Written evidence submitted
by National Children's Bureau (NCB)
1.0 SUMMARY
The Work and Pensions Select Committee Inquiry into
Youth Unemployment and the Future Jobs Fund (FJF) has invited
written submissions. These submissions are in relation to the
strengths and weaknesses of the current programme, the impact
of terminating the programme and the transition to the Future
Work Programme.
NCB, as a Skills Development provider under the FJF,
is well placed to comment on the successes of the programme to
date and welcomes the opportunity to comment on the impact that
the programme has had on the young people involved.
Overall the impact of the programme has been positive
for both voluntary sector employers and participating young people,
creating a more representative and balanced work force as well
as providing young people with the chance to develop their knowledge
and skills in the workplace. A focus for improvement would be
targetting applicants with a genuine interest in the sector rather
than encouraging blanket applications for all available vacancies.
NCB has concerns about the impact of ending the programme
early and managing the transition to the Future Work Programme.
In particular, NCB is concerned that focus on young people with
lower educational attainement ignores the large numbers of graduates
who have been unable to secure employment. For this reason NCB
encourages a focus on the transition from education and
worklessness to increase the chances of young people from 18-24
securing employment in the long term.
2.0 NCB'S SKILLS
DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME
2.1 Starting in March 2010 as part of its Voluntary
Sector Support work, NCB was funded under the Future Jobs programme
to run a Skills Development Programme for previously unemployed
young people aged between 18 and 24.
2.2 The Programme creates work-based job learning
opportunities for young people within community and voluntary
sector organisations. After one month's induction into the world
of work, the young people are placed in entry level jobs lasting
for a minimum of five months, working 25 hours per week for a
voluntary organisation based in the London Boroughs of Lewisham,
Greenwich, Lambeth, Hackney, Newham or Tower Hamlets.
2.3 NCB supports the young people throughout
the programme and beyond: in addition to the initial comprehensive
one-month induction, NCB works with the young people to develop
tailored learning plans, provides a named mentor, and offers support
to secure permanent employment.
3.0 THE EXTENT
TO WHICH
THE FUTURE
JOBS FUND
(FJF) HAS
SUCCEEDED IN
ATCHING NEW
WORK EXPERIENCE
OPPORTUNITIES TO
YOUNG UNEMPLOYED
PEOPLE
3.1 Over the past year, NCB has worked
with its voluntary sector members and the young people on the
Skills Development Programme to facilitate work experience in
supportive and nurturing environments. We want to ensure that
the young people are:
- gaining valuable work experience that is transferable;
- able to overcome the barriers to work that most
young people face in a safe and supportive environment (i.e. childcare
issues, housing issues, moving from benefits to pay etc.);
- confident, have high levels of self esteem and
able to compete effectively for jobs.
3.2 However, despite high levels of interest
in the programme (271 young people applying to be on it to date),
we have been able to offer only 21 jobs to eligible young people
in member organisations and within NCB itself. And, despite attempts
to secure posts in other areas of London, each of these jobs is
based in either the London Boroughs of Islington or Lambeth.
3.3 The vacancies filled to date include: Project
Administrator, Research Assistant, Library Assistant, Policy Officer,
Receptionist, Play Worker, IT Helpdesk Assistant, Media and Communications
Apprentice, Fundraising Assistant, and Administration Assistant.
3.4 This is not a reflection on the quality,
commitment or enthusiasm of the young people who want to take
part - the 21 young people so far placed in employment remain
there, a 100% retention rate. The challenge has been in finding
appropriate vacancies for the young people. Although our experience
is that the FjF has been successful in matching applicants to
jobs, there are not enough jobs for the applicants.
4.0 STRENGTHS
AND WEAKNESSES
OF THE
FJF PROGRAMME
FROM THE
PERSPECTIVE OF
PROVIDERS (INCLUDING
IN THE
THIRD SECTOR)
EMPLOYERS, AND
YOUNG EMPLOYED
PEOPLE, PARTICULARLY
IN RELATION
TO THE
LONG TERM
SUSTAINABILITY OF
EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES
4.1 In terms of Strengths, NCB has found the
following:
4.1.1 From a voluntary sector employers perspective:
The programme offers a virtual "risk free" opportunity
to employ and upskill young people. In 2009, Beatbullying and
the Directory of Social Change undertook a survey[1]
looking at younger people and apprenticeships within third sector
organisations. The results indicate that organisations in the
sector are unable, rather than unwilling, to offer apprenticeship
places and that this situation is attributable to two main factors:
- On the whole, smaller organisations recruit experienced
and knowledgeable staff as they do not have the financial resources
to invest in training and developing junior staff. Primarily they
rely on larger voluntary sector organisations like NCB or those
outside the sector to fulfil this function.
