nsrp business plan

North Staffordshire Regeneration Partnership

North Staffordshire Employment and SkillsBusiness Plan

2008-2011

Contents 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Background 1

1.2 Structure of the business plan 1

2 Context – the nature of the challenge 2 2.1 Introduction 2

2.2 Policy context 2

2.3 Supply of labour and skills 9

2.4 Demand for labour 11

2.5 Implications for this business plan 13

3 Existing activity 14 3.1 Introduction 14

3.2 Key partner activity 14

3.3 An appraisal of existing activity 18

3.4 Implications for this business plan 19

4 Aims, objectives and targets 21 4.1 Introduction 21

4.2 Aims, objectives and principles 21

4.3 Worklessness targets 23

4.4 Skills targets 25

5 The scope of activities to be delivered 27 5.1 Introduction 27

5.2 An overview of future activity 28

5.3 Support for residents 29

5.4 Employer support 35

5.5 Skills development and training 37

5.6 Summary of key initial priorities 39

6 Management arrangements and finance 41 6.1 Introduction 41

6.2 Governance arrangements 42

6.3 Executive arrangements 44

6.4 Partner roles and responsibilities 47

6.5 Operating budget and funding 49

6.6 Marketing and communications 52

6.7 Quality assurance, monitoring and review 53

6.8 Risk assessment and management 54

7 Next steps 56 7.1 Milestones 56

North Staffordshire Regeneration Partnership Employment and Skills Business Plan

July 2008

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July 2008

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This Business Plan provides the framework for the work of the North Staffordshire Regeneration Partnership (NSRP) Employment and Skills Group. The Group is one of four strategic commissioning groups established to bring about the integrated regeneration of the North Staffordshire area.

The work of the group will focus on achieving targets for reducing worklessness and increasing skills levels and thereby contribute to the creation of a more diverse, knowledge intensive economy in North Staffordshire. It will do this by:

(i) maximising the contribution of key partner organisations to address both worklessness and workforce/skills development across North Staffordshire;

(ii) ensuring the delivery of effective programmes; and

(iii) providing an integrated approach with mutually agreed targets and priorities that involves all relevant agencies and bodies from the private, public voluntary and community sectors.

This Business Plan has been prepared following a series of workshops and extensive one-to-one discussions with key partners. These have resulted in a broad consensus concerning in particular aims, objectives and targets for the Partnership; priorities for future activities; and the arrangements for management and delivery of those activities.

111...222 SSStttrrruuuccctttuuurrreee ooofff ttthhheee bbbuuusssiiinnneeessssss ppplllaaannn The Plan comprises the following sections:

Section 2: outlines the policy, economic and labour market context within which the plan has been developed;

Section 3: maps out existing delivery and funding support for employment and workforce development;

Section 4: sets out the key aims, objectives and targets;

Section 5: describes the activities to be delivered;

Section 6: outlines the management and governance arrangements; the staffing structure; the roles and responsibilities of partners; costs and funding; marketing and promotion; performance review; and provides a risk assessment; and

Section 7: outlines the next steps for the work and development of the Employment and Skills Group.

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222...111 IIInnntttrrroooddduuuccctttiiiooonnn This section provides a summary of the context for the delivery of employment and skills support activity within the North Staffordshire. It highlights the significant needs facing the area in terms of low skills levels and high worklessness – particularly in Stoke – and the challenges to address these issues posed by policy at all levels. It considers in turn the policy context; the supply of labour; and the demand for labour.

222...222 PPPooollliiicccyyy cccooonnnttteeexxxttt The NSRP’s approach to employment and skills needs to be developed and implemented within a framework that relates to its broader strategic context and key policies at national, regional and local levels. This is necessary not just in order to facilitate access to external funding and support but also to enable effective operational linkages to be made with mainstream delivery and inter-related policy areas and to ensure that the activities of the Partnership are genuinely adding value.

222...222...111 EEEmmmpppllloooyyymmmeeennnttt pppooolll iiicccyyy At a national level, the Government’s approach to addressing worklessness and achieving its 80% employment rate target has evolved considerably over the past year. The recently published Green Paper (No one written off: reforming welfare to reward responsibility, DWP, July 2008) set out its proposals for welfare reform while ‘In work, better off: next steps to full employment’ and ‘World Class Skills: Implementing the Leitch Review of Skills in England’ (both published in July 2007) described how employment and skills policy will be better integrated.

The approach is probably best summarised in ‘Ready to Work, Skilled for Work: Unlocking Britain’s Talent’ published by the Government in January 2008. It outlines a strategy for how government and business will work together to unlock Britain’s talent, ensure employers have access to the skills they need to prosper and give people the chance to realise their potential and change their lives.

It is characterised by five core principles that provide a key part of the framework for the NSRP:

(i) a stronger framework of rights and responsibilities to move benefit claimants from being passive recipients to being active jobseekers – so that people who can work, now or in the future have the support they need to find a job and gain relevant skills;

(ii) a personalised and responsive approach – with increased discretion to respond to individual need being given to Jobcentre Plus (JCP) staff and other public, private and third sector providers and Local Employment Partnerships being used to tailor employment and skills support to local circumstances and employer needs;

(iii) partnership working between the public, private and third sectors – with use of contracting and commissioning and increased use of third-party providers;

(iv) targeting areas of high worklessness by devolving and empowering local areas; and

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(v) providing jobs that pay and offer opportunities for progression – with those who need help to develop their skills being given access to relevant pre-employment and in-work training.

These principles are evident in the ongoing reform of mainstream approaches to delivery as evidenced in particular by the forthcoming introduction of Flexible New Deal and an increasing recognition of the need to better integrate employment and skills policy and this has been reflected in greater joint working between LSC and JCP to achieve closer alignment of funding and delivery.

A brief summary of some of the delivery implications of these policy priorities is given in Table 2.1:

Table 2.1: Summary of Ready to Work measures

Policy Area Action

Making work pay A new better off in work credit

Rights and responsibilities of lone parents

Lone parents to actively seek work - with youngest child of 12 or over from October 08; aged 10 or over from Oct 09; aged 7 or over from Oct 2010

Pre-work preparation and in work support

Availability of affordable childcare – key element of JCP assessment

Increase child maintenance disregard in the main income related benefits

Modernisation of the New Deals

JCP to lead jobsearch for the first 12 months

Entrance to Gateway after 6 months – more intensive jobsearch activity and skills assessment, most disadvantaged to be fast tracked

People looking for work after 12 months to be referred to a specialist provider

Support for disabled people and people with health conditions

Employment support allowance to replace Incapacity Benefit

Everyone to have access to the Pathways to work programme from April 2008

A work capability assessment to replace the personal capability assessment focusing on what people can do

Pathways to work and the work capability assessment to be rolled out to existing claimants under 25

Improving support to help people stay in work – particularly those with mental health problems

Removing the Housing Benefit rule that prevents short term Incapacity Benefit claimants from studying for more than 16 hrs per week

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Partnership delivery JCP to remain at the heart of the system – working alongside:

- public, private and third sector providers

- employers, through the Local Employment Partnerships

- local communities through LSPs, the City Strategy and the Working Neighbourhoods Fund

- Connexions and Local Authorities – to assist young people into work or training

Integrated employment and skills provision

Basic skills screening for all new claimants, full skills health checks for those who need it.

