Memorandum submitted by the UK Commission
for Employment and Skills
SUMMARY
1. Employer Perspective on the Future Jobs Fund
- — Employer awareness of the Future
Jobs Fund is low in comparison to other more established initiatives
such as the New Deal. In total 15% of employers are aware of the
Future Jobs Fund.
- — Overall1 1% of employers have used
the Future Jobs Fund but in looking at sectors, employers in the
public sector are far more likely to be aware and to have used
the Future Jobs Fund.
- — Employers who use the Future Jobs
Fund are generally satisfied with it, scoring it 7 out of 10 on
average for satisfaction. Just 8% of employers were "dissatisfied"
ie scoring their experience of Future Jobs Fund between 1 and
4 out of 10.
- — Of the small proportion of employers
who were dissatisfied (8% of those who had used the Future Jobs
Fund) the main reasons for dissatisfaction included breakdowns
in communication with Jobcentre Plus and issues with candidates,
such as the general standard of candidates, candidates' lack of
interest in the role and candidates not showing up.
2. Employer Perspective on recruitment of young people
- — Only a minority of employers (22%)
recruit young people aged under 24 directly from education (either
from school, college or university)
- — Employers who have recruited young
people generally find them to be well or very well prepared for
work and the perceived level of work-readiness increases with
the amount of time young recruits spend in education.
- — For those young people that are poorly
prepared for work, lack of experience is cited as the main reason
by employers. By contrast employers citing poor education and/or
literacy and numeracy issues make up a very small minority overall.
- — Recent trends in recruitment suggest
that employers have reduced their recruitment of young people,
this may be partly due to the recession although the trend appears
to have started before the recession. Equally employers may be
recruiting fewer younger people because more are choosing to stay
on in education.
BACKGROUND TO
THE UK COMMISSION
FOR EMPLOYMENT
AND SKILLS
3. The UK Commission aims to raise UK prosperity
and opportunity by improving employment and skills.
4. Our ambition is to benefit employers, individuals
and government by advising how improved employment and skills
systems can help the UK become a world-class leader in productivity,
in employment and in having a fair and inclusive society: all
this in the context of a fast-changing global economy.
5. Because employers, whether in private business
or the public sector, have prime responsibility for the achievement
of greater productivity, the UK Commission strengthens the employer
voice and provides greater employer influence over the employment
and skills systems.
6. Having developed a view of what's needed, the
UK Commission provides independent advice to the highest levels
in government to help achieve those improvements through strategic
policy development, evidence-based analysis and the exchange of
good practice.
7. Last year DWP (one of our co-sponsor Departments)
and Commissioners expressed concern about the large number of
young unemployed people across the UK. Moreover, DWP were keen
to get the employer's perspective on the government's youth offer
to employers and asked the UK Commission to undertake some work
in this area. As a result the UK Commission is undertaking its
own internal inquiry into youth employment.
8. The UK Commission's research in this area aims
to answer three key questions:
- — Who and where are the young unemployed?
- — What works from the employer perspective
with increasing youth employment?
- — How well are the current initiatives
working?
METHODOLOGY
9. Our research involves a range of research methods
combining both quantitative and qualitative research. These include
the following.
10. The 2010 Employer Perspectives survey, which
is a biennial UK wide survey of 13,500 employers. This survey
asks questions around awareness of, use of and satisfaction with
a range of employment and skills initiatives including some aimed
at the recruitment of young people. This survey is our primary
source for the section in this paper on employer perspectives
on the Future Jobs Fund. Analysis of this survey is at a very
early stage hence our limited response to this inquiry so far.
A full report on the findings of the survey as a whole is forthcoming.
11. Every two years the UK Commission carries out
one of the largest surveys of employers in the country. The National
Employer Skills Survey for England surveys around 80,000 employers
across England and provides in-depth analysis of recruitment of
young people along with detailed analysis of training patterns
and skills gaps. The most recent survey was conducted over the
summer of 2009. The survey establishes which employers recruit
young people (directly from school, college or university), how
well prepared for work employers found their young recruits, if
recruits are not well prepared the reasons for this and recruitment
practices during the recession. This is the source for the section
in this paper on employer perspectives on recruitment of young
people.
12. A series of interviews with employers have been
taking place throughout the summer period. These employers include
Commissioner organisations, employers we surveyed and followed
up and employers we made contact with through regional Employer
Coalitions. The Commission has also done some research through
Jobcentre Plus via their Employer Engagement Division.
