
and Single Parents in Doncaster, Glasgow, Liverpool and in the
London Boroughs of Brent, Haringey, Newham, Tower Hamlets and
Southwark;
— Pathways to Work in North & North
East London, South & South East London, West London and Cambridgeshire
and Suffolk;
— Train to Gain in London; and
— Business Link across the Yorkshire
and Humber region.
We understand that everyone's situation is different.
As soon as a job seeker joins on of our programmes, they are allocated
a Personal Adviser who will work to develop an appropriate support
package. As a company we invest heavily in the skills of our Personal
Advisers. We have also developed a number of diagnostic tools
and support products that we use to identify needs and help people
find employment. Where appropriate we also work with specialist
local providers to enable customers to get the best possible package
of support.
Some of the work we undertake with job seekers
includes:
— in-depth diagnostics and assessment
of individual needs and barriers to work;
— work experience and skills training
routeways to jobs with local employers;
— identifying and sourcing training
for the job they want;
— advising on benefits entitlement
whilst working;
— helping with CV writing and interview
skills;
— providing financial support while
looking for work;
— assisting with finding childcare;
and
— giving sound business advice on being
self-employed.
Our work with ethnic minority communities
Reed in Partnership's extensive experience comes
from delivering a range of programmes involving ethnic minority
communities and families on low incomes.
Over the past ten years, we have worked with
ethnic minority communities across the UK on a whole range of
national and local projects.
In addition to the programmes mentioned above,
we currently run the Partners" Outreach for Ethnic Minorities
(POEM) contracts in three London districts: City & East London,
Lambeth, Southwark & Wandsworth and South London. Reed in
Partnership was also involved in the Ethnic Minority Outreach
programme, running contracts in Brent, Haringey, Lewisham, Leeds
and Teeside. In total through this programme we helped 2,810 people
from ethnic minority backgrounds into work.
CURRENT GOVERNMENT
PROGRAMMES
We believe that over the past ten years we have
seen a real improvement in the support offered to help ethnic
minority communities into employment. There are success stories
from across the UK which show that properly targeted support can
make a real difference in supporting people into employment. However,
there is clearly still a long way to go to reduce the gap between
the employment rates of the ethnic minority and general populations.
Our experience indicates that there has to be
resources and expertise within the mainstream services offered
by Jobcentre Plus and its subcontractors. For instance, in some
areas of the country specific minority ethnic groups may make
up one of the largest client group for welfare-to-work programmes.
However, we also believe that there is a need
to have specific programmes and initiatives that can properly
focus resources on some of the hardest-to-reach groups. Without
specific initiatives, there is the possibility that those furthest
away from the labour market will not receive the time and support
they need.
Case Study: Reed in Partnership's success
in getting ethnic minority men and women into work was confirmed
by the extension of its Partners' Outreach for Ethnic Minorities
(POEM) programme for another year across the London region.
Supported by The Muslim Council for Britain,
the programme is the first initiative of its kind designed to
help predominantly ethnic minority women in the city get into
work.
The POEM programme visits mosques and community
centres across London giving advice to women in ethnic minority
communities on how they can find work and what options are available
to them. Men are also welcome to join the programme and all members
have access to Jobcentre Plus services, accredited training, one-to-one
coaching and advice on childcare options.
Where there is an identified need for specific
projects aimed at diverse client groups, we believe that the DWP
needs to ensure longer-term funding for these initiatives. The
POEM project, which has now been extended, was initially for just
one year. Our experience through this project shows that it can
take months to build trust with hard-to-reach groups and establish
the kind of relationships with external organisations that are
necessary. We believe that contracts need to be longer in order
to ensure the quality and consistency of programmes.
WORKING WITH
EMPLOYERS
One of the factors impacting on the number of
people from ethnic minority communities in the labour market is
the perception of some employers towards these groups.
Research suggests that employment practices
are an important reason why employment rates in Bangladeshi, Pakistani
and Somali populations are low (EOC 2006). In order to address
these issues, we work closely with employers to understand their
perceptions and use our diversity toolkit to address their concerns.
For instance, many employers have unfounded concerns about adapting
the workplace to respond to the religious or cultural needs of
a diverse workforce.
We have been successful in finding employment
for ethnic minority groups because we work with employers to tackle
these perceptions and offer solutions. This process enables our
customers to experience a smooth transition into the workplace.
However, we know that more work needs to be undertaken in establishing
the business case for diversity.
Case study: Muslim women in North London
were concerned about accommodating prayer times when considering
employment with a specialised cleaning company. Our Business Manager
ensured that the employer made provision in an empty room for
prayers during the day. This helped to remove one of the barriers
to employment and was a quick and easy solution for the employer.
ADDRESSING RECRUITMENT
BARRIERS
Our experience indicates that many recruitment
and assessment processes can indirectly discriminate against some
ethnic minority customer groups. For instance, literacy and numeracy
tests, not applicable to the positions, along with lengthy assessment
centres, application forms and requests for CVs put immediate
barriers in front of this customer group.
At Reed in Partnership, we handle the recruitment
and assessment process in-house. This means that we can develop
processes that identify and test for only the skills needed for
the specified position. This coupled with dedicated 1-2-1 support
prior to testing, enables a greater number of people to pass and
subsequently find employment.
Our understanding of the needs of employers
is crucial in terms of helping to support people from all backgrounds
into employment. We believe there is a need for the DWP to ensure
that all organisations working to get people back into the labour
market have links to employers and a real understanding of their
needs.