Mandatory referrals to the skills health check for clients with a basic skills need and JSA claimants who have been unemployed for 6 months. Lone parents to attend a skills’ check 2 years before they become ineligible for Income support.

Tailored provision with a work focus for those with basic skills needs through the new employability skills programme

New adult advancement and careers service

Extension of Train to Gain

Increase access to training allowances for JSA claimants to allow them to participate full time for up to 8 weeks in employability focused training

Explore ways of supporting vulnerable groups in full time training such as young people living in supported accommodation

Activity agreements for 16-17 yr olds in receipt of JSA to help them re-engage and take up their statutory right to an appropriate place in education or training

The emphasis on local flexibility and the need for targeting of activity has also been given additional impetus through the further development of Neighbourhood Renewal policy and in particular the introduction of the Working Neighbourhoods Fund (WNF) in November 2007 (to replace the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund). This puts employment at the heart of area-based regeneration and provides a flexible resource that can be utilised by local areas (acting in partnership) to supplement and add value to mainstream activity by, for example, better alignment and ‘joining-up’ of provision and by filling gaps.

This need for better joining-up with other policy agendas has also been highlighted by the recent Hills Review (February 2007) which emphasised the degree to which social housing estates are becoming polarised communities with an increasingly high proportion of the workless or low income residents. The Review highlighted the need for more integrated housing and employment support.

222...222...222 SSSkkkiii lll lllsss pppooolll iiicccyyy Significant changes are also taking place in terms of responsibilities concerning the skills agenda. One of the key developments is the intention to transfer 16-18 funding from the LSC to local authorities while a new Skills Funding Agency will resource the provision of training and skills for adults. The LSC’s Statement of Priorities sets out the LSC’s duties prior to the transfer coming into effect and describes how the LSC will work with partners to deliver targets by focusing on three key priorities:

(i) creating demand for learning and skills;

(ii) transforming the FE system to meet demand; and

(iii) delivering better skills, better lives, better jobs.

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Related actions are summarised in Table 2.2:

Table 2.2: LSC Statement of Priorities for 2007

Priority Actions

Creating demand for learning and skills

Raise demand among young people by increasing:

Achievement – so that 85% achieve at least Level 2 by 2013

Participation – by:

• working closely with Connexions and the Local Authorities to ensure the supply of provision (by type and level of learning) matches demand among young people;

• prioritising the promises of the September guarantee (the promise that every year 11 learner will be supported into an offer of a suitable learning programme by the end of September after the completion of yr 11);

• increasing access to work-based learning places

• promoting the delivery of learning agreements

• offering flexible provision so learners are able to start in January rather than just September

Choice – by:

• commissioning high quality provision

• working through the 14-19 partnerships and the children and young people’s plan to offer more integrated and personalised support for each young person

• delivering an enhanced and expanded apprenticeship offer by increasing the range and volume of places available and increasing the completion rates

• rolling out the apprenticeship matching service to link employers and young people

• working with the 14-19 partnerships to widen the choice of learning opportunities and to deliver a national entitlement to the revised curriculum - including the new diplomas from 2013

• offering a clear Level 1 and pre-vocational offer that is personalised and supports wider engagement and progression

Progression – ensuring that 14-19 partnerships set out clear progression routes for all young people and HEFCE, HE and FE institutions and employers develop new and innovative progression routes and networks.

Opportunities – by

• ensuring that opportunities, achievement and completion rates are improved for all groups of young people including young people with learning difficulties and/or disabilities

• offering packages of financial support to overcome barriers to learning – including extending the Education Maintenance Allowance

• working with delivery partners to support the reforms set out in the Children’s Workforce Strategy Action Plan

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Raise demand among adults by:

• developing a system of skills accounts to promote ownership of and choice over their learning

• introducing further flexibility within TtG and the plans for its expansion – including more support for self employed people and local employment partnership clients through Skills for Jobs (pre-employment training) and TfG

• developing the new, universal adult careers service

• working with JCP to join up skills and employment services locally to target people at the margins of the labour market and in disadvantaged communities

• ensuring that each local area has a core adult offer – including the promotion of a range of informal learning opportunities available to local communities

• targeting public investment in Foundation Level Training; Skills for Life and Level 2 provision

• delivering training at accessible times/locations

• raising awareness of the Adult Learning Grant and other financial support to remove barriers to learning

• increasing the number of numeracy courses on offer

• running a skills campaign to promote a culture of learning

• promoting the role of FE as a key resource for local communities and opening up college buildings to wider community use

Raise demand among employers by:

• increasing the number of employers and individuals accessing leadership and management training

• enhancing the FE offer available to employers by encouraging colleges and providers to increase their menu of full cost training, including customised training additional qualifications and higher-level skills

• funding qualifications identified by sector skills councils

• building on the TUC’s peer support programme and encouraging low skilled employees through the union learning fund

• expanding the number of employers offering high quality apprenticeship places – particularly in local and national government and the NHS

• delivering a marketing campaign in support of TfG, Apprenticeships and the Skills Pledge

Transforming the FE system to meet demand

Activity will be focused on:

• Aligning funding with LSC priorities – by aligning fees policies across publicly funded provision so that employers and individuals are clear about what they are entitled to and what they must contribute to; encouraging colleges and providers to increase the level of income generated by fees and full cost work; increase the focus on income targets and fully integrate ESF funding to maximise the overall investment in skills in each area.

• Championing simplification - through a fairer funding methodology for common activity across 16-19 adults and employers; a single brokerage service for employers through business link; Framework for Excellence – to provide a simplified and more coherent performance

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management system; a single skills strategy for each region to underpin the RES…..

• Investing in the capacity and infrastructure of the FE system

• Strengthening the reputation of FE

• Intelligent commissioning

Delivering better skills, better lives, better jobs • Protecting categories of provision to help more learners

•

• Delivering against targets while helping more people from disadvantaged groups and neighbourhoods to achieve the target qualification levels and to fulfil their potential

•

• Integrating skills training with job opportunities

222...222...333 RRReeegggiiiooonnnaaalll pppooolll iiicccyyy However, if worklessness is to be successfully addressed and targets achieved, training and other support actions must be demand-led. In this respect, a key part of the context for the activities of the NSRP is provided by the West Midlands Economic Strategy (WMES) which recognises the role of employment and skills in tackling both economic development and social inclusion. More recently the West Midlands Skills Action Plan 2008-2011 was prepared jointly by the Learning & Skills Council and Advantage West Midlands. The Skills Action Plan will be crucial in informing stakeholders, in particular the Learning and Skills Council, how resources will be allocated to develop adult skills. The document sets out:

key measurable skills goals;

the roles of the various stakeholders in terms of delivery; and

new ways of working which will need to be adopted by stakeholders.