- And they do not have the internal capacity to
offer adequate support to younger inexperienced staff, or those
with little or no academic achievement.
4.1.2 These two factors create an unbalanced
workforce within the sector, with entrants into organisations
being primarily experienced individuals or individuals with good
academic qualifications who are self starters or able to work
on their own initiative.
4.1.3 The FjF programme has made a direct contribution
to alleviating the difficulty the third sector experiences in
recruiting and maintaining a workforce that is more reflective
of society as a whole. Participating organisations have the opportunity
as well as the funding that enables them to employ young people
who are locally based, and keen to learn about the organisation
and the sector as a whole. Importantly, this can take place without
the added pressure of having to satisfy immediate performance
targets and outputs.
4.1.4 Additionally the FjF programme provides
the opportunity for organisations to build their capacity; (in
our case) interact directly with their target group; support the
sector in training and upskilling young people to be conscientious,
reliable and contributory members of staff; and cover basic salary
costs whilst this is happening.
4.1.5 For the young people, the programme improves
their knowledge, helps them to gain new skills, breaks down any
barriers they face to successful integration into work, and helps
them contribute to their local communities. Raising levels of
confidence and skills has a direct impact on the long term sustainability
of the employment of young people themselves: their level of confidence
in their own abilities increases, and they start to see the evidence
in their work that they are effective. In our experience, on the
whole, young people want to be part of a successful workforce;
as their contributions to their workplace are acknowledged, they
gain in self-esteem and become more integral to the organisation.
4.1.6 NCB has found that, in the right environment,
young people are able to sustain employment when provided with
an employer that is willing to ensure necessary skills development
"extras" are in place: comprehensive inductions; on-the-job
training; and a nurturing support mechanism that includes regular
1-2-1 meetings with line managers, clear structures of work and
mentors to help overcome any barriers.
4.1.7 Young people who have applied to, been
interviewed for and/or taken part in NCB's FjF Skills Development
Programme have said:
- About the Opportunity to take part in
the Skills Development programme:
- I've never had the opportunity before to get
involved in the voluntary sector so its been great to learn about
charities.
- The biggest success of my placement so far has
been to be in a work environment and get this experience - its
been really valuable.
- This opportunity has been a real eye opener to
the profession I want to go into.
- About the comprehensive Induction:
- Equality and Diversity and IT have both been
a highlight.
- Its been really useful to refresh my practical
IT skills through the induction.
- Goal setting was really useful - its good to
start thinking about the future and what I want to do.
- My taster days in the workplace were really useful
because I had the chance to meet colleagues so have felt more
comfortable when I start work.
- The induction made my transition into work much
easier, it seemed like a less daunting process.
- About the Job:
- I really love it! I've gained much more skills
than I expected.
- I've gained lots of experience and am enjoying
being busy each day.
- I've really grown in confidence and improved
in my communication skills.
- My timekeeping has really improved through being
at work every day.
- Even though it's a lot of travel, my work motivates
me to get up each day.
- About their Mentor:
- Having a mentor has been great to help me in
setting goals and being clearer about what I want to do.
- I've enjoyed meeting my mentor to set targets
and think more about the future.
- My mentor is my first point of contact if I have
a problem I need to discuss.
- About the Support received:
- I've had lots of support so far.
- Our session about careers in the voluntary sector
was really good. I also learnt how important it is about being
punctual, honest and reliable.
- I'm getting on really well with my manager and
feel that I am well supported.
4.2 In terms of Weaknesses, NCB has found the
following:
4.2.1 From a voluntary sector employer's perspective:
All advertising of positions has to go through JobCentre Plus
(JCP); employers themselves are not allowed to recruit to the
criteria specified by JCP. The service provided lacks "personalisation".