THE EMPLOYER
PERSPECTIVE ON
THE FUTURE
JOBS FUND:
13. Awareness of the Future Jobs Fund amongst
employers is low in comparison to other initiatives but there
is a strong sector and size dimension. Only 15% of employers
in Great Britain are aware of the initiative, this compares with
55% awareness for the longer established New Deal. Awareness varies
considerably across different sectors with public sector employers
far more likely to be aware. For example, only 5% of employers
in the agriculture sector are aware of the Future Jobs Fund while
37% of employers in the public administration and defence sector
are aware of the initiative. Awareness among key sectors for the
employment of young people, namely retail and hospitality, is
below average. In hotels and catering 12% of employers were aware
and in retail 10% were aware.
14. The larger the employer the more likely they
are to be aware of the Future Jobs Fund. Only 13% of employers
with between 2-4 employees are aware while 32% of employers with
over 250 employees are aware.
15. Overall 1% of employers across Britain used
the Future Jobs Fund. Use of the Future Jobs Fund was far
greater in the public sector than private with 6% of employers
from public administration and defence sector and 7% from the
health and social work sector recording use. In terms of the private
sector 1% of employers in business services, transport and hotels
and catering had used the Future Jobs Fund. Less than 1% of employers
in all other sectors recorded use of the Future Jobs Fund. Variations
in size are also apparent with larger employers using the initiative
more than smaller employers. Four per cent of employers with 50-249
employees used the Future Jobs Fund and 8% of employers with more
than 250 employees used it, while only 1% of employers employing
2-4 employees used the initiative.
16. Employers who used the Future Jobs Fund were
generally satisfied with it. Employers who had used the Future
Jobs Fund were asked to score their experience of it out of 10,
with 10 signalling high levels of satisfaction. The average score
across all employers who had used the Future Jobs Fund was 7 out
of 10. The analysis categorises those employers who score their
experience between 1 and 4 as "dissatisfied", in total
just 8% were dissatisfied.
17. Reasons for dissatisfaction were varied. The
main reason given for dissatisfaction with Future Jobs Fund was
communication problems with Jobcentre Plus, this was cited by
37% of those employers who had used the Future Jobs Fund and were
dissatisfied. Other major reasons were to do with the candidates
themselves: 36% stated that the quality of applicants wasn't high
enough, 29% found applicants were not interested in the position
and 19% stated that applicants didn't turn up. Other reasons cited
by dissatisfied employers included complaints about the length
of the process (19%), too much bureaucracy (10%) and lack of a
response to an advert.
EMPLOYER PERSPECTIVE
ON THE
RECRUITMENT OF
YOUNG PEOPLE:
18. Only a minority of employers (22%) recruit
young people aged under 24 directly from education. Employers
who have recruited young people generally find them to be well
or very well prepared for work and the perceived level of work-readiness
increases with the amount of time young recruits spend in education.
Two-thirds of employers recruiting 16 year olds (66%) found them
to be well or very well prepared for work. Almost three-quarters
(74%) thought 17-18 year old college or school leaver recruits
were well prepared for work. Recruits from university are considered
the most work-ready of the three groups, with 84% of employers
recruiting recent graduates finding them to be well prepared.
Just 12% found them to be poorly prepared.
19. For those young people who are poorly prepared,
lack of experience is cited as the main reason. Just over
half of employers who felt young people were poorly prepared for
work said that a poor understanding of the working world was the
most common reason. Poor attitude or lack of motivation is cited
as the second most common deficiency for 16-year olds and 17-18
year old recruits. Concerns around quality of education or literacy
and numeracy abilities were only cited by a very small minority
of employers.
20. Recent trends (2005 to 2009) suggest that
employers have reduced their recruitment of young people partly
in response to the recession, but recruitment of school leavers
seems to be on a downward trend from before the recession. Equally
employers may be recruiting fewer younger people because more
are choosing to stay on in education. In response to the recession
only in the public sector did the proportion of employers who
increased recruitment of young people outweigh those who reduced
it. Again there were large sectoral variations with a quarter
of construction employers reducing recruitment straight from education.
21. Variations at the local level are far greater
than those found at the regional level. In Swindon, Manchester
and Bournemouth 30% of employers have recruited a young person.
This contrasts with Bury, Harrow and Rutland where 14% of employers
have recruited a young person.
FURTHER ASSISTANCE
The UK Commission would be happy to offer any further
assistance to the Committee in support of its work.
10 September 2010
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