The Action Plan sets out regional targets for skills that need to guide the formulation of targets for North Staffordshire. They are summarised in the table below:

Table 2.3: West Midlands – Employment and Skills Targets

Indicator Target Source

NVQ 2 - % of working age qualified 79% by 2011 Skills action plan



222...222...444 LLLooocccaaalll pppooolll iiicccyyy Local Area Agreements (LAAs) have been prepared for both Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire. The NSRP Employment and Skills Group will serve as the main co-ordinating focus for delivery of these targets insofar as they relate to employment and skills. Within the Stoke LAA worklessness is a key component and a majority of the Block 4 targets relate to adult employment and skills while Block 1 (Children & Young People) also includes a target relating to young people not in education, employment or training (NEET). The Staffordshire LAA, which covers Newcastle-under-Lyme and Staffordshire Moorlands, also features employability and skills as issues, although not as prominently as in Stoke. Table 2.4 identifies the relevant targets included within the LAA documents:

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Table 2.4: Stoke and Staffordshire LAA targets

Govt Code Indicator Stoke LAA Staffordshire LAA

117 16 to 18 year olds who are not in education, employment or training

Baseline 2007: 13.3%

08/09: 12.4%

09/10: 11.9%

10/11: 9.9%


08/09: 9.8%

09/10: 9.3%

10/11: 8.9%

152 Working age people on out of work benefits Baseline 06/07: 28,710 19.2%

08/09: -0.9%

09/10: -1.7%

10/11: -2.4%


08/09: 21.7%

09/10: 20.7%

10/11: 19.7%

161 Learners achieving a Level 1 qualification in literacy

Baseline 06/07: 826

08/09: 1,000

09/10: 2,000

10/11: 3,000

162 Learners achieving an Entry Level 3 qualification in numeracy

Baseline 06/07: 46

08/09: 200

09/10: 400

10/11: 600

163 Working age population qualified to at least Level 2 or higher


08/09: +3.3%

09/10: +6.0%

10/11: +9.0%


08/09: +2%

09/10: +5%

10/11: +9%

165 Working age population qualified to at least Level 4 or higher


08/09: +1.5%

09/10: +3.0%

10/11: +5.5%

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There were over 42,600 ‘workless’[1] residents in North Staffordshire on average throughout 2007 – an estimated rate of 15.0% as compared with a rate of 13.1% in the West Midlands as a whole (see Table 2.5). Rates were particularly high in Stoke but there are pockets of very high worklessness across all three local authority areas. At a Lower Level Super Output Area (LSOA) level [2] rates were as high as 43% in Stoke, 32% in Newcastle and 23% in Staffordshire Moorlands. In all three areas the worst 10% LSOAs have rates of approximately twice the district average. Narrowing this gap is seen as a key priority for future interventions in order both to address persistent social exclusion and deprivation and to reduce a key inhibitor on the economic competitiveness of the area.

Table 2.5: Worklessness in North Staffordshire compared with the regional average (2007)

Area / District Worst 10% LSOAs

Area Number Rate (%) Number Rate (%)

Ratio Worst LSOAs: District

West Midlands 428,965 13.1

North Staffordshire 42,646 15.0

Stoke 28,140 18.8 5,250 37.2 1.98

Newcastle 8,904 11.5 1,755 24.6 2.13

Staffordshire Moorlands 5,591 9.7 1,100 20.5 2.11

Figure 2.1 illustrates the uneven distribution of worklessness across North Staffordshire. While the majority of high worklessness areas are located in Stoke, the map also shows pockets around Knutton and Cross Heath in Newcastle and Biddulph in the Staffordshire Moorlands district.

[1] Defined as benefit claimants in receipt of JSA, IB, Lone Parents Income Support or other income-related workless benefits.

[2] Average population size 1,500.

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Figure 2.1: Distribution of Worklessness in North Staffordshire 2007

222...333...222 SSSkkkiii lll lllsss As shown in Table 2.6 below, skills levels vary across the North Staffordshire area but are generally below regional levels and especially so in terms of higher level skills. This is particularly the case in Stoke. Low skills and lack of qualifications are a major barrier to individuals securing employment.

Table 2.6: Skill levels in North Staffordshire (2006)

% of working age with the following skill levels:

Newcastle-under-Lyme Staffordshire

Moorlands Stoke on

Trent North Staffs West

Midlands

NVQ4+ 19.5 20.0 17.1 19.8 23.9

NVQ3+ 40.0 39.3 34.3 38.1 41.1

NVQ2+ 58.7 60.5 54.9 58.3 60.5

NVQ1+ 69.4 75.4 73.8 74.1 74.8

No qualifications 26.8 19.6 19.9 18.9 17.5

Source: Annual Population Survey (year) NOMIS

© Crown Copyright 2007

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As well as serving to drive worklessness, the lack of a high skills base is a key constraint in development of a high value added local economy. Skills gaps are a significant issue for local employers and the most common reported cause of recruitment difficulties. Especially with regard to higher level skills, they inhibit the area’s ability to attract new inward investment – and jobs - particularly in key sectors such as knowledge-based industries. These effects are compounded by relatively poor managerial skills in the area. Research by the West Midlands Regional Observatory (WMRO) has highlighted that “there is a deficit between management skills in the West Midlands and the rest of the country in a range of specific competencies” and that this is contributing significantly to the £10bn productivity gap in the West Midlands and the ability of employers to innovate successfully.

The need for concerted action to address these skills issues is particularly acute amongst young people - Stoke for example had the highest rate in England of young people not in education, employment or training (NEET). In addition the scale of the future challenge in building the city’s skills base is compounded by relatively low levels of educational attainment – which at Key Stage 4, for example, are well below regional and national rates.

222...444 DDDeeemmmaaannnddd fffooorrr lllaaabbbooouuurrr Over the period 1999-2006 total employment in North Staffordshire fell slightly (by just under 2% to 180,810). Manufacturing employment underwent significant decline (by 43%) while the most significant growth was in the transport and public administration sectors. public administration, education and health and distribution, hotels & catering now account for well over half of locally-based jobs. The construction, banking and finance and distribution sectors in particular are dominated by a large number of small businesses.

