Written evidence submitted
by North Tyneside Council
SUMMARY
1. In July 2009 North Tyneside Council as lead
accountable body for the Tyne and Wear City Region Employment
and Skills Partnership submitted a Future Jobs Fund (FJF) bid
on behalf of the seven Local Authorities in Tyne and Wear, Northumberland
and Durham.
2. The partnership was successful in gaining
an allocation of funding to create 3,450 jobs between October
2009 and March 2011, 1,650 in Phase One to March 2010 and 1,840
in Phase Two between April 2010 and March 2011. 70% of all jobs
created were to be targeted at young people, the remaining 30%
were to be to people in unemployment hot spot areas.
3. The Tyne and Wear City Region programme centres
around a commitment to provide a quality experience for young
people and utilise a commissioned Post Employment Support (PES)
service to provide additional support to FJF employees with their
career progression and job sustainability. The service has provided
mentoring / coaching, support and advice, training and job search
to assist employees in finding permanent employment.
4. To date we have placed 2,927 vacancies with
Jobcentre Plus and filled 1,664 of these jobs. In terms of opportunities
for young people, we have advertised 69.5% of the vacancies specifically
for young people
5. A recent review of the sustainability of jobs
has provided evidence that 53% of leavers are progressing to jobs
either with their FJF employer or alternative employers.
6. In response to the inquiry, we have outlined
the following local evidence as a response to the highlighted
areas of focus:
THE EXTENT
TO WHICH
THE FJF HAS
SUCCEEDED IN
MATCHING NEW
WORK EXPERIENCE
OPPORTUNITIES TO
YOUNG UNEMPLOYED
PEOPLE
Performance
7. Across the Tyne and Wear City Region (TWCR),
FJF has offered young unemployed people the chance of a real job,
with a living wage (paid at least the national minimum wage).
So far, the scheme has provided 1,664 unemployed people with an
opportunity to gain valuable experience and skills working in
real jobs. These jobs have helped to ensure that the young people
do not become disengaged and the experience has helped them to
market themselves competitively for future employment opportunities.
8. The impact of the programme is demonstrable.
Between July 2009 and July 2010, claimants aged between 18-24
years have seen their numbers decrease by 15.2% (2,565) across
the TWCR, and 18-24 year olds as a proportion of all claimants
have also reduced over the same period from 31.4% to 29.8%.
9. In addition, whilst across England the numbers
of 18-24 year olds claiming over 6 months increased by 2.5% between
July 2009 and July 2010, the numbers of 18-24 year olds claiming
over six months in TWCR has actually decreased by 26.5% (865 claimants)
over the same period. Although not wholly attributable, the success
of the FJF programme will have contributed significantly to these
figures.
10. The seven Local Authorities have provided
a key role in supporting local community and voluntary sector
organisations to create suitable vacancies. Despite initial concerns,
job creation has been relatively straightforward and this can
be attributed to the capacity provided by the Local Authority
officers to support and mentor the end employers, and the effectiveness
of the partnership to work with the Public, Private and Voluntary
and Community Sectors to provide opportunities for young people.
Considering the short timescales for delivery the number of jobs
created has been in excess of the original profile.
11. The "matching" element and filling
jobs has presented more of a challenge, particularly during Phase
One. Initially, the programme experienced low referral rates of
clients from Jobcentre Plus to the vacancies. These referrals
did improve as delivery progressed and awareness of the programme
was raised. However, conversion rates of Jobcentre Plus referrals
into actual job applications remains a concern, with conversion
rates as low as 20% in some cases. This has been tackled in a
number of ways in partnership with Jobcentre Plus including the
challenge of national guidance and reviewing local processes to
ensure they work as effectively as possible. Phase 2 has seen
further improvements in the processes to match individuals to
jobs, in particular in the streamlining of recruitment practices,
with new jobs being filled in shorter timescales.
Employer Feedback
12. Feedback from employers has been very positive
with evidence that the programme is making a huge difference to
both the employers and employees.
