Written evidence submitted
by Swansea Council for Voluntary Service
SUMMARY:
On the whole SCVS felt the Future Jobs Fund was a
beneficial scheme to those job seekers who participated and also
to the organisations who took part. The work undertaken by participants
was undoubtedly of benefit to Swansea as a community and to some
of Swansea's smaller communities of interest.
Some of the limitations of the scheme included the
lack of formal training opportunities designed in to the programme
and funded through it, the lack of cohesion between other projects
that could have added value, and the oftentimes short term solution
that the posts provided in relation to the longer term need for
the work being covered.
The experience of FJF has convinced SCVS and the
Third Sector in Swansea that there is value in continuing to work
with partners across all sectors in delivery of any future schemes.
INVOLVEMENT OF
SCVS AS A
DELIVERY PARTNER
In January 2010, SCVS made a successful application
to be able to deliver 75 FJF jobs within Swansea's Voluntary Sector.
The programme looked to be an exciting opportunity for the Third
Sector in Wales to extend the range of services it provided to
communities across Wales as well as well as contributing to the
challenge of youth and long-term unemployment. It also provided
an opportunity for people to stay connected to the labour market
and deliver genuine benefit to their local area.
Given the Third Sectors experience of delivering
other DWP contracts including the New Deal Voluntary Sector Option
we were, and continue to be well positioned to develop an innovative
high quality programme involving both national and locally based
organisations who link directly into communities across Wales.
EVIDENCE SUMMARY
The extent to which the FJF has succeeded in matching
new work experience opportunities to young unemployed people
- SCVS feels that FJF was undoubtedly a beneficial
programme and that it helped young and older unemployed people
back into the labour market. The Third Sector in Swansea was able
to provide some very worthwhile job opportunities and some excellent
mentoring and employability experiences as added extras within
the scheme. The feedback we have had from employers and employees
alike has been positive. Please see additional information section
below.
Local Third Sector organisations were able to benefit
from additional labour resource created by FJF at a time of considerable
uncertainty in relation to funding. Please see additional information
below.
Strengths and weaknesses of the FJF programme
- Initially FJF was only available to a limited
number of JSA claimants (those 39-50 weeks unemployed) so was
limited in its reach and ability to offer opportunities to recently
unemployed people, in particular young people leaving schools
and colleges. The scheme was later extended (six months unemployed
and whole area rather than hot spots).
- FJF did not offer any particular opportunities
to gain qualifications or vocational accreditation, although this
is something that some of the Third Sector organisations were
able to offer as an addition to the requirements of the scheme.
- Within its design, FJF could have been structured
to take advantage of other initiatives that could have added value
and longevity to placements e.g. Modern Apprenticeships, Skill
Build or any existing ILM/TEI as well as Convergence programmes
within Wales.
- FJF provided a valuable opportunity for the wider
Third Sector to assist the DWP in, what was at the time, one of
its strategic priorities. It has also enabled SCVS as an umbrella
body to build upon our strong and lasting relationships with local
Job Centre + offices and staff.
- FJF has provided an important opportunity for
young people to experience and find out about careers in the Third
Sector.
THE LIKELY
IMPACT OF
THE DECISION
TO END
FJF IN MARCH
2011 RATHER THAN
2012
- The impact of ending FJF in March 2010 rather
than March 2011 will result in fewer people will have the opportunity
to participate and gain some valuable work skills, experience,
current references and all the associated benefits of being employed,
even if this is for a limited period. This will have particular
impact on young people who have recently left school, college
or University, or who will do so in 2011 (prior to full implementation
of the Work Programme).
- The Third Sector in Swansea will loose access
to a valuable source of staffing / resource at a particularly
difficult time for the sector.
- In terms of our own contract, there is little
impact since we did not make any assumptions about the longevity
of our FJF contract.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Feedback from FJF employees:
Pen portraits of a number of FJF participants are
available via the following link to the SCVS website. These pen
portraits we included in a recent SCVS publication http://www.scvs.org.uk/dld/2873.
Individual quotes from organisations and employers are also available
on the SCVS website http://www.scvs.org.uk/funding/fjf/testimonials.html.
Feedback from Third Sector / employers:
On the whole, organisations were extremely enthusiastic
about FJF and the mutual benefits that it provided organisations
and individuals alike. Although more detailed "good news
stories" have been collected about the experiences organisations
have had regarding the FJF process, verbal feedback from several
sector 3 organisations also indicated some of the weaknesses the
programme presented.
- Poor attendance at interviews
- Inappropriate referrals from the Job Centre Plus.
- Candidates having little or no information about
job roles prior to interview.
- Job Centre Plus advisors having little or no
knowledge about FJF resulting in some candidates being given inaccurate
information.
PARTICIPANT OUTCOMES
TO DATE:
Of the 17 people who have either finished or are
due to finish soon
- 7 have been/will be kept on by the organisation
they were employed with through FJF.
- 3 have gone on to employment elsewhere.
- 1 is awaiting funding for approved training in
a skills deficit area (Social Work).
- 3 will / have claimed JSA.
- 2 will claim other types of benefit (maternity
or disability benefits).
17 August 2010
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