Although the economic base of the area has undergone significant change over the past decade, there are major potential opportunities for the future. These opportunities need to be realised if targets are to be achieved. Much of the projected job growth will arise from a series of major planned capital developments. Examples include: the creation of a 500,000 sq ft business district, major new retail development and cultural quarter extension in the City Centre; and the strategic development site at Chatterley Valley and the Phase 3 Medical Technologies development. The nature of many of these potential jobs, and indeed the existing employment base, has however changed with an increased emphasis on service sector occupations and higher skills. Almost 50% of forecast end-user jobs in these developments are projected to be at Level 3 or above whereas only 41% of the existing workforce are at this level.

The developments are also forecast to create some 4,500 construction jobs per year over four years. In addition, there will be significant other investment activity – and associated construction opportunities – as a result of regeneration and other public sector-driven programmes. This will include investment of some £2.3bn in housing, with the creation of over 12,000 new homes, and £125m of expenditure on renewing all Stoke-on-Trent’s nursery and primary schools. In addition all secondary schools will be renewed or re-built by 2010, together with 12 new children’s centres. The ability to achieve these opportunities and maximise their long-term local benefits will depend to a large degree on the employability and skills of the local workforce and appropriate support activities to bridge existing skills gaps. There is an immediate need in particular to review the necessity (and opportunities) for further action regarding the construction sector.

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A report1 in November 2007 by Experian on behalf of the North Staffordshire Partnership provided economic forecasts for the area. Under the report’s “Most Likely Scenario” the (then) latest information on planned developments was assessed and incorporated into a modelling framework. The headline results included:

GVA growth in North Staffordshire of 2.5% per annum on average from 2005 to 2021, marginally above regional growth and just below the UK rate of 2.6%. Growth was projected to be below regional and national rates in the short-term and accelerating between 2010 and 2015 before slowing down.

Employment growth mirrored the above pattern with levels broadly constant until 2010 and then increasing steadily for the next 5 years. The rise in employment from 2010-2015 is driven by the planned developments (outlined above) which counter the forecast continued decline in the manufacturing sector. The increase in employment is not sustained after 2015 because of a fall in the number of developments in both local areas. Thereafter employment grows only marginally to reach 139,500 FTEs by 2021, an increase of 3,700 from 2005.

The Business Services industry is projected to see the largest gains in employment with an increase of 4,000 FTEs in North Staffordshire between 2005 and 2021, buoyed by office and SME (Small Medium Enterprise) developments. Wholesaling and Transport experience significant employment growth as a result of various warehousing developments in the sub-region. “Other (mainly) Public Services” and Retail also see notable gains.

Employment in Stoke is forecast to fall by 3,700 FTEs from 2005 to 2021. In Newcastle however employment increases by 7,500 FTEs thus highlighting the need for the city to look beyond its boundaries and work in conjunction with other sub-regional partners in delivery of this LAA Plan.

1 ‘Updating the North Staffordshire Integrated Economc Development Strategy’ November 2007

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While there are significant variations within the area, overall the North Staffordshire economy has continued to underperform. Current uncertainties surrounding the national economy, give added impetus to the urgent need to address the underlying causes of this poor performance. This business plan is concerned with addressing the supply-side factors that both impact upon that underperformance (and continue to undermine the sub-region’s competitiveness) and contribute to the high concentrations of social exclusion that persist – especially in parts of Stoke. These factors relate in particular to:

high levels of worklessness;

low average skills levels; and

a lack of higher level skills.

Developing a higher skilled workforce and business base and reducing current levels of inequality and deprivation will be critical to achievement of the NSRP’s overall objectives. Moreover it will be vital to ensuring the future sustainability and growth of the area’s economy. As stated in the West Midlands Regional Economic Strategy:

“To deliver economic growth and prosperity for the benefit of all, we must focus on the sustainable growth of our most deprived areas, developing links into economic and employment opportunities and ensuring the engagement of local people, communities and employers in the process”.

Realising the opportunities provided by the major programmed developments and achieving a substantial reduction in worklessness will require an increase in skill levels. This will require effective mechanisms to engage with employers in order to ensure that employment opportunities are captured; provision is demand led; and increased workforce development and local recruitment activities are promoted. In addition, there needs to be a clear area focus to delivery of services which meet individual needs if the current uneven distribution of worklessness with concentrations of persistent deprivation in particular localities – especially in Stoke – are to be addressed.

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333...111 IIInnntttrrroooddduuuccctttiiiooonnn Within the North Staffordshire area mainstream provision of employment and skills support (e.g. JCP, DWP, and LSC) is supplemented – particularly in Stoke - from shorter term ‘regeneration’ funding such as Working Neighbourhoods Fund; European Social Fund; European Regional Development Fund or from agencies such as Advantage West Midlands and the Coalfields Regeneration Trust. The level of activity is substantial. While it has not been possible to derive an accurate figure for current overall spend, LSC-funded activities, JCP-funded programmes (excluding core management costs and Jobcentre provision) and Stoke College’s DWP co-financed project alone are estimated to be in excess of £30m for 2008/9.

Delivery of employment and skills support is undertaken by a wide range of organisations from the public, private and community/voluntary sectors, offering a range of provision at local, neighbourhood and sub-regional levels. This section provides a brief summary of the current roles and activities of the key strategic partners before drawing some conclusions concerning the implications for future delivery.

333...222 KKKeeeyyy pppaaarrrtttnnneeerrr aaaccctttiiivvviiitttyyy Job Centre Plus (JCP) is the government agency responsible for supporting people

of working age from welfare into work and helping employers with their recruitment needs. It both delivers and contracts for provision. The priorities and programmes delivered by JCP are, to a large extent, determined by central government to meet national policy objectives, which means that in the past there has been limited flexibility with regard to the allocation of funding and the tailoring of services at a local level. This will potentially change when Flexible New Deal is introduced for clients from October 2009. In addition from September 2008, Stoke will also be responsible for piloting ‘Integrated Employment and Skills’ whereby Connexions will co-locate with JCP to deliver a skills health check as part of an individual’s initial assessment.

In addition to the advice and guidance provided by personal advisors, JCP are able to offer a range of programmes – such as the New Deals and Pathways To Work - to assist people gain the necessary skills and experience to be able to compete for jobs. These core programmes are summarised in Table 3.1.

Table 3.1: Jobcentre Plus programmes

Programme Eligibility2

New Deal for Young People

Claiming JSA for 6 months plus

New Deal for 25+ Adults aged 25+ who have been unemployed for longer than 18 months

New Deal Self Employed

New Deal for Young People and New Deal for Lone Parents

New Deal Lone Parents

Must be bringing up children as a lone parent (the youngest child is under 16 years old) and not working, or working less than 16 hours per week. Within Staffordshire JCP have family engagement support officers to assist lone parents and the Freshsteps programme.