For example, a young person might inform JCP that s/he wants to
work in a particular field, but the JCP advisor will advise them
to apply for every vacancy available. JCP does not provide the
young person with advice and support to see if they are suitable
for the vacancy, nor does it encourage young people to review
their CV and highlight skills and experience that are relevant
to particular vacancies when completing a job application. Employment
opportunities are not posted quickly, and applications received
by the employers can be incomplete, or arrive after the closing
date for the job.
4.2.2 Finally, a real weakness is that young
people are not always prepared when they come to interview because
they have not been provided with the submitted job descriptions
and supporting information by JCP. When advertising vacancies,
employers provide this information to respondents as a matter
of course. Because the FjF process of advertising and applications
are managed by JCP, that does not always happen; the system in
which they work is highly centralised and not focused on the needs
of the individual.
4.2.3 From a young person's perspective:
- At assessment day "I don't know anything
about the job, my advisor told me to come here".
- "I'm not interested in this type of work,
I was told by my advisor to apply for everything".
5.0 THE LIKELY
IMPACT OF
THE DECISION
TO END
THE FJF IN
MARCH 2011 RATHER
THAN MARCH
2012
5.1 Reducing the programme length will impact
on young people themselves. The number of 18 to 24-year-olds signing
on for more than six months but less than a year jumped by 112%
in the year to May 2010. Young men have been worst affected, with
one in five of those aged between 18 and 24 out of work[2].
These statistics reflect the increasing number of young people
who are applying for a limited number of jobs. The decision to
end the programme in March 2011 rather than March 2012 will increase
unemployment for young people in this age range.
5.2 It is also important to note that the high
levels of unemployment in this age range are not necessarily linked
to low educational attainment - there is, however, a clear link
to the number of vacancies available. Over 70% of the young people
applying to NCB's FjF Skills Development Programme have university
education or degrees. We assume, therefore, that an early end
to the FjF makes it even less likely that young people with lower
level or no qualifications will be able to secure any type of
work, short or long-term.
6.0 HOW THE
TRANSITION FROM
FJF TO
THE WORK
PROGRAMME WILL
BE MANAGED,
INCLUDING THE
PART TO
BE PLAYED
BY THE
GOVERNMENT'S
PROPOSAL TO
FUND NEW
APPRENTICESHIPS
6.1 As the single Work Programme is still in
its initial tendering stage and therefore only open to providers
able to offer the full package, it is difficult to comment on
how the transition from FjF to these programmes will be managed.
We also note that the programme is not expected to be up and running
until summer 2011, leaving a gap of a few months where nothing
will be in place.
6.2 The mechanisms for managing the change could
involve working with the existing contract holders so that those
young people on the programme experience a seamless transition
to the new programme, and the impact to both prospective employees
and employers is minimal.
6.3 In line with Coalition Government policy,
we believe that the transition to the Work Programme will focus
on the conversion of the FjF places to "new apprenticeships".
However, since the majority of our FjF applicants are graduates,
there is a potential youth unemployment gap for those who already
have qualifications.
6.4 NCB believes that new apprenticeships should
focus on the transition from education or worklessness
to work. They should encompass a comprehensive induction that
helps young people deal with the barriers they may face when contemplating
or starting work (ie childcare, travel, housing issues, managing
finances, team building, time management and workplace behavior
etc) progressing to team working, setting projects and tasks with
a regular review in place, and making use of the services provided
by Work Programme providers and later their employer that can
support their transition into employment. A "work skills"
apprenticeship - with salary costs covered or heavily subsidised
for the first year, and clearly designed for those with no or
little relevant work experience regardless of their educational
background - may, in the current tough employment environment,
prove a more realistic option for new apprenticeships than the
older, more traditional "vocational" models. A focus
on "work skills" would also make apprenticeships more
attractive and relevant to all young people, and not just those
with lower educational attainment.
6 September 2010
1 Directory of Social Change (2009) Could the third
sector skills body lead the way to a third sector apprenticeship
scheme?
http://www.dsc.org.uk/NewsandInformation/Newsarchive/copy_of_Couldthelaunchofthethirdsectorskillsbodyleadthewaytoathirdsectorapprenticeshipscheme
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2
NOMIS (July 2010) claimant count statistics. Back
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