Written evidence submitted
by Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations
SUMMARY
Outlined below is the role ACEVO played in the establishment
of the Future Jobs Fund, followed by our and our members' serious
concerns around ending the Fund a year early. There are a handful
of short case studies at the end of the document to contextualise
the issues raised.
1. ACEVO was a key player in the establishment of
the Future Jobs Fund. It was launched as a result of a report
that we presented to James Purnell when he was Secretary of State
for Work and Pensions. ACEVO also sat on the Government steering
group which determined how the bidding process and administration
of the first round of funding would work.
2. In a statement at the time of the Fund's launch
Purnell said: "Without the work of ACEVO this announcement
would not have been possible. In particular, the paper Stephen
Bubb [ACEVO's Chief Executive] prepared demonstrated that the
voluntary sector has the ideas to create employment for people
out of work. This budget provides the funding that will enable
the voluntary sector to develop local, useful jobs for the young
unemployed."
3. Following the launch of the Future Jobs Fund,
ACEVO commissioned the Work Foundation to produce a report on
how this programme could deliver positive outcomes for communities
by focusing on tackling youth unemployment, while also harnessing
the unique value of the third sector. "Unemployment and the
Role of the Third Sector" can be downloaded here
http://www.skillsnortheast.co.uk/object/download.cfm?lib=liDownload&id=16057.
For more information on ACEVO's work on the Future Jobs Fund please
visit our website
http://www.acevo.org.uk/.
4. ACEVO has real concerns about the Government's
plans to scrap the £1.4 billion Fund which was designed to
target unemployed young people, disadvantaged groups and others
in deprived communities by creating 150,000 new "socially
useful" jobs.
5. Below are a few of our early conclusions about
the impact of cancelling this programme and some of the stories
we have been hearing from our members about the impact the Fund
has had on the young people involved.
- a. It is still too early to judge the effectiveness
of the Future Jobs Fund as most placements have not yet ended.
However, of the tiny percentage that have reached their conclusion,
a significant proportion of those we are aware of have ended in
offers of longer-term employment.
- b. As the Future Jobs Fund was geographically
targeted at unemployment hotspots removing it will hit some parts
of the country more than others. Some of these areas are the ones
that Cameron has specifically identified as being disproportionately
impacted by cuts in public spending, e.g. Yorkshire. We are aware
of many third sector organisations in these regions that are ready
to place people into jobs and were mid-way through bidding for
funding from this programme. Amongst these was an application
to fund a number of employment opportunities supporting women
in the community through a Women's Refuge. The result of this
move by the Government means there will be less support for these
vulnerable women and local people will not benefit from the additional
jobs. Unless new programmes are introduced in areas like this
to mitigate against the impacts of cutting this programme, communities
(and particularly third sector organisations) could be left supporting
high levels of unemployment.
- c. Research has demonstrated that youth unemployment
has a "scarring" effect - if someone is unemployed before
the age of 24 then the risk of unemployment throughout the rest
of their life is much higher. Furthermore, early experiences of
worklessness can initiate a cycle of disadvantage that is transmitted
across generations.[33]
To add to this argument we are currently
working with our members to produce a set of reliable stats on
the link between mental health issues, criminality, alcohol abuse
etc. If the Committee would be interested in receiving these,
they can be sent through.
6. There has been some excellent coverage in the
Guardian which highlighted the story of Nathan Mooney to show
the big impact the Future Jobs Fund has had on the lives of many
young people. Having been out of work for almost two years, he
worked with the charity TAG to undertake training to become a
Fitness Instructor. He came top of his class and was offered a
full time job at CityPoint Club while on a four-month work placement.
He is quoted as saying,
"I feel like my life is meaningful again, I
can't wait to get to work. I'm happy to be getting out of bed
and doing something. It's amazing and it's a ticket out of where
I was. I could still be sitting around bumming, doing nothing."
More information on this story can be found here
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jun/22/budget-2010-jobs-scheme-case-study.
7. Over the last few weeks we have been asking our
members to send in similar stories. Below are some of the early
responses we have received. We intend to build on these over the
coming weeks and publish all the case studies on our recently
launched support site, CutsWatch
http://www.cutswatch.org.uk/main/.
BTCV is an international volunteering organisation
supporting conservation projects in the UK and elsewhere. They
took on two employees, Steve and John, through the Future Jobs
Fund. Both young men had qualifications and experience in landscaping
and the construction industry. In their time at BTCV they both
received further training and on-the-job support for environmental/land
management tasks. This built up their confidence, and gave them
an insight into the kind of jobs available in the green economy.
They have now started their own landscaping business together
using recycled materials.
Lloyd Beattie, 22, was unemployed for over six months.
He lost a lot of confidence during this time and started believing
he would never find work again. Through the Future Jobs Fund he
obtained a job working as an administration assistant for BTCV,
while also working part-time at the organisation's partners Denbighshire
Countryside Service. After six months Lloyd had gained the experience
needed for working in the industry and was offered a permanent
job working for Rhyl City Strategy as an administrator.
Haswell and District Mencap is a local charity working
with people with learning disabilities. This small organisation
has taken on five employees through the Future Jobs Fund, one
of whom had been out of work for three years. When she started
working as a catering assistant her confidence was so low that
she needed a lot of support. However, through intensive mentoring
and one to one training her self-esteem levels have started to
rise. Her supervisors have noted how well she responds to their
service users and are now trying to find the funding to keep her
on permanently.
Washington Citizens Advice Bureau is an independent
charity which offers free, confidential and impartial advice to
everyone in the local community. Chris Fletcher had been unemployed
for 8 months after graduating with a BA (Hons) in Law. He was
offered a post as an Administrator at Washington CAB through the
Future Jobs Fund. They were keen to utilise the skills he built
up at university and worked with the Future Jobs Fund Adviser
to create a trainee caseworker position for him. Chris has now
been at the Bureau for a month and is enjoying his experience:
"After months of unsuccessful attempts to gain
employment as a paralegal, I was left lost and dejected. Competition
is fierce, places limited and law firms prefer candidates with
experience. Just when I had lost all hope, I was offered this
opportunity and I cannot thank Washington. I'm sitting in on interviews,
researching and learning a lot. Hopefully this experience will
prove to be the kickstart my legal career needs!"
15 September 2010
33 Unemployment and the Role of the Third Sector,
Ian Brinkley, David Coats, Will Hutton, The Work Foundation, June
2009. Back
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