13. In August 2010, a survey was undertaken with
117 employers (response rate 54.2%) who have employed FJF employees
as part of the programme. The results of the survey illustrated
that the FJF has been a highly positive experience for the majority
of employers taking part.
14. Employers reported a wide range of benefits
to the infrastructure and sustainability of their organisations.
Through the FJF, they have been able to become more responsive
to customer needs, develop ICT provision, improve staff training
and market their services to new funders and client groups. For
some employers, the additional resources have enabled existing
staff to take on more strategic work thus contributing to the
longer-term sustainability and success of the organisation.
15. Many new and improved services have been
enabled by FJF (69.4% of employers stated that had been able to
improve existing services because of FJF), which have delivered
an important benefit to the local community. A number of new services
have related to environmental improvements and maintenance work
whilst employers also cited improvements in customer service.
Employers have also been able to use the FJF to undertake one-off
projects such as tree planting, research and production of a directory
(23.6% of employers reported being able to undertake additional
one-off projects).
16. Employers also cited a range of community
benefits that had been enabled by the FJF. In addition to greater
employment opportunities, the FJF has boosted the confidence and
self esteem for many of the individuals taking part. It has resourced
services that support vulnerable and excluded groups in the local
community and enabled improvements to the physical "fabric"
of the community to take place (42.6% of employers reported that
benefits to the local community would be sustained beyond the
end of the programme).
17. Many of the FJF workers have been able to
use their experience as a "springboard" into employment.
The employers taking part in the survey collectively reported
that 97 workers had already been offered further contracts of
employment (58.2% of employers had offered FJF employees a further
contract of employment). Many also intended to offer further contracts
to those workers not yet at the end of their FJF-funded post.
In addition, the FJF workers gained valuable experience and there
are examples of workers being able to use these to gain employment
elsewhere. The FJF has therefore provided a real opportunity for
many long-term unemployed young people to obtain work (70.3% of
employers reported that a lack of funds would be a key reason
for not offering permanent contracts of employment).
18. In a broader sense, the FJF has also been
highly successful in changing attitudes towards the long-term
unemployed amongst those employers taking part (74% of employers
stated that they were impressed with the quality of the people
taking up FJF jobs and 50.6% reported that they were more inclined
to recruit long-term unemployed people in the future). Employers
praised highly the commitment, energy and abilities that the FJF
workers brought to their organisations and reported that their
attitudes towards recruiting and retaining long term unemployed
people had changed significantly (34% reported that involvement
in FJF had led to changes in the way their organisation will recruit
people in the future).
19. Overall, these findings support the view
that FJF has been a success. The employers have shared a number
of "success stories" that illustrate how the FJF has
brought long-term unemployed people back into the workforce whilst
simultaneously delivering a range of new and improved services
for the local community and improving the infrastructure of many
of the organisations taking part. Many of these benefits will
be sustained in the future.
20. With significant impacts reported on the
young persons motivation, self-esteem and general well being,
the £6,500 per person it costs has been worthwhile. The programme
has provided a realistic chance to support people to break out
of the benefits dependency trap and to gain permanent and sustainable
employment. The breadth and variation of the types of jobs provided
through FJF, including jobs in health and social care, business
and administration, ICT, contact centre skills, youth work, catering
and hospitality, community development, sport and recreation and
environmental activities and recycling has also allowed young
people to explore fields of interest to them where entry level
positions would not normally be created.
JOBCENTRE PLUS
GUIDANCE
21. One of the key challenges faced in matching
young people to opportunities has been the nationally directed
Jobcentre Plus guidance that limited the widespread marketing
of FJF opportunities. Local authority partners initially wished
to include information, advice and guidance sessions for all benefit
claimants interested in FJF jobs to ensure that the programme
reached as many young people as possible. The intention was also
to enable the additional matching of individuals to jobs.
22. The Partnership has worked hard to identify
areas where flexibilities in the programme can be established
to improve performance. An example is Local Authorities working
with Jobcentre Plus advisers to identify a need for locally based
matching events to engage young people and provide information,
advice and guidance regarding opportunities available; addressing
the limited scope to do this via standard interviews and signing
processes in Jobcentre Plus offices.