2 In addition to the standard eligibility criteria all programmes have ‘early entry’ groups including for example ex offenders and women returners.

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New Deal 50 plus Must be aged 50 or over and in receipt of and have been receiving any one or more of the benefits below for at least 6 months.

Income Support (IS) Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) Incapacity Benefit (IB) Severe Disablement Allowance (SDA) Pension Credit.

May also be eligible when receiving National Insurance credits or Invalid Care Allowance or Bereavement Allowance. New Deal 50 plus is also available if a partner has been receiving an increase in benefits for you for at least 6 months.

New Deal for Disabled People

Must get disability or health related benefits and want to work, but need some help and support along the way. Programmes include work preparation and work step.

Progress to Work The progress2work (p2w) initiative to help people recovering from illegal drug misuse into work was developed as part of the Government’s wider approach to help those with the greatest disadvantage. p2w - LinkUP also assist people who have barriers such as homelessness and criminality.

Pathways to Work Everyone making a new or repeat claim for either Incapacity Benefit, Income Support on the grounds of Incapacity, Income support whilst appealing against a decision that Incapacity Benefit is not payable, or Severe Disablement Allowance at one of the listed offices will automatically be part of Pathways to Work. Pathways to Work in Staffordshire includes:

In work support for IB claimants – mentoring, job coaching, occupational health

Working for health for IB claimants – condition management

Programme Centres District Managers have discretion to allow referrals of clients from 13 weeks of unemployment, but priority will be given to those of longer duration.

Employability Skills Programme

Basic skills provision for non New Deal clients

The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) acts as a strategic funding body – not a delivery agency – and contracts with providers. Like JCP, the LSC priorities are set at a national level, but through the contracting process it has greater flexibility to meet local priorities. It is responsible for planning and funding high quality vocational education and training.

Within North Staffordshire the LSC will spend approximately £21m assisting adults (the focus for this business plan) during 2008/9 and a further £16m across Staffordshire on ESF co-financed projects. Of the £21m, just under £15m will be spent on further education to assist 15,500 adults into short courses and Level 2 and 3 provision, while a further £2.5m will be spent on employer responsive training to assist 2,300 people.

In terms of the worklessness agenda, the LSC will provide £3.7m (ESF co-finance) for North Staffordshire from the Skills for Jobs programme to establish the new employment brokerage service which will assist 5800 local residents. A further £1.6m will be made available for Adult Safeguarded Learning, which provides the stepping stone into for further learning and a key mechanism in which to engage some of the harder to help client groups.

At present the LSC also provides funding for adult information, advice and guidance (IAG) and within North Staffordshire this is delivered by Connexions through the Next Step programme. In 2010 the LSC will be disbanded and a new Skills Funding Agency will provide training and skills for adults while Local Authorities will take over responsibility for 16-19 learning opportunities.

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July 2008

Advantage West Midlands is responsible for the regional economic development of the whole of the West Midlands area. The agency is currently funding (or has been requested to fund) a number of key initiatives that will be important to the delivery of the overall objectives and targets within this plan. These include:

o Building Futures (North Staffordshire Construction Centre);

o Early Entry to Enterprise – a programme of business start up advice and training delivered by the Chamber of Commerce;

o Graduate Advantage – which aims to retain graduates by securing work experience placement opportunities and employability training; and, potentially; and

o the employment brokerage service and the community JET network.

The local authorities - Stoke on Trent, Staffordshire Moorlands, Newcastle and Staffordshire County Council - play a key strategic, and potentially funding and delivery, role. Developing the employment and skills of the local labour force is crucial in fulfilling their duty to promote the economic welfare of the area. They can fill gaps and add value to mainstream employment and skills support by accessing regeneration funding which can be used for example to target and provide enhanced support to particular areas or client groups.

As shown by the Local Area Agreements (LAAs) for Staffordshire and Stoke, priorities within the areas do however vary. To date, Staffordshire County Council have largely invested additional economic development funding into new physical development projects. In contrast Stoke, given the significant problems of worklessness in the area, has used funding from the Neighbourhood Renewal Fund and single pot funding from RegenZone (AWM) to pilot new employability support projects aimed at assisting unemployed residents. Examples include:

o the Skills Training and Community Employment (STACE) project;

o Groundwork ILM project; and

o YMCA start-up project.

Local Authorities will be required in the future to provide a more strategic role in influencing employment and skills provision and funding will be closely aligned to the LAA. In addition the new Working Neighbourhoods Fund (which replaces NRF) is explicitly focussed on addressing employment and skills as a sustainable route out of worklessness and social exclusion. Over the next three years Stoke will have access to £27m from the Working Neighbourhoods Fund.

It should also be noted that the adult learning divisions within the Local Authorities that deliver provision – whilst not necessarily vocational in nature - within the local community (e.g. College in the Community) will provide a key mechanism to engage with potential workless residents.

The Staffordshire Connexions service provides support for both 16-19 year olds and adults. While the focus for this business plan is on assisting adults into employment and training, partners need to be aware of the initiatives delivered by Connexions in relation to those people who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) e.g. Active8, activity agreements. Given the number of young people within this group, particularly in Stoke on Trent, they will remain key target clients for the emerging employment brokerage service that is currently being established in the area and for

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July 2008

other employment and skills programmes being delivered by the NSRP employment and skills group.

Connexions will also have an important role to play under this plan in terms of the delivery of services to adults. Currently its activities include:

o the Next Step programme – that delivers information, advice and guidance for adults;

o Progress2work – delivered on behalf of JCP for unemployed people disadvantaged by previous drug misuse;

o Freshsteps – a programme delivered on behalf of JCP to assist lone parents back to work;

o involvement in delivering the flexible employment routeways project (DWP contract) with Stoke on Trent College;

o involvement in the delivery of the employment brokerage service in the JETs; and

o the ‘integrated employment and skills’ pilot and delivery of the Skills Heath Check - due to take place within Stoke on Trent from September.

Within North Staffordshire, the LSC allocates funding to four FE colleges – the 6th Form, Leek, Newcastle, and Stoke on Trent College. Stoke is the largest college in the area and provides training opportunities for approximately 30,000 learners per annum.

In recent years, the college has become more responsive to the needs of its client groups (both individuals and business) and has tailored training provision accordingly. In addition, it has developed a number of good working relationships with external partner agencies and has been successful in bidding to deliver a number of European Social Fund projects covering basic skills, pre-recruitment training, and employability support for workless residents in the area. Of particular relevance is the recent award of a £5.3m DWP contract (ESF co-financed) to deliver flexible routeway support for a number of priority groups. The contract will be delivered through a combination of the college itself and partner agencies such as ConneXions and Groundwork.

