Written evidence submitted by Birmingham
City Council
1. BACKGROUND
1.1. Be Birmingham is the local strategic partnership
for the City of Birmingham; its membership includes the City Council,
other statutory bodies (Health, Fire and Police), the Chamber
of Commerce and the Voluntary Services Council.
1.2. In July 2009 it was given the role of managing
a multi agency proposal to the Department of Work and Pensions
(DWP) to deliver Future Jobs Fund (FJF) on behalf of Birmingham
City Council. This formed part of an overarching proposal for
FJF in the West Midlands submitted through the City Region.
1.3. In July 2009 unemployment amongst the working
age population stood at 7.7% (49,151 JSA claimants) of a working
age population of 638,200) The number of those aged under 25 was
11.3% (14,275 JSA claimants) of a working age population of 126,298.
1.4. To develop the Birmingham programme, a task
and finish group was established which included representatives
from all Be Birmingham's partner organisations. This proved an
essential mechanism for ensuring the engagement of a wide range
of statutory, voluntary and private sector organisations in the
delivery of the programme.
1.5. The Phase 1 FJF proposal for 1500 places was
approved in October 2009 with all FJF employees having to be in
post by March 2010. Fairly early in the programme it was realised
that this was overly ambitious and this was varied down to 750
places. This target was achieved by 30th March 2010, when a phase
2 contract for a further 1800 FJF places came into operation.
These places were fully allocated by the end of April 2010. It
had been intended to submit a Phase 3 proposal for a further 2500
places to be delivered by March 2012. Given the popularity of
the programme both amongst the employers and the employees this
target could easily have been achieved.
1.6. The breakdown of places created by sector by
the end of the programme in September 2011 will be:
- Local Authority: 800.
- Voluntary Sector: 1400.
- Other public bodies 250.
- Private Sector 50.
Our ability to engage with the private sector was
severely limited due to the community benefit criterion.
The success of the Be Birmingham FJF programme is
almost entirely due to the quality of the working relationships
developed between Be Birmingham and its partners.
2. THE PROGRAMME
2.1. Given the size of the contract it was essential
that a programme management team was established prior to the
commencement of the programme. Through the partnership five staff
were identified with the necessary programme development and management
skills.
2.2. The task and finish group established a set
of criteria against which to assess applications from organisations
wanting to create employment opportunities through the Future
Jobs Fund:
- Community Benefit.
- Levels of supervision and support available (Job
search and on the job training).
- Comparability with other jobs currently available
in the labour market.
- Past experience of working with the client group.
- Financial health.
Each applicant wanting to create FJF jobs had to
submit an application form. This was followed by a clarification
meeting and then an appraisal. Prior to the issuing of a service
level agreement a full health and safety check was undertaken.
2.3. At least 25% of applications to create FJF employment
opportunities were rejected as they did not meet the criteria
outlined above.
2.4. Given that two thirds of the programme was delivered
through the voluntary sector, simple claims and reporting systems
were essential, that did not cause small organisations cash flow
problems. The systems established were approved by the council's
auditors prior to the programme starting and have ensured prompt
payment against the submission of the correct auditable evidence.
2.5 FJF was popular with employers, because it offered
six month's work experience, rather than the two week or month
that characterises other programmes. This allowed employers to
invest time in training and support and in return get a period
of productive work from the FJF employees.
2.6 The fact that FJF employees are waged allowed
the employers to exert control over lateness and unauthorised
absence. This gave FJF employees "real" work experience.
2.7 Excellent working relationships were established
with Jobcentre Plus, which once systems were in place, enabled
eligible JSA claimants to be matched to FJF jobs.
Subsequently the Be Birmingham FJF team and JCP staff
ran joint job fairs, which proved essential to the success of
the programme post December 2009.
2.8. A small monitoring team was formed with the
aim of interviewing at least 60% of the FJF employees while on
the programme. The monitoring tested:
- FJF employees working to their job descriptions.
- Adequacy of supervision and support.
- That the FJF employees looking for work.
- Social benefits accruing from the programme
(Soft outputs).
If issues were identified further visits would take
place.
2.9 Be Birmingham appointed specialist contractors
to support its third sector partner employers in developing and
delivering mentoring and job search programmes. The aim of this
was twofold:
- To provide these services direct to FJF
employees.
- To increase the capacity of those organisations
to support the permanent staff and volunteers.
This service was funded though the Working Neighbourhoods
Fund.
2.10 It was essential that JSA claimants coming onto
the programme viewed the FJF opportunities as real jobs and not
as "work experience placements". Be Birmingham tried
to identify opportunities in the voluntary sector which were analogous
to those in the commercial sector. Over thirty jobs were created
in the city's credit unions, which replicated jobs in the financial
sector.
Case Study: Heather FJF Job: Credit Union Worker.
Heather hadn't worked before but wanted to get a job in a bank.
After three months working for the credit union she obtained permanent
employment with the Co-operative Bank based on the experience
she had gained and her good record of attendance and time keeping.
2.11. By the end of September 2011, 80 voluntary
and community sector organisations will have offered employment
opportunities through Be Birmingham's Future Jobs Fund programme.
The number of jobs offered per organisation has ranged from one
to three hundred. The commitment of these organisations to provide
support for local unemployed people has been exceptional.
2.12 The commitment of other public bodies, health
trusts, the police, colleges and Universities has been good. Numerous
offers of job opportunities with clear routes into permanent employment
were identified at the beginning of the programme. These proved
hard to realise due to the inflexibility of the public sector
bodies' recruitment processes.
It was not unusual for a potential FJF worker to
be subject to a two stage interview process with psychometric
testing, this for a job that paid national minimum wage! In most
cases after detailed negotiation with their HR departments simpler
processes were agreed. However a number were unable to adapt their
systems and had to withdraw from the programme.
2.13 The slow take up by public bodies was in part
the cause of the varying down of the Phase 1 contract from 1500
to 750 in December 2009. In contrast to this the city council
adapted and condensed to its recruitment processes with little
difficulty to accommodate FJF.
3. STRENGTHS AND
WEAKNESS OF
THE FJF PROGRAMME
3.1 Strengths
3.1.1 The breadth of the FJF partnership enabled
Be Birmingham to provide real employment opportunities that appealed
to people of all skill levels. About 20% of the people on the
programme were educated to first degree level. Voluntary and community
organisations were able to identify a range of jobs suitable for
graduates; including researchers, fundraisers, computer programmers
and high level ICT operatives and media technicians. Almost all
the graduates on the programme have stated that their degrees
carry little weight without paid work experience to back this
up. Employers are not very interested in interneeships or work
placements.
Case Study: Harry FJF Job: Public Arts Worker.
Harry returned home after gaining a 2.1 degree in fine arts from
a London University. In order to get a job he needed work experience
in his field. He had undertaken internments with arts organisations,
but had felt exploited and that internments did not mean the same
to employers as a "real job". With three other graduates,
Harry gained an FJF job with one of the leading public arts organisations
in the city developing installations. They gained experience in
writing proposals to grant making foundations. A number of these
have now been successful and Harry and his colleagues now have
employment for up to three years.
3.1.2. The greatest benefit of the Future Jobs Fund
is its "invisibility". Once you have gained a FJF job,
its a short term contract job like any other short term contract
job.
If you apply for a job when in work you stand a much
greater chance of getting the job than if unemployed. (for percentage
success rates see 4.1).
3.1.3 When applying for new jobs most people on FJF
employment opportunities do not mention how their current job
is funded. Being on a "programme" such as Flexible New
Deal carries a stigma both for participants and for employers
who realise that an applicant is on a "programme" This
stigma could easily transfer to the "Work Programme".
3.1.4 In a number of instances it has been possible
to align FJF jobs with forthcoming permanent employment opportunities.
A prime example of this is the City Councils Housing Department's
FJF workforce, undertaking area based environmental works. Over
70 of these young people have now been recruited to apprenticeship
positions with contractors building new homes for the Municipal
Housing Trust. While the skill sets are not necessarily analogous
the successful applicants have all demonstrated that they can
perform well in the work place and respond to training.
Case Study: Nick FJF Performing Arts Worker: Nick
was employed through FJF at a major arts venue developing community
activities. He obtained a job at Jaguar Land Rover. The company
were impressed with his ability to hold down a job and were prepared
to train him to carry out his new role.
3.1.5 The FJF programme has made a significant contribution
to the development of the community and voluntary sector in Birmingham,
particularly social enterprises. It has enabled them to:
- Develop and test new services that will
create permanent employment.
- Carry out research and support fund raising.
- Run community events and festivals.
Case Study: Community Hairdressing Service: A deprived
and very isolated inner city estate has no hairdressing salon
to serve its large population of elderly residents. The local
community association wanted to set up a hairdressing CIC to serve
the area. Working Neighbourhoods Fund paid the set up costs and
a years' salary for the manager. FJF paid for four workers all
of whom will receive NVQ training. Two will move into permanent
employment with the CIC at the end of their FJF funded contracts.
In addition the Be Birmingham FJF team has assisted
FJF employers develop HR policies and procedures and establish
in-house training and mentoring programmes.
3.1.6 Whilst the voluntary sector has gained significantly
from the FJF programme it has invested considerably more in improving
the employment prospects of the people they have employed though
FJF.
3.1.7 To enhance the FJF offer, Be Birmingham has
obtained funding from:
Working Neighbourhoods Fund. This has paid for:
- An enhanced Job Search Service-to support
FJF employers in providing effective job search and employment
skills coaching. This has included a telephone help line and job
vacancy texting service.
- Mentoring and additional specialist support
for FJF employees.
- A limited number of jobs with a higher pay
rate to reflect additional duties or skill needs.
- A 60 additional places. These will be allocated
toward the end of the programme to employers who have been particularly
successful at progressing their FJF employees into employment.
Train to Gain
- Be Birmingham has worked in partnership with
its employers to provide work based training through the Train
to Gain programme.
3.1.8 In scoping the work of the FJF monitoring team
Be Birmingham looked to assess the wider social impact of the
programme. Over 500 one to one interviews now having been carried
out with FJF workers. The main themes emerging are:
- Raising self esteem: "It's my first
real job; you don't know how good it makes me feel."
- Being valued: Society values people though
paying them for their work. Neither work placements nor internments
do this, Future Jobs Fund does.
- Doing a worthwhile job: All the jobs are
carefully assessed for community benefit. Doing a job of benefit
for the community increases the workers self confidence and esteem.
- Being paid: Makes you a full member of society,
you can save for a holiday or a computer—you can get a flat
and even furnish it yourself. You are no longer dependant.
- Not being on a programme:
Case Study: Mo FJF Job: Homelessness Outreach Worker:
Mo a 50 year old former chip shop owner "I've been out
of work for a year I've got a job for six months working with
the homeless, I've signed up for a college course in caring so
even if I don't get a full job out of this I'll have my NVQ and
good work experience which will be good in applying for other
jobs" He didn't realise his job was funded through FJF.
Other FJF workers have mentioned how their job enabled
them to put order into their chaotic lifestyles, through having
a structure to their day and being subject to the discipline of
a job.
3.1.9 Be Birmingham is developing a number of FJF
employment opportunities for women who are leaving custody to
live in a bail hostel. This will give them six months' administrative
work with an agency who specialise in working with ex offenders.
They will be encouraged to save with a local credit union so that
when they leave the bail hostel they can buy items for their flats,
and supported in applying for permanent employment.
3.2 Weaknesses of the Future Jobs Fund
3.2.1 The lack of incentives for the employer to
progress the FJF worker into a permanent job.
This could have taken one of two forms:
- A bonus paid to the provider for every FJF
employee who obtained permanent employment measured at 13 or 26
weeks from leaving the programme.
- The residual amount of the £6,500 is
paid to the FJF provider for every worker who gained employment
before the end of their six months, this again to be paid at either
13 or 26 weeks from leaving the programme and staying in work.
3.2.2 The community benefit criteria made it very
difficult to engage with private sector employers, even if the
jobs they were offering to create had a very significant community
benefit element, or would have had a direct link to a permanent
job. The only case where it was possible was where a large contractor
had a charitable arm and the FJF workers were employed through
this undertaking work of community benefit.
4. IMPACT OF
THE EARLY
TERMINATION OF
THE PROGRAMME
4.1 This is a programme that has not been allowed
to prove itself or develop. Phase 3 of FJF was curtailed, before
any meaningful figures on progression to permanent employment
or other positive outcomes had become available. Figures from
the Phase 1 of FJF (October 2009 to September 2010) are showing
over 30% obtaining employment with a further 25% going into further
education or taking up volunteering opportunities. These figures
are significantly better than the success rates currently being
achieved on Flexible New Deal which is the precursor to the Work
Programme.
4.2 The first contract was "ramped up"
exceptionally quickly following the April Budget of 2009. It harnessed
the enthusiasm of employers from the statutory, voluntary and
private sector to "do something about youth unemployment".
4.3 Recruitment in the first phase was restricted
by the inability of public sector organisations to adapt their
recruitment procedures to meet the needs of the programme. By
the second phase this had been overcome.
4.4 If Phase 3 had proceeded, evaluative information
would have been available both from Phase 1 and the first six
months of Phase 2, this would have allowed Lead Accountable Bodies
to more effectively plan provision. In Phase 3, the Be Birmingham
programme would have been focused on delivery partners who had
either succeeded in getting their FJF employees into permanent
employment or were providing very high levels of specialist support
or training for their workers.
4.4 The early termination of the programme will mean
the loss of a large number of very high quality employment opportunities
currently funded though FJF. Very few if any of these will translate
into the short term work experience opportunities, usually less
than a month, which characterise Flexible New Deal and will form
a major part of the "Work Programme".
4.5 For a work placement to be effective the employer
has to initially invest time in training and supporting a person
to carry out the role, and then gain return on their investment
through productive work undertaken by the FJF worker over the
remainder of the six months entitlement. Two weeks or a months
work placements do not allow the employer to gain a return on
their investment.
4.6 The loss of the well developed delivery partnership
that has very effectively linked the public, voluntary and private
sectors in identifying and delivering high quality jobs for the
unemployed.
4.7 That a further 2500 unemployed people will be
denied the opportunity to take part in a programme that gives
them value, raises their self esteem, and in many cases gives
them their first experience of paid employment.
5. ENGAGEMENT OF
FJF EMPLOYERS IN
THE WORK
PROGRAMME
5.1 There appears no direct relationship between
FJF and the new Work Programme. It would not be possible to incorporate
work placements of the quality and length of those provided under
FJF into the new programme.
5.2 The payment structure of the new Work Programme
based entirely on outcomes means that most of Be Birmingham's
partners could not carry the risk entailed:
- Cash flow: For small voluntary organisations,
having to wait up to eighteen months after a client has to obtain
to obtain all payments would not be financially practical.
- Non Achievement: The risk of losing the
"investment" made in the individual if they are not
able to obtain work prior to leaving the programme or loose their
jobs between stage payments.
5.3 The structure of the new programme means that
to pay wages for work experience, or to provide work experience
of meaningful length (4/6months), is both too expensive and puts
the provider at a very real risk of not recouping their investment
if the beneficiary does not get into work.
5.4 Most of the organisations in the Be Birmingham
FJF partnership do not have the financial capacity to become prime
contactors under the "Work Programme" or would be able
to carry the risk of becoming sub-contractors unless the "primes"
were willing to make significant up front payments to cover their
cash flow.
6 September 2010
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