Supporting people into work
Many of the people we support do not have a
working knowledge of English. We therefore ensure that our Personal
Advisers have the necessary language skills.
A key element of successfully finding employment
for all our client groups is the process of identifying real and
perceived barriers to employment. Our registration and diagnosis
process allows our Personal Advisers to work closely with our
customers to identify barriers in order to develop an appropriate
action plan to move the individual closer to employment. One of
the issues we frequently face is the need to work with customers
to consider employment options in sectors of the economy not previously
considered.
Following diagnosis of the customer's needs,
we provide a tailored training and support package. For specific
ethnic minority groups, this is likely to result in ESOL focused
training. Our ESOL training is work-focused and previous programmes
have reported a 78% completion rate.
Alongside formal training courses, the Personal
Adviser continues to meet with the customer at least once a week
for one hour to assist in preparing the customer for work by:
building confidence, preparing dual-language CVs, developing interview
skills and building business culture awareness leading into job
search activities.
We believe that it is essential for skills training
to be focused on helping people move into employment. That's why
we develop an individually tailored pathway, designed around the
needs of each customer with a real understanding of employers
and the labour market. There is a need to ensure that resources
are used on skills training relevant to employers rather than
on qualifications that might have little relevance to employers.
Ongoing skills support
A crucial part of ensuring that we increase
the employment rates of ethnic minority groups is ensuring adequate
support for skills training once people enter the labour market.
Through our work as part of Train to Gain in London, we have seen
that skills support can increase motivation and confidence and
help people find a career pathway.
Research indicates that about a quarter of ethnic
minority employees are in the hotel and restaurant industry sectors.
Therefore, there is a real need to ensure that proper training
and career development is provided so that ethnic minority groups
can progress to better paid employment or progress within their
chosen industry.
SUPPORTING ETHNIC
MINORITY BUSINESS
GROWTH
We also believe that greater support needs to
be provided to help the development and growth of ethnic minority
businesses. Through our work, we provide support to people who
are interested in becoming self-employed or starting their own
business. In addition, through our contract to run Business Link
across the Yorkshire and Humber region we provider business support
and employ diversity specialists to ensure proper support for
all businesses in the community.
Given the concentration of ethnic minority groups
within particular deprived communities, we believe that there
should be more focus on helping to create sustainable businesses
in these areas. This will result in job creation and assist with
the regeneration of these communities.
Case Study: Parvin Jalal, 40, is one of
the hard to reach members that the POEM initiative has helped
over the last year. Parvin had never worked before, having been
a housewife all her life. She found the prospect of looking for
work daunting.
After discussing all her options with her Personal
Adviser at Reed in Partnership, Parvin was encouraged to use her
skills as a tailor to start her own business and was given support,
advice and the materials she needed to prepare her for becoming
self-employed. Parvin said: "With advice and support, my
husband and I found a commercial venue for our business and through
hard work have been able to make it thrive. We're doing very well
at the moment and are really reaping the benefits of our own work,
which is fantastic".
LOCAL DECISION
MAKING
As the National Audit Office report noted, the
government is currently delegating funding to local City Strategy
consortia and Jobcentre Plus districts to develop local projects
that break down employment barriers.
We welcome the additional devolved funding and
the move towards more local decision making. However, there is
a need to ensure that at the same time we ensure consistency in
terms of the key recommendations from the Freud Report in regards
to the length and size of contracts. This is important in terms
of ensuring the quality of provision and also value for money
for the taxpayer.
IMPORTANCE OF
OUTREACH AND
ENGAGEMENT
Outreach and engagement is a vital component
of successful programmes aimed at supporting people from ethnic
communities into employment. Our experience has taught us that
outreach and engagement is necessary to gain the trust and support
of both community groups and individual customers.
At Reed in Partnership, we have dedicated Partnership
Managers who have responsibility for building links with community
groups and organisations. Through our contracts, we work in collaboration
with voluntary, community and religious based organisations in
order to build trust and ensure referrals. We also have Account
Managers who help develop relationships with large scale employers
and key business networks.
A strong part of the success of our outreach
and engagement activities rests upon recruiting staff from within
the relevant communities. Through the POEM project, our outreach
teams of Bengali, Urdu and Somali speaking individuals helped
us gain real inroads into the community.
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS
Based on our experience, we have developed a
number of recommendations to be considered by the Public Accounts
Committee on increasing the employment rates of ethnic minorities.
They include:
1. To achieve real success in getting hard-to-reach
groups into the labour market there has to be sustained work over
a period of time. The DWP therefore needs to look at the length
of contracts for projects such as POEM and also the contracts
being issued by local City Strategy consortia and Jobcentre Plus
districts.
2. A considerable amount of work has been
undertaken by government and external organisations to promote
the business case for a diverse workforce. However, more work
in this area is needed if we are help support more people from
ethnic communities into employment.
3. The increase in skills investment by
the government is to be welcomed. There needs to be rigorous monitoring
to ensure that all ethnic minority groups are benefiting from
this skills provision. This is essential if we are to help people
progress to better paid employment and stay in employment.
4. There needs to be a greater focus on
supporting the development and growth of ethnic minority businesses.
This will help to raise employment levels and also assist with
regeneration in deprived communities.
5. The move to more local decision making
and devolution of funding is to be welcomed on many fronts. However,
there is a need for government to ensure that local programmes
are delivering for ethnic minority communities and that we are
not fragmenting funding into a large number of smaller projects
that do not deliver value for money for the taxpayer.
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