Stoke College also has dedicated teams to assist and guide potential college clients including a team of unemployed adult co-ordinators (x22) and a business brokerage team (x7). These are key resources for the development of the new employment brokerage service being set up in the most deprived areas of the sub region.

There are two Universities within the North Staffordshire area – Keele and Staffordshire – both of which have an important role to play in the development of a larger high skills base and the wider regeneration of the area. They are involved in a range of activities - a number of which bring with them additional HEFCE funding -that will contribute towards the achievement of the targets in this business plan. In addition to the courses delivered, some of the initiatives include:

o The University Quarter Initiative (a joint initiative between Staffordshire University and Stoke College) and establishment of a one stop shop that will meet the workforce development needs of employers that supports a continuum of skills development from basic to higher level skills for employers;

o A careers and employability service within Staffordshire offering recruitment assistance for business – this will include ‘JobZone’ which enable businesses to advertise jobs for students and graduates and access to other programmes such as Graduate Advantage, and Mentoring programme;

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July 2008

o Business advantage - which offers SMEs funding towards Leadership and Management training;

o Aimhigher – to encourage more learners from under-represented groups to participate in Higher Education; and

o Keele University - graduate placement scheme; knowledge transfer partnerships; and graduate employment and training scheme.

The Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS) has a key role to play in delivering provision – including for example outreach support for disadvantaged groups. A range of community and voluntary sector initiatives and relevant provision exists in the area ranging from the very local and small scale to more substantial projects delivered by organisations such as Groundwork and the YMCA.

By delivering services within local community facilities, VCS providers are often able to pilot new approaches and devote the time necessary to engage with hard to help groups - which may be intensive depending on the needs and barriers faced by the individual. In doing so they are often able to gain trust and a reputation among local people and gather valuable intelligence regarding the needs of the client groups and, particularly, what works and what doesn’t work in terms of provision.

333...333 AAAnnn aaapppppprrraaaiiisssaaalll ooofff eeexxxiiissstttiiinnnggg aaaccctttiiivvviiitttyyy In 2007, Hawthornes Research and Business Development carried out an audit of existing provision that assists workless people in the Staffordshire area into sustainable employment. They concluded that there was:

patchy employability training for those about to leave education;

a high level of provision targeting the unemployed and recently redundant rather than Incapacity Benefit Claimants;

low levels of awareness among client groups, deliverers, employers and agencies of the type of support available and how to access it;

limited opportunities for qualified, older claimants to retrain or upskill;

insufficient opportunities for work tasters and work trials and progression routes into full time work;

training not always aligned to employers needs and gaps in types of training available in some areas; and

voluntary and private sector specialist providers not utilised as effectively as possible.

In addition the report made the following recommendations:

(i) clear responsibility should be given to a defined lead agency with associated roles for partner agencies – stronger and smaller partnerships need to be developed in the area with integrated targets to streamline delivery and ensure more effective partnership working;

(ii) there is a need for longer term funding to provide continuity, effective provision and progression routes for clients;

(iii) more co-ordinated procurement is needed to enable providers to align their interventions with key priorities;

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(iv) the ‘better-off-in-work’ message needs to be strengthened - this will in part be addressed by the new better off in work credit;

(v) individuals need personalised support and continuity with regard to accessing employment – no single point of entry, confusion with regard to rights and assistance available limits engagement with interventions. This is further exacerbated for people who fall outside mainstream interventions of JCP/Connexions;

(vi) a multi agency approach is required for those with multiple problems;

(vii) pro-active support is required to engage with some workless residents who may be excluded from conventional engagement / recruitment methods;

(viii) one-to-one engagement with employers is required to ensure they have adequate information about the support available for the recruitment and employment of workless people;

(ix) planning policy, transport subsidies, ‘wheels to work’-type initiatives need coordinating to ensure people can access employment and training opportunities; and

(x) greater recognition is required within regeneration, education, and training that there needs to be a shift in culture from workless to working neighbourhoods – particularly from an aspirational/ motivation point of view.

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Building on the Hawthornes’ research findings and the extensive consultations and analysis undertaken in the preparation of this plan, a number of key requirements for future delivery have been identified that will have to be met if the LAA targets are to be achieved. Underpinning these requirements are three broad approaches:

1. better integration of provision;

2. supplementing existing activity; and

3. new activities to fill gaps.

The implications and priorities for future provision identified to date include:

a more integrated approach that ‘joins-up’ the skills and worklessness agendas;

the provision of coordinated routeways customised to individual needs supported by ongoing advisory and mentoring support;

better awareness of support available and the opportunities on offer;

more intensive and proactive action to engage with those who are furthest from the labour market including early stage ‘pre-pre-recruitment’ support for those who face particular personal and family barriers;

additional pre-recruitment and training support focused on identified emerging job opportunities (e.g. in key sectors);

new approaches to the capture of job opportunities – including the use of public sector procurement and planning powers;

greater use of ‘transitional employment’ (including ILMs) for ‘hardest to help’

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July 2008

groups;

more use of VCS expertise particularly in target areas;

better linkages with other agencies and regeneration activities in order to engage with clients, provide support that will address barriers and secure opportunities; and

a greater emphasis on working with employers and utilising key assets in the sub-region – such as the Universities – to develop a larger higher level skills base.

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444...111 IIInnntttrrroooddduuuccctttiiiooonnn

This section of the Business Plan presents the overall aims, objectives and guiding principles that will provide the basis for developing future employment and skills activity within the North Staffordshire area. It sets out the worklessness and skills targets that the partnership will be aiming to achieve by 2013.

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To reduce worklessness and develop a highly skilled local workforce and, thereby, improve the economic performance and competitiveness of North Staffordshire

444...222...222 PPPrrriiinnnccciiipppllleeesss The following have emerged from the preceding contextual review and discussions with partners as guiding principles that need to underpin this business plan and as priorities for action:

(i) a personalised and flexible approach – to address the needs of both residents and businesses;

(ii) demand-led provision – tailored, responsive training and support informed by employers needs;

(iii) promotion of sustainable employment which is underpinned by workforce development and achievement of higher level skills;

(iv) enhanced partnership working between public agencies (e.g. LSC, JCP, Local Authorities and Connexions) and with the private sector – e.g. through the Local Employment Partnerships (LEP); Skills Pledge and the development of Skills Boards;

(v) joined up/complementary activity – to ensure clients are able to access a continuum of support from engagement through to workforce development;

(vi) integrated funding and strategic commissioning – pooling/aligning resources where possible;

(vii) greater co-ordination of mainstream activity and use of regeneration funding to fill gaps;

(viii) maximising the employment and skills opportunities associated with the planned growth and investment in the area – particularly in terms of employment sites; HMRI activity and other public sector infrastructure investment (e.g. school refurbishments); and

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(ix) effective targeting – both in terms of businesses (for example, priority sectors and key developments) and in terms of people (for example, excluded groups and areas; graduates).

