Youth Unemployment sand the Future Jobs Fund - Work and Pensions Committee Contents


Written evidence submitted by Sandwell Metropolitan Borough

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Sandwell bid to deliver 373 jobs within the first phase across the borough. The jobs provided direct community benefit and fell within the categories of environment, health and care, community development, administration and customer care. Benefits to the community were substantial, as all jobs were newly created and were focused on resident's services. Sandwell successfully placed 331 people into jobs within the borough and secured funding to extend over 100 of these posts to enable the young people to undertake a qualification.

The Fund allowed local people to experience working with some of the biggest employers in the borough including the Local Authority, the National Health Service, the Primary Care Trust, the Fire Service and key VCS organisations. These roles would not and could not have been developed to this extent without the support from a national programme.

Sandwell MBC had confirmation of interest from internal departments and external organisations to create another 500 jobs as part of the Future Jobs Fund programme. Due to the end of the programme and closure of the bidding rounds, these opportunities were lost.

The Future Jobs Fund has been hugely beneficial in raising the awareness of paid work placements within the public sector/community and voluntary sector and increased the openness to this kind of programme. It is anticipated that with the right support, this could be done under the apprenticeship scheme.

Full details of the implementation of the Future Jobs Fund programme follows.

INTRODUCTION

Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council tendered for Future Jobs Fund placements as part of a Birmingham, Coventry and the Black Country City Region bid. The lead partners involved were the individual local authorities including Birmingham (Be Birmingham), Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Telford and Wrekin, Walsall and Wolverhampton. Groundwork West Midlands were also a partner in the bid.

Sandwell bid to deliver 373 jobs within the first phase across the borough. The jobs provided direct community benefit and fell within the categories of environment, health and care, community development, administration and customer care. Benefits to the community were substantial, as all jobs were newly created and were focused on resident's services. Employers were able to consider the types of post that under current economic conditions could not be justified but would in reality enhance the services to the public, be that directly in the capacity of front line delivery or more indirectly by improving the local environment for everyone.

The extent to which the Future Jobs Fund programme has succeeded in matching new work experience opportunities to young unemployed people

The Fund allowed local people to experience working with some of the biggest employers in the borough including the Local Authority, the National Health Service, the Primary Care Trust, the Fire Service and key VCS organisations. These roles would not and could not have been developed to this extent without the support from a national programme. The funding for salaries enabled the young people to get a real feel for employment and the rewards gained for making a contribution within an organisation.

The Community and Voluntary Sector were extremely receptive to the programme and immediately engaged with the process. Approximately twenty CVS organisations took on one or more Future Jobs Fund Employees. The roles that they offered were based within the heart of the community and enabled young people to work within areas that they were familiar.

Individuals who are employed by the Future Jobs Fund opportunities are provided with a range of support including:

  1. CV preparation, job search skills, interview techniques etc.
  2. In work costs such as travel, childcare, clothing and equipment.
  3. Dedicated mentoring support while they are employed - providing valuable assistance to employee and employer ensuring both parties are happy with the employment and that any issues are dealt with quickly and effectively.
  4. Pre and post vocational training and where appropriate the opportunity for a full Apprenticeship.

A Future Jobs Fund Celebration Event was held to congratulate all of the young people within the borough who had gained employment and acknowledge the efforts of the employers in ensuring that the FJF employers gained valuable experience. The event was attended by over 200 people and received a high level of praise. Each employee received a certificate of achievement which was presented on stage by the Cabinet Member for Employment, Skills and Partnerships, Cllr Ann Shackleton.

The alignment of Future Jobs Fund activity with other resource and programme activity meant that the opportunities for many will lead to improved skills, qualifications and ultimately more sustainable employment prospects. Additional support costs were met from match funding via:

  1. Working Neighbourhoods Fund.
  2. Deprived Area Fund.
  3. European Social Fund.
  4. LSC mainstream funding for pre and post employment training.

A allocation of Deprived Area Funding has meant that over 110 Future Jobs Fund post have been extended to allow the individuals to gain additional qualifications, in most cases level 2 and 3.

STRENGTHS AND WEAKNESSES OF THE FUTURE JOBS FUND PROGRAMME FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF PROVIDERS (INCLUDING IN THE THIRD SECTOR), EMPLOYERS AND YOUNG UNEMPLOYED PEOPLE AND PARTICULARLY IN RELATION TO THE LONG TERM SUSTAINABILITY OF EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

The providers of the programme found the programme to be hugely beneficial to the individual themselves and the wider organisation.

The general strengths of the programme included:

  1. Assisting local people to gain the experience that they need which in turn helps community and voluntary sector organisations to offer a greater service.
  2. The Future Jobs Fund employees have given a boost to the organisational activities. Often they have been able to develop websites, reports and databases that some organisations have not been able to use before.
  3. A greater sense of understanding of the Community/voluntary sector's activities by the younger population.
  4. Paid work experience means that young people are more likely to be considered for future jobs. The six month placement has enabled their confidence to grow and skills to develop.
  5. Regular steering group meeting were held to assess progress. Once the demand for the programme became clear, Jobcentre Plus were able to assign specialist 18-24 advisors to Future Jobs Fund in line with steering group recommendations.