23. Flexibility was granted in Gateshead to hold
an event to stimulate and increase job starts. This proved very
successful and is now being replicated on a monthly basis. The
format has also been rolled out across the rest of the City Region.
The relaxation of the national guidance has enabled this to become
part of the matching process with Jobcentre Plus and provided
a much smoother and immediate transition for the young person
from referral to being placed into employment.
24. Moving into Phase Two of the programme, performance
has improved significantly with a greater number of jobs being
filled month on month. This is mainly due to processes now being
embedded and Jobcentre Plus advisers having an improved awareness
of the Future Jobs Fund and the benefits it presents to young
people. Jobs are being filled faster and the potential of young
people being offered permanent employment has improved, as demonstrated
through the results of the Employer Survey.
SKILLS
25. The FJF programme has demonstrated that many
organisations are willing to invest in training to provide their
employees with the practical skills they require for the job.
26. The Post Employment Support (PES) provision,
which is being delivered to support all FJF employees across the
City Region, has assisted in providing the basic soft employability
skills for young people. This makes it more likely that they will
be retained, increasing the employer's willingness to continue
to employ them. The addition of this type of support has also
ensured that the skills gained make the young person a more attractive
prospect to other employers in the future, leading to career progression.
The young people have gained new skills leading to renewed ambition
for their future careers.
27. Whilst it is early days in identifying retention
and the progression of individuals, there is evidence that the
young people may not have remained in work for six months without
this complimentary support to resolve issues and mentor individuals.
This additional support whilst in work has supported the sustainability
of a client group that is diverse and has a wide range of needs.
28. The target group for Future Jobs Fund have
been unemployed for over six months and many have low skills and
generally have been unable to compete in the jobs market. The
programme has aimed to create entry-level jobs with a basic skills
level and provided an environment for learning and development,
supporting individuals to progress in the wider labour market.
The chart below shows the breakdown of jobs by skill level.
29. From a sample of FJF employees, we found
that 33% had less than an NVQ Level 2 qualification or no qualifications
prior to starting their placement, 8% had an NVQ level 3 and only
0.8% held NVQ 4 or 5 or an A/AS level. This would indicate that
we are pitching the jobs at the right level for the target audience
and creating jobs for those young people who may not access opportunities
without support.
30. Where jobs have not been filled or there
has been a difficulty in identifying entry-level jobs, we have
been proactive in reviewing job descriptions and skills levels.
For example in Northumberland, vacancies were previously hard
to find for young people with little or no experience. Very low
numbers of vacancies were advertised with Jobcentre Plus. As a
result the Local Authority have been proactive in working with
the Third Sector to create as many jobs as possible requiring
little or no skills, the result has been that many of the jobs
have been created are within the cultural and tourist sectors
which are growth sectors in Northumberland.
STRENGTHS AND
WEAKNESSES OF
THE FJF 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
Below we have outlined the key strengths and weaknesses
of the programme in the Tyne and Wear City Region:
Strengths
GENERAL POINTS
31. Good approach in terms of encouraging City
Region partnerships bidding to deliver outcomes in line with the
needs of a functional economic geography, maximising the efficiency
savings of a central team, whilst still embracing the devolvement
to a local level.
32. The programme shows the value of devolving
programmes to a local level. Local partnerships understand their
local labour markets and employer base and have been committed
to creating a range of job opportunities and providing ongoing
support where required for both employees and employers.
33. It is essential to enable local provision
of experienced employer contacts with existing employer relationships
able to persuade them to create appropriate jobs and support employers
throughout the programme.
34. Supporting local partnerships to provide
joined up services and additional support e.g. in TWCR, the Post
Employment Support (PES) contract added value to the programme
by supporting the inclusion of accredited training and job search
activity as well as providing an in work mentoring service. It
is clear that retention levels would have much lower without offering
this joined-up, wrap around support.
35. The Tyne and Wear City Region have commissioned
independent evaluation of the FJF programme incorporating an employers
and beneficiaries survey. The comments on how the programme has
helped organisations develop and individual case studies collated
demonstrate many of the positive impacts of the programme. A selection
of these can be found in the appendices 1 & 2 of this report.
36. The criteria of more than 6 / 9 months unemployed
is an advantage in that it ensures the FJF opportunities go to
young people who would not have found work without FJF.
RANGE OF
OPPORTUNITIES
37. It has provided excellent, new and previously
inaccessable opportunities for young people / NEET's (Not in Employment,
Education or Training).
38. FJF has created basic level jobs to match
the skills level of many of the target group. These jobs would
not have been available through normal channels and therefore
has opened up opportunities for the most disadvantaged groups
and has also provided a progression routeway.
39. The range of jobs created has been varied
(from chocolatier to grave digger) allowing young people to widen
their horizons and not "pigeon hole" them into applying
for traditional service sector jobs.
FORMAT OF
JOBS
40. Setting the minimum payment level at the
national minimum wage has encouraged young people to take this
opportunity seriously and not consider this as a standard welfare
to work programme.
41. Creating the jobs as real jobs where the
employees are treated equally alongside substantive posts has
resulted in a respect for the post and the post holder in a way
that previous "trainee" or supported job creation programmes
have not.
42. The programme has created jobs that would
not have been available in the wider labour market, and provided
a wide range of opportunities that individuals may not have thought
of.
43. The simplicity of job creation ensured there
was sufficient scope to create diverse, quality jobs whilst also
managing eligibility criteria such as community benefit.
44. FJF opportunities are bona fide jobs,
albeit with an initial time limit, and not just a "scheme"
or "programme". This has the dual benefit of the employer
having real ownership over the job and the employee being more
motivated and having a genuine experience of a job in a real workplace.
Experience and evidence shows that this has a more profound impact
on raising employability.
COMMUNITY BENEFIT
45. Providing jobs that are of a benefit to the
local community has ensured that the jobs are appreciated by local
people from the communities the FJF employees reside in. It has
also opened up new and additional opportunities in the community
and voluntary sector that has increased the awareness of this
sector
46. There have been a wide range of community
benefits in terms of infrastructure and the sustainability of
organisations. Examples include the employers becoming more responsive
to customer needs; developing ICT provision; transporting the
elderly; improving staff training; play schemes; marketing services
to new client groups; community sports and healthy living information
/ activities; improving the physical environment with gardening
and low cost maintenance and repairs services; and resourcing
services that support vulnerable and excluded groups.
EMPLOYERS RESPONSE
47. Unlike work experience that employers don't
particularly rate, it gives "real" job duties and responsibilities
that are of benefit to the business. It also provides a higher
quality experience to the individual to be included on a CV, which
impresses employers and gives some advantage when applying for
future jobs.
48. An independent employer survey has shown
that the programme has been highly successful in changing employers
attitudes towards long term unemployed (50% said that FJF had
challenged their expectations of the contribution that long term
unemployed people can make to their workforce, 51% said that they
would be more inclined to recruit from this group and 74% stated
that they were impressed with the quality of the people taking
up FJF jobs).
49. FJF has increased the awareness and the previously
negative perceptions of the service that Jobcentre Plus can provide.
Employers engaged via Future Jobs Fund in Gateshead, particularly
within the third sector and SME's, reported that they did not
traditionally recruit successfully via Jobcentre Plus customer
groups. Future Jobs Fund has presented the opportunity to increase
awareness of the benefits of recruiting from this group providing
matching is appropriate and co-ordinated. Appendix 3 provides
some employer comments that demonstrate the changing perceptions
from involvement in the FJF programme.
ADDITIONAL BENEFITS
50. Third sector organisations have been able
to develop the capacity to actually employ someone else. Recent
evaluation has shown that many organisations have increased productivity,
successfully bid for further funding to support the organisation
and sustain their employee's job.
51. The impact on service development and business
growth for participating employers has been demonstrated through
developing new or extending services, improving services and bidding
for new work. Further examples of additional capacity in the third
sector include an increased number of crèche places, IT
training courses and community gardening contracts.
52. The young people have proven themselves throughout
the six months and been able to apply for permanent jobs within
the organisation they have been placed. For example, the Home
Group has a 70% success rate of retaining employees beyond the
FJF opportunity. While conceived as a short- term measure the
FJF legacy will be longer term and impact on a number of young
people and employers.
Weaknesses
GENERAL POINTS
53. Some conflicting elements exist within the
programme around additionality and sustainability - additional
jobs are treated as a stepping stone towards permanent jobs however
the fact that they are additional increases the chance that they
do not continue when the funding ends. This will result in temporarily
removing young people from the claimant count only to see them
return, more demoralised than previously.
54. The programme has been criticised as a short-term
reaction to the recession, when although the recession has intensified
the impact, youth unemployment is not purely a recession induced
problem and the supply side issues with NEET's need to be tackled
alongside a demand side intervention like FJF on a long-term basis.
COMMUNITY BENEFIT
55. In order to provide community benefit, most
of the jobs are in the public sector and with a range of
voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations. However, it
is acknowledged that there will be constraints in the third sector
as well as cuts to be made to public services in the next year.
There is a danger of setting people up to fail if the long-term
opportunities are not available.
PRIVATE SECTOR
INVOLVEMENT
56. The lack of opportunity to create jobs in
the private sector where sustainability is more likely is thought
of as a key omission to FJF. The programme could have been used
as a catalyst for creating more private sector jobs and therefore
supporting the aim to rebalance the local economy reduce the reliance
on the public sector. Extending to SMEs, or even only small employers,
in the private sector could have helped stimulate demand for jobs.
This would have a genuine community benefit by boosting the business
base in some very deprived communities.
57. It is agreed that local partnerships could
have addressed the "State Aid" and market displacement
issues that were a constraint in enabling private sector involvement.
58. The Tyne and Wear Employment and Skills Board
private sector members who manage some sustainable businesses
expressed their dismay that they could not be an integral part
of this programme.
IMPLEMENTATION
59. Unlike many DWP programmes, this scheme was
not piloted and therefore it hasn't really been given the opportunity
to prove how successful it can be. Administration and delayed
guidance led to some teething problems and it is only recently
that the programme's processes have become smoother and more interest
has been gained from potential employers and young people.
60. There has been a lack of flexibility in processes
regarding recruitment - i.e. no self-referral or widespread advertising
of vacancies, therefore resulting in the reliance on Jobcentre
Plus to fill vacancies. This lack of flexibility in the programme
hindered appropriate local partnership working to match young
people to jobs, impacting upon the submission and conversion rate.
As Future Jobs Fund was only one part of the Young Person's Guarantee
there was little direct matching undertaken by local Jobcentre
Plus advisers who had knowledge and understanding of their customer
needs.
61. Varied approaches by Jobcentre Plus nationally
affected providers delivering across several regions. Centralised,
district based matching and co-ordination, although promoting
a cross boundary approach, did not reflect the geographical reality
of travel to work areas and partnership infrastructures already
in place.
62. The lack of true local flexibility to deliver
a programme to fit local need e.g. no localisation due to national
guidance. It is considered that given the strong, local partnership
in place in the Tyne and Wear City Region we collectively could
have implemented the programme quicker and more efficiently in
the early stages if we had been empowered to do so.
63. There was also a lack of immediate guidance
- late guidance was provided that contradicted processes already
put in place by strong effective partnerships. An alternative
approach of empowerment to deliver what works would have supported
increased early performance.
64. Constant changing of guidance - again the
programme could have been more effective by empowering localities
to deliver within their own collectively agreed processes and
rules, particularly where partnerships had previously demonstrated
comprehensive and effective local approaches e.g. through DWP
City Strategy Pathfinders or strong employment led MAA's.
65. There was a lack of promotion of opportunities
to customers due to hierarchy of options within Young Person's
Guarantee.
THE LIKELY
IMPACT OF
THE DECISION
TO END
THE FJF IN
MARCH 2011 RATHER
THAN MARCH
2012
66. It is too early to say one way or another
about the long term success of the programme but given time and
further development, the opportunities given to young people may
provide reductions to the long term unemployment rate that would
have balanced (if not outweighed) any cost in the present. In
addition, it has provided a solution to high numbers of young
people being caught in the position of being long term unemployed
potentially remaining on benefits for long periods of time with
the resultant personal demotivation and mental health issues related
to long term unemployment.
67. Our independent employers survey asked employers
to consider what the main impacts will be when the FJF programme
finishes, their responses are as follows:
- Less jobs/opportunities for young people (78.9%).
- More unemployed young people (73.7%).
- More long-term unemployment (64.2%).
- Loss of community benefit (57.9%).
- Reduction in available resources for business
growth (48.4%).
- Reduction in business growth (29.5%).
- No impact (1.1%).
68. We understand that in place of the Future
Jobs Fund, there is a plan to create apprenticeships for young
people, although the numbers will be much less than the FJF opportunities
created. One of the key differences between the Future Jobs Fund
and apprenticeships is that apprentices will be paid much less
(£55 per week).
69. The loss of financial support for the employer
will have an impact, consequently some form of wage subsidy or
national insurance exemption would encourage employers to sustain
these jobs or create new ones.
70. The decision to end FJF may have a serious
impact on reducing the opportunities for young people. FJF has
helped young people to stay in touch with the labour market at
a time of recession and high youth unemployment. Skills, the work
ethic, workplace experience etc. have all been retained. As young
people are more vulnerable to unemployment and more likely to
be "scarred" by periods out of work, it is important
to have similar future options for young people particularly when
there is slow labour market progression and job instability.
71. If the Future Jobs Fund programme had been
able to run until March 2012, it could have complemented the Work
Programme activity by creating jobs and progression routes for
individuals thus increasing it's sustainability as an outcome
funded programme. There would also have been more time to gather
the evidence base to prove the success of the programme and therefore
build a concrete case for incorporating FJF type delivery into
the Work Programme. At present, it is unlikely that this type
of delivery will be included.
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.
72. In the transition from FJF to the Work Programme,
consideration needs to be given to local economies e.g. vulnerable
economies, reliance on public sector, private sector jobs gaps
and the longer term absence of appropriate "starter"
jobs in the DWP ITT's. ITT's should specify that prime contractors
should report performance and engage in Local Enterprise Partnerships
to ensure there is local support and challenge for the Work Programme
delivery
73. There is real concern that the Work Programme
will not provide an effective transition if job creation and brokerage
are not an integral part of the responses to the ITT's. There
is also a real risk that with the black box approach anticipated
in the Work Programme, the specific needs of young people will
not be taken account of. The recession is causing the labour market
to become more competitive; therefore young people become less
attractive than more experienced candidates. Qualified people
end up under employed (lowering their job and wage expectations)
and thus making the most basic level jobs harder to get.
74. There is also the danger of young people
being excluded as not eligible under Work Programme criteria as
they will be new claimants when they leave an FJF opportunity.
75. Tyne and Wear City Region are providing a
City Region Prospectus for the Work Programme for Prime Contractors.
The prospectus will include; what the partnership can offer in
terms of the local infrastructure, existing initiatives and strategic
framework; the context, key features of our economy, trends and
Labour Market Information; the challenges and opportunities for
our area; and set out expectations of the partnership.
76. As our initial findings on the Future Jobs
Fund Programme support the view that it has been a successful
programme, within this prospectus, we will include a request for
a FJF type intervention to be included in the Work Programme.
We will encourage prime contractors to discuss with us the differing
needs of young people in our locality. This is the type of response
that many local partnerships will be supporting and therefore
communication and empowerment that working with and to Local enterprise
partnerships or employment and skills local governance arrangements
will be critical to success.
SUMMARY
The Tyne and Wear City Region partners have welcomed
the opportunity to deliver the FJF programme and are committed
to providing high quality similar type services in the future
that supports young people into sustainable work.
APPENDIX 1
EMPLOYER QUOTES REGARDING DEVELOPING, EXTENDING
AND IMPROVING SERVICES
"The FJF has allowed us to expand our services
into three new sites, which will give us a good starting point
when applying for funding to maintain the services as they will
have a track record of six months. This has also allowed us to
branch into developing training and IAG with the under 25s."