444...222...333 SSStttrrraaattteeegggiiiccc OOObbbjjjeeeccctttiiivvveeesss Two strategic objectives have been identified:

(i) to reduce the overall level of worklessness in the area and narrow the gap between the best and worst performing wards by targeting areas with high and persistent concentrations of inactive residents; and

(ii) to increase the supply of suitably skilled labour to meet demand from growth and for replacement labour across the area. This will involve improving skills at all levels, including in particular higher level skills, through the development of the existing workforce and the retention/attraction of highly skilled individuals into the sub-region (including graduates from the area’s HEIs).

444...222...444 OOOpppeeerrraaatttiiiooonnnaaalll OOObbbjjjeeeccctttiiivvveeesss The approach to achievement of the above will involve, in the short term, the better management and integration of current initiatives combined with longer term changes in the planning, co-ordination and delivery of mainstream skills and employment programmes. The latter will include the joint commissioning of activity and, increasingly, the pooling of relevant resources to ensure a single focussed approach by all agencies.

In addition to facilitate the necessary operational coordination of action on the ground – and in particular to address high geographical concentrations of worklessness - a key priority for activity among partner agencies will be the establishment of a new integrated community-based model of delivery for skills and employment. This is seen as essential in order to deliver better outcomes for both employers - in terms of meeting their workforce development and recruitment needs – and workless communities – in terms of providing appropriate and accessible support to enable them to secure and retain employment.

The following operational objectives will underpin the approach in order to:

(i) co-ordinate the activities of partner agencies at a strategic and operational level thereby ensuring that programmes and funding are joined up to deliver a continuum of support to help individuals progress and assist businesses to become more productive;

(ii) engage with businesses in a more effective and streamlined manner thereby ensuring that employment opportunities are captured; training provision is demand led; increased workforce development and local recruitment activities are promoted; and other appropriate business support services are accessed;

(iii) maximise links with other regeneration activity and ensure that interventions are aligned with new investment - in for example new developments, housing and neighbourhood renewal. Priority will also be given to optimising the local economic development and employment potential of public sector and other locally-based procurement activities; and

(iv) ensure more effective targeting of activity in terms of individuals, areas, businesses and growth sectors. There is a need to focus resources to ensure maximum effectiveness, additionality and value for money.

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444...333 WWWooorrrkkkllleeessssssnnneeessssss tttaaarrrgggeeetttsss The NSRP targets for worklessness in the period up to 2013 are shown in Table 4.1. They have been compiled with reference to the Stoke and Staffordshire LAA targets and following extensive discussions between partners. In light of the need to promote the contribution of the North Staffordshire area to the wider West Midlands economy all targets in this section have been defined relative to regional averages. In addition, achievement of the headline target will be influenced by ‘external’ as well as ‘internal’ factors – not least the economic cycle. Performance and progress needs therefore to be measured in relative (i.e. the gap with the regional average) as well as absolute terms.

In calculating the targets it has been assumed that in the period to 2013 the existing trend in the differential between North Staffordshire and the West Midlands average would continue and the area would have a worklessness rate of 14.46% i.e. the ‘trend rate’. It assumes a continuation of the existing levels and effectiveness of activity and similar rates of ‘churn’. The overall stretch target of reducing the number of people on out of work benefits by some 4,500 will only be achieved therefore through additional programmes and more effective co-ordination and targeting of existing programmes.

The worklessness target has been derived on the basis of two criteria – ‘external’ convergence for North Staffordshire as a whole with the West Midlands; and ‘internal’ convergence within each district so that the worklessness rate in the worst 10% small areas will be no more than 75% above the district average.

The resultant headline figures (assuming a constant West Midlands rate) are a target rate of 12.9% in North Staffordshire as a whole and 15.8% in Stoke, 10.5% in Newcastle and 8.2% in Staffordshire Moorlands. Assuming a continuation of existing trends, achievement of the target would therefore require that interventions enable an additional 4,500 residents to move off worklessness benefits by 2013. The primary focus for achieving this will be on Stoke. It needs to be emphasised that this is a net figure and ignores existing levels of churn or movements in and out of benefits which it assumes will be dealt with by a continuation of existing approaches. However it should be recognised that an economic downturn will increase the level of churn and may stretch the capacity of mainstream programmes and provision to maintain the ‘status quo’ differential referred to above.3

3 The targets also do not take into account future changes in the way in which benefits are recorded and assessments made regarding out of work benefits. Although these may have some impact on the targets, at this stage it not assumed that this will be significant in terms of overall numbers. In the short term it is predicted that the impact of the changes may increase the numbers on JSA.

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Table 4.1: Target 1 – ‘Worklessness4: By 2013:

a) Worklessness rates in North Staffordshire to be at or below the West Midlands regional average; and

b) Worklessness rates in the most deprived areas5 within each district to be no more than 75% above the district average.

West

Midlands Stoke Newcastle

Staffordshire

Moorlands

North Staffordsh

ire

2001 rate 13.98 20.51 12.82 11.50 16.59

2007 rate 13.09 18.81 11.51 9.72 14.99

Target worklessness rate 13.096 15.85 11.02 8.69 13.09

Target worklessness numbers 23,711 8,526 4,994 37,231

Trend projection rate7 13.09 18.43 11.02 8.69 14.46

Trend projection numbers 27,616 8,526 4,994 41,136

Numbers required to leave benefits to achieve target (a) 3,905 0 0 3,905

2007 rate in Worst 10% LSOAs (W10%) 37.25 24.56 20.51

2007 gap with district average rate 1.98 2.13 2.11

2013 target gap 1.75 1.75 1.75

2013 target W10% rate 27.74 19.29 15.20

Numbers required to leave benefits in W10% to achieve target (b) 1,340 376 285 1,918

Overall implication – additional numbers required to leave benefits (rate)

3,905 (15.85%)

376 (10.54%)

285 (8.19%)

4,567 (12.86%)

The net figure of 4,500 additional people leaving benefits could be accommodated by the new additional jobs which are projected to be created by 2014. However, there is a mismatch between the skills profile of the projected new jobs (e.g. almost 40% at NVQ Level 4 or above) and the characteristics of the target workless groups. This highlights the need for a major emphasis on skills development as part of this plan so that local people are enabled to move into the new jobs. This includes currently employed residents so that existing jobs are ‘freed up’.