The Employers felt that the strengths included:

  1. "Overall a very rewarding programme that is benefitting individuals and the area as a whole."
  2. "Good initiative which builds confidence and puts young people in a better position for employment."
  3. "The staff taken on have been an asset to the organisation - they are so young but have been outstanding. No complaints about anything - the whole experience has been brilliant and extremely beneficial."
  4. "An excellent way of introducing individuals who have been unemployed back into the working environment and developing their work ethic, building up their confidence and self-esteem and equipping them with the necessary skills and experience for future employment."
  5. "This project has been a god-send! It has enabled our organisation to work with 50% more of the local community and has been a life-saver!"
  6. "FJF project has been brilliant - people low on confidence have really built up their self esteem, skills and experience. Some really good staff have been recruited and they have enjoyed doing the work and have appreciated the opportunity."

The Future Jobs Fund Employees felt the strengths included:

  1. "I found it really difficult to find a job so this is my first employment but it has been really good and it has been a pleasure working here - everyone is really nice and kind."
  2. "This placement has been the best experience of my life and I hope it carries on giving others the opportunity that I have had."
  3. "I have enjoyed my time working at Sandwell Council. I feel that I have learnt many new things in the space of 6 months time here. I would say that it is definitely beneficial for young people in this country who are/were unemployed and looking to get their foot on the ladder and back into work."
  4. "Helping young people like me find their way back into work at a difficult time where it is very hard to find yourself a job. The FJF scheme has given me a chance to work for 1 year at a place where I have learnt and am learning new skills that will be beneficial for my next job and later on in life."
  5. "I think the main strength of the programme was the fantastic support that was given by the mentoring officers Dawna and Sam (especially Dawna who was my mentor). She made it clear from the start that if I had any problems, no matter how trivial, she would be there for me."

The general weaknesses of the programme included:

  1. The programme had little central guidance initially which delayed the development of the programme.
  2. Information relating to the programme was not received by those implementing the programme immediately, which delayed the number of referrals that could be matched jobs.
  3. A large amount of paperwork was needed as evidence of the project which took more time than initially thought, especially for those organisation that were able to offer multiple positions.
  4. The CRB process significantly delayed the start of a large number of young people. As a result of this, the target of 373 jobs could not be achieved.

The Employers felt that the weaknesses included:

  1. "Shame the FJF programme has come to an end because on the whole it is a very good learning experience."
  2. "Sick pay under this scheme should be reviewed as this is very easy to take advantage of by some individuals."

The Future Jobs Fund Employees felt the weaknesses included:

  1. "The only weakness I would say is that it's a shame that the scheme has now been cancelled and people who have recently become unemployed won't be given the chance like we have."
  2. "The main weakness of the programme was the limited timescale of it. I feel I have gained a great deal from the programme and feel that many more could have benefitted if funding for the programme had not been cut so quickly."

THE LIKELY IMPACT OF THE DECISION TO END THE FUTURE JOBS FUND PROGRAMME IN MARCH 2012

Sandwell MBC had confirmation of interest from internal departments and external organisations to create another 500 jobs as part of the Future Jobs Fund programme. Due to the end of the programme and closure of the bidding rounds, these opportunities were lost.

The Future Jobs Fund programme has been hugely successful in engaging young people who are unemployed. As the programme was created to specifically assist the 18-24 year old age range, there seemed to be a greater trust in it. Many young people heard of the scheme through friends and were asking to be a part of it. Now that the programme has finished, the engagement of young people is now again more difficult.

The programme enabled people to gain real paid work experience within a relevant field with a credible employer. This experience then enables them to compete in the labour market for any vacancies that arise. This is even more important during the economic downturn, where significantly more people are applying for each vacancy. The withdrawal of the programme means that many young people will now not have any paid experience on their CV, reducing their chances of gaining employment in future.

HOW THE TRANSITION FROM FUTURE JOBS FUND TO THE WORK PROGRAMME WILL BE MANAGED, INCLUDING THE PART TO BE PLAYED BY THE GOVERNMENT'S PROPOSAL TO FUND NEW APPRENTICESHIPS

Unfortunately the Local Authority is unable to bid for the Work Programme due to the large financial risks. Although there is still an opportunity for the Public Sector and the Community and Voluntary sector to be involved in the programme as it develops, the expertise in programme management of the Future Jobs Fund Programme and the partnerships formed will be lost.

The Future Jobs Fund has been hugely beneficial in raising the awareness of paid work placements within the public sector/community and voluntary sector. This has increased the openness to this kind of programme and the desire to assist young people to gains skills to effectively enter the labour market. Many organisations were hoping to take on a Future Jobs Fund employee in coming rounds. It is anticipated that with the right support, this could be done under the apprenticeship scheme.

SUMMARY

The Future Jobs Fund programme has been highly beneficial to the individuals who have gained employment in giving them the confidence and skills needed to secure permanent employment in the future. All of the young people involved in the programme felt that they did not have enough prior experience to compete in the labour market, but this programme has given them a much greater chance.

The programme has also been hugely beneficial for the host organisations. They have been able to undertake areas of work that may not have been possible otherwise. The programme has also enabled young people to become involved in local community organisations and take an interest in the issues in which they aim to address. The Information Technology skills that the young people bring with them have made a big difference to the efficiency of organisations and the way in which they collect data. These are improvements that many organisations did not realise they needed. These improvements have spurred community and voluntary organisation to create jobs in order to keep their FJF employee in their employment.

The programme has enabled a large number of organisations within the borough to come together as a partnership who is interested in assisting residents to achieve their goals of permanent employment. This partnership has committed to continue to offer work placements were possible, even after the FJF programme has finished.

The Future Jobs Fund programme has been a huge success within the Sandwell area and although the cost of this programme is high, the outcomes far out weigh this.

9 September 2010



 
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