"Having extra staff that cost us nothing makes
a huge difference to delivery of service and allows us to be more
creative with our play opportunities - ultimately offering better
playcare experience for the children in our care. "Now that
we have two Charity Shop workers we have extended the Charity
Shop to a market stall once a week as well as being able to have
the shop open."
"FJF has enabled managers to develop staff by
assigning them to mentor an FJF employee. This has given staff
development experience including; being involved in interview,
supervision and one to one's and general staff management. FJF
has also given a very positive impression of young people as [it]
dispelled myths that young people do not want to work."
"Our service had limited capacity - but we are
now able to offer it across the region without a waiting list."
"The service that we offered was a loss making
venture, we needed it to break even this financial year otherwise
we would have to stop the service - and make a number of people
redundant. The FJF has allowed us to work on more older people's
gardens faster, and with less cost."
"By having more staff members, it has allowed
our service to grow and improved the skill sets of both the senior
gardeners and the garden assistants. This has had a knock on affect
to the customers themselves - who get a less expensive, higher
quality service."
"Created a role which involves communicating
directly with customers on issues to do with the delivery of their
specs. This has assisted other departments in turn, to allow more
one to one time with customers in store, and improve the service
we offer to the community."
APPENDIX 2
CASE STUDIES DEMONSTRATING BENEFITS TO INDIVIDUALS
AND ORGANISATIONS
"Our first FJF employee moved into a full time
role with us only five weeks after starting. He had never had
an interview before in his life, having worked and trained as
a bricklayer with his Grandfather. Although his current role is
in maintenance, he has been identified through our succession
planning as a replacement for a bricklayer due to retire very
soon. When that occurs, his salary will be almost double what
he first started earning. He is looking to move out of his parent's
house into a house of his own with his partner who has just given
birth to their baby daughter. Without Future Jobs Fund the whole
family would be living in an overcrowded property, relying solely
on benefits."
"One young man has transformed from an insecure,
shy individual to a competent, friendly, highly thought of important
member of the lab team in the six months he has been with us."
"...Working in the cafe has allowed [her] to
develop new skills, and gain qualifications. [She] has passed
three external qualifications. She is able to run the kitchen
and the sandwich areas well. She can prepare coffee using a barista
machine. In addition she can use an EPOS till. All these skills
her help move forward into another job."
"One of our trainees came with no experience
at all and had a difficult few weeks settling in. He has matured
drastically during his time here, no longer scruffy and in trainers,
he is smart. No longer shy with clients, he finds a common bond
with everyone. He still makes mistakes, but he no longer reacts
badly to being told how to rectify them, but takes the experience
and learns. He is a fine example of what the programme wanted
to achieve."
APPENDIX 3
EMPLOYER QUOTES REGARDING THE CHANGE OF PERCEPTION
IN EMPLOYING YOUNG UNEMPLOYED INDIVIDUALS
"Before the success of our FJF employees, we
may have assumed that people were out of work long term for a
reason. Either because they didn't want to work, or because they
were not great employees."
"Any preconceptions we had regarding long term
unemployed people have been removed by the hard working and friendly
colleagues we have seen through future jobs."
"It has shown that there is a good pool of employable
people in the unemployed numbers."
"I have a better understanding of how to develop
and progress young people within the workforce. Providing an opportunity
has enabled the trainees to develop skills that they did not have
previously which has been extremely rewarding for line managers
and mentors."
"Everyone in the business sees long term unemployed
in a different light. We believe that given the chance they are
able to develop their skills fairly quickly and offer a lot to
an organisation."
"I initially expected the Future Jobs Fund people
to work in these posts because their benefits would be affected
if they did not take up an offer. This has been proven wrong,
the contribution and commitment of the people we have been able
to place is amazing and has changed my outlook on the long term
unemployed."
"The programme has demonstrated how effective
the partnership between local companies and unemployed people
can be. We have secured an excellent candidate with appropriate
skills who will hopefully stay with the company for a long time
to come.
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