The average levels of worklessness mask even higher rates amongst certain groups and in certain areas – most of which have a high proportion of social housing. It is these groups and areas that will need to be a significant focus for activity. Almost 2,000 residents of the worst 10% areas will need to move off benefits if the ‘internal’ convergence target is to be achieved. The following have been identified as target groups and will be a key priority for the partnership to engage with and support. It should be noted that there will be particular concentrations of these groups in the target areas:

4 The proportion of residents aged 16-59/64 who are in receipt of Job Seekers Allowance, Incapacity Benefit,

Lone Parents Income Support or other income-related benefits. 5 Defined as being the 10% of the Lower Super Output Areas (LSOAs) which have the highest rates. 6 For purposes of calculating implications the West Midlands rate is assumed to be static. 7 Calculated using the change between 2001 and 2007 in the differential between the rates in each district

and the West Midlands average.

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Incapacity Benefit Claimants: Stoke currently has the highest proportion of Incapacity Benefit (IB) claimants in the West Midlands. 57% have claimed IB for over 5 years and therefore are unlikely to be work ready;

Minority Ethnic Communities: Members of the City's Black and Minority Ethnic communities are twice as likely to be claiming Job Seekers Allowance than the host population. However, they are less likely to be IB claimants and more likely to be self employed. Commissioning intentions need to reflect these factors;

Lone Parents: Stoke alone has over 4,000 lone parents in receipt of benefits;

The 45+ Age Group: Over 2/3rds of Incapacity Benefit claimants are in the 45+ age group. This is the generation which relied largely on traditional industries for employment and therefore may be difficult to engage and retrain;

Offenders and Ex-offenders: Every year, some 300 adults return to Stoke-on-Trent from prison. At any one time, the Probation Service will be supervising some 1200 adults; and

NEETs: the 2007/08 NEET Winter Average for Stoke on Trent was 13.3% compared to the English average of 6.7% and the West Midlands average of 7.1%.

444...444 SSSkkkiiillllllsss tttaaarrrgggeeetttsss Table 4.2 sets out the skills targets for this plan. The figures demonstrate the sheer scale of the skills challenge in North Staffordshire, particularly in terms of Level 3 and above and in Stoke on Trent. The targets are based on North Staffordshire as a whole achieving the 2011 West Midlands Skills Strategy targets by 2013. The exception to this is at Level 4 where the area – and particularly Stoke – is currently so far behind that achieving the regional average within five years is not seen as feasible. Nevertheless the targets remain highly stretching. They represent a significant step towards achieving the ambitious Leitch Review targets set for 2020 (albeit at a slower rate than the rest of the West Midlands area) and will enable the sub region to make a positive contribution to the economic competitiveness of the region thereby reducing the productivity gap with the rest of England.

Table 4.2: Target 2: Skills levels in North Staffordshire to be in line with West Midlands 2011 targets by 2013 West Midlands Stoke Newcastle Moorlands North Stafford-

shire 2006 rate (% of working age population): NVQ2+ 64.8 58.5 59.8 78.8 63.1 NVQ3+ 43.9 36.7 42.4 53.6 41.7 NVQ4+ 25.6 18.2 21 29.6 21.2 2013 targets NVQ2+ 79 77 78 86 79 NVQ3+ 56 54 56 60 56 NVQ4+ 25 23 25 30 25 Implications of 2013 targets – additional qualified residents: NVQ2 1640 2990 425 5055 NVQ3 17125 6240 3180 26545 NVQ4+ 6575 2600 210 9385 Total new qualifications 25340 11830 3815 40985

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It is worth noting that the above targets relate (as do the provisions of this Plan) to the 19-plus age group. Despite recent progress in reducing the number of young people not in education, employment or training, Stoke on Trent still has a significantly higher proportion of 16-18 year olds classed as NEET. As the incidence of NEET is closely linked to areas experiencing high levels of deprivation and worklessness, close working will be required with the NSRP Children and Young People group to support specific targeted interventions (closely aligned with wider area /social inclusion plans).

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555...111 IIInnntttrrroooddduuuccctttiiiooonnn This section of the Business Plan describes the broad framework of activities that will need to be delivered to achieve the objectives and targets set out earlier. It sets out the scope of future activities and identifies the initial priorities for delivery.

It is worth emphasising at the outset the three ‘levers’ available to the Partnership to co-ordinate and manage delivery. These are:

A. Strategic commissioning and realigning of mainstream and other existing activity.

As identified earlier, substantial volumes of activity already exist within the area. The aim of the partnership is to ensure more effective targeting and deployment of mainstream services. The development of the NSRP Employment and Skills Business Plan has been undertaken, through a series of workshops with key partners, who have agreed targets and identified the gaps in the delivery of existing programmes which will be the subject of the ‘added value’ programmes. This partnership approach has already resulted in:

sharing of information regarding new and existing programmes;

involvement by mainstream and other partners in the design and development of a new JET infrastructure as a means of providing the necessary integration of worklessness support measures; and

commissioning of additional activities through co-financing ESF programmes. This includes the LSC ESF delivered through SOTCC (which will facilitate the establishment of the JET infrastructure and provide focused assistance for people furthest away from the workplace) and the DWP ESF contract (which will be delivered through Stoke on Trent College and provide focused training and assistance back to work for hard to reach groups).

Through closer joint working the Partnership will aim to further improve the effectiveness and impacts of this activity by:

sharing intelligence on needs and opportunities so that the relevance and targeting of provision is improved; and

ensuring better operational linkages between provision (including through co-location) so that clients and businesses are provided with the most appropriate support and that duplication is removed.

The Partnership will in particular aim to move to a position whereby decisions on resource allocations and contracting of all provision will be undertaken jointly. This will inevitably be a gradual process but will involve the following steps:

consultation on individual agency resource allocation decisions and plans;

consultation on contracting decisions;

development of joint commissioning frameworks;

joint decision-making on contracts; and ultimately; and

sharing / pooling of resources.

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B. Deciding on the deployment of new additional resources

Such additional resources potentially include ESF, Working Neighbourhoods Fund and other regeneration funding. Their deployment will require the development of commissioning frameworks. Over time it is envisaged that the Partnership’s direct responsibilities in this respect will expand resulting in other ‘mainstream’ resources – as described above – being committed into a ‘single pot’ approach.

C. Influencing the activities of other agencies and partnerships

The NSRP has already established operational links with a range of agencies in the public, private and voluntary sectors who have a major role to play in for example:

maximising support available for families and work - with organisations in regular close contact with client group (e.g. GPs, Housing Associations);

maximising job capture for local residents – including through economic development and business support activities;

ensuring alignment with key programmes (including for example the DWP ESF programme delivered through Stoke on Trent College) and other relevant NSRP and regeneration activities. These could include, for example, actions to support NEET young people; to address personal and family barriers to employment e.g. health and housing issues; or to provide support for business development; and

promoting the use of public procurement activities to generate opportunities for workless residents and other target groups and for other purposes in support of the Partnership’s objectives – for example, as a source of funding for the delivery of tailored employment routeways. This can be implemented through a range of mechanisