Youth Unemployment and the Future Jobs Fund

Written evidence submitted by National Children’s Bureau (NCB)

1.0 Summary

The Work and Pensions Select Committee Inquiry into Youth Unemployment and the Future Jobs Fund (FJF) has invited written submissions. These submissions are in relation to the strengths and weaknesses of the current programme, the impact of terminating the programme and the transition to the Future Work Programme.

NCB, as a Skills Development provider under the FJF, is well placed to comment on the successes of the programme to date and welcomes the opportunity to comment on the impact that the programme has had on the young people involved.

Overall the impact of the programme has been positive for both voluntary sector employers and participating young people, creating a more representative and balanced work force as well as providing young people with the chance to develop their knowledge and skills in the workplace. A focus for improvement would be targetting applicants with a genuine interest in the sector rather than encouraging blanket applications for all available vacancies.

NCB has concerns about the impact of ending the programme early and managing the transition to the Future Work Programme. In particular, NCB is concerned that focus on young people with lower educational attainement ignores the large numbers of graduates who have been unable to secure employment. For this reason NCB encourages a focus on the transition from education and worklessness to increase the chances of young people from 18-24 securing employment in the long term.

2.0 NCB’s Skills Development programme

2.1 Starting in March 2010 as part of its Voluntary Sector Support work, NCB was funded under the Future Jobs programme to run a Skills Development Programme for previously unemployed young people aged between 18 and 24.

2.2 The Programme creates work-based job learning opportunities for young people within community and voluntary sector organisations. After one month’s induction into the world of work, the young people are placed in entry level jobs lasting for a minimum of five months, working 25 hours per week for a voluntary organisation based in the London Boroughs of Lewisham, Greenwich, Lambeth, Hackney, Newham or Tower Hamlets.

2.3 NCB supports the young people throughout the programme and beyond: in addition to the initial comprehensive one-month induction, NCB works with the young people to develop tailored learning plans, provides a named mentor, and offers support to secure permanent employment.

3.0 The extent to which the Future Jobs Fund (FjF) has succeeded in matching new work experience opportunities to young unemployed people

3.1 Over the past year, NCB has worked with its voluntary sector members and the young people on the Skills Development Programme to facilitate work experience in supportive and nurturing environments. We want to ensure that the young people are:

· gaining valuable work experience that is transferable

· able to overcome the barriers to work that most young people face in a safe and supportive environment (i.e. childcare issues, housing issues, moving from benefits to pay etc.)

· confident, have high levels of self esteem and able to compete effectively for jobs.

3.2 However, despite high levels of interest in the programme (271 young people applying to be on it to date), we have been able to offer only 21 jobs to eligible young people in member organisations and within NCB itself. And, despite attempts to secure posts in other areas of London, each of these jobs is based in either the London Boroughs of Islington or Lambeth.

3.3 The vacancies filled to date include: Project Administrator, Research Assistant, Library Assistant, Policy Officer, Receptionist, Play Worker, IT Helpdesk Assistant, Media and Communications Apprentice, Fundraising Assistant, and Administration Assistant.

3.4 This is not a reflection on the quality, commitment or enthusiasm of the young people who want to take part – the 21 young people so far placed in employment remain there, a 100% retention rate. The challenge has been in finding appropriate vacancies for the young people. Although our experience is that the FjF has been successful in matching applicants to jobs, there are not enough jobs for the applicants.

4.0 Strengths and Weaknesses of the FjF programme from the perspective of providers (including in the third sector) employers, and young employed people, particularly in relation to the long term sustainability of employment opportunities

4.1 In terms of Strengths, NCB has found the following:

4.1.1 From a voluntary sector employers perspective: The programme offers a virtual ‘risk free’ opportunity to employ and upskill young people. In 2009, Beatbullying and the Directory of Social Change undertook a survey1 looking at younger people and apprenticeships within third sector organisations. The results indicate that organisations in the sector are unable, rather than unwilling, to offer apprenticeship places and that this situation is attributable to two main factors:

· On the whole, smaller organisations recruit experienced and knowledgeable staff as they do not have the financial resources to invest in training and developing junior staff. Primarily they rely on larger voluntary sector organisations like NCB or those outside the sector to fulfil this function.

· And they do not have the internal capacity to offer adequate support to younger inexperienced staff, or those with little or no academic achievement.

4.1.2 These two factors create an unbalanced workforce within the sector, with entrants into organisations being primarily experienced individuals or individuals with good academic qualifications who are self starters or able to work on their own initiative.

4.1.3 The FjF programme has made a direct contribution to alleviating the difficulty the third sector experiences in recruiting and maintaining a workforce that is more reflective of society as a whole. Participating organisations have the opportunity as well as the funding that enables them to employ young people who are locally based, and keen to learn about the organisation and the sector as a whole. Importantly, this can take place without the added pressure of having to satisfy immediate performance targets and outputs.

4.1.4 Additionally the FjF programme provides the opportunity for organisations to build their capacity; (in our case) interact directly with their target group; support the sector in training and upskilling young people to be conscientious, reliable and contributory members of staff; and cover basic salary costs whilst this is happening.

4.1.5 For the young people, the programme improves their knowledge, helps them to gain new skills, breaks down any barriers they face to successful integration into work, and helps them contribute to their local communities. Raising levels of confidence and skills has a direct impact on the long term sustainability of the employment of young people themselves: their level of confidence in their own abilities increases, and they start to see the evidence in their work that they are effective. In our experience, on the whole, young people want to be part of a successful workforce; as their contributions to their workplace are acknowledged, they gain in self-esteem and become more integral to the organisation.

4.1.6 NCB has found that, in the right environment, young people are able to sustain employment when provided with an employer that is willing to ensure necessary skills development ‘extras’ are in place: comprehensive inductions; on-the-job training; and a nurturing support mechanism that includes regular 1-2-1 meetings with line managers, clear structures of work and mentors to help overcome any barriers.

4.1.7 Young people who have applied to, been interviewed for and/or taken part in NCB’s FjF Skills Development Programme have said:

· About the Opportunity to take part in the Skills Development programme:

o I’ve never had the opportunity before to get involved in the voluntary sector so its been great to learn about charities

o The biggest success of my placement so far has been to be in a work environment and get this experience – its been really valuable

o This opportunity has been a real eye opener to the profession I want to go into.

· About the comprehensive Induction:

o Equality and Diversity and IT have both been a highlight

o Its been really useful to refresh my practical IT skills through the induction

o Goal setting was really useful – its good to start thinking about the future and what I want to do

o My taster days in the workplace were really useful because I had the chance to meet colleagues so have felt more comfortable when I start work

o The induction made my transition into work much easier, it seemed like a less daunting process

· About the Job:

o I really love it! I’ve gained much more skills than I expected

o I’ve gained lots of experience and am enjoying being busy each day

o I’ve really grown in confidence and improved in my communication skills

o My timekeeping has really improved through being at work every day

o Even though it’s a lot of travel, my work motivates me to get up each day

· About their Mentor:

o Having a mentor has been great to help me in setting goals and being clearer about what I want to do

o I’ve enjoyed meeting my mentor to set targets and think more about the future

o My mentor is my first point of contact if I have a problem I need to discuss

· About the Support received:

o I’ve had lots of support so far

o Our session about careers in the voluntary sector was really good. I also learnt how important it is about being punctual, honest and reliable

o I’m getting on really well with my manager and feel that I am well supported

4.2 In terms of Weaknesses, NCB has found the following:

4.2.1 From a voluntary sector employer’s perspective: All advertising of positions has to go through JobCentre Plus (JCP); employers themselves are not allowed to recruit to the criteria specified by JCP. The service provided lacks ‘personalisation’. For example, a young person might inform JCP that s/he wants to work in a particular field, but the JCP advisor will advise them to apply for every vacancy available. JCP does not provide the young person with advice and support to see if they are suitable for the vacancy, nor does it encourage young people to review their CV and highlight skills and experience that are relevant to particular vacancies when completing a job application. Employment opportunities are not posted quickly, and applications received by the employers can be incomplete, or arrive after the closing date for the job.

4.2.2 Finally, a real weakness is that young people are not always prepared when they come to interview because they have not been provided with the submitted job descriptions and supporting information by JCP. When advertising vacancies, employers provide this information to respondents as a matter of course. Because the FjF process of advertising and applications are managed by JCP, that does not always happen; the system in which they work is highly centralised and not focused on the needs of the individual.

4.2.3 From a young person’s perspective:

o At assessment day ‘I don’t know anything about the job, my advisor told me to come here’

o ‘I’m not interested in this type of work, I was told by my advisor to apply for everything’

5.0 The likely impact of the decision to end the FJF in March 2011 rather than March 2012

5.1 Reducing the programme length will impact on young people themselves. The number of 18 to 24-year-olds signing on for more than six months but less than a year jumped by 112 per cent in the year to May 2010 . Young men have been worst affected, with one in five of those aged between 18 and 24 out of work 2 . These statistics reflect the increasing number of young people who are applying for a limited number of jobs. The decision to end the programme in March 2011 rather than March 2012 will increase unemployment for young people in th is age range.

5. 2 It is also important to note that the high levels of unemployment in this age range are not necessarily linked to low educational attainment – there is , however, a clear link to the number of vacancies available . Over 70 per cent of the young people applying to NCB’s FjF Skills Development Programme have university education or degrees. We assume, therefore, that an early end to the FjF makes it even less likely that young people with lower level or no qualifications will be able to secure any type of work, short or long-term.

6.0 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

6.1 As the single Work Programme is still in its initial tendering stage and therefore only open to providers able to offer the full package, it is difficult to comment on how the transition from FjF to these programmes will be managed. We also note that the programme is not expected to be up and running until summer 2011, leaving a gap of a few months where nothing will be in place.

6.2 The mechanisms for managing the change could involve working with the existing contract holders so that those young people on the programme experience a seamless transition to the new programme, and the impact to both prospective employees and employers is minimal.

6.3 In line with Coalition Government policy, we believe that the transition to the Work Programme will focus on the conversion of the FjF places to ‘new apprenticeships’. However, since the majority of our FjF applicants are graduates, there is a potential youth unemployment gap for those who already have qualifications.

6.4 NCB believes that new apprenticeships should focus on the transition from education or worklessness to work. They should encompass a comprehensive induction that helps young people deal with the barriers they may face when contemplating or starting work (ie childcare, travel, housing issues, managing finances, team building, time management and workplace behavior etc) progressing to team working, setting projects and tasks with a regular review in place, and making use of the services provided by Work Programme providers and later their employer that can support their transition into employment. A ‘work skills’ apprenticeship – with salary costs covered or heavily subsidised for the first year, and clearly designed for those with no or little relevant work experience regardless of their educational background – may, in the current tough employment environment, prove a more realistic option for new apprenticeships than the older, more traditional ‘vocational’ models. A focus on ‘work skills’ would also make apprenticeships more attractive and relevant to all young people, and not just those with lower educational attainment.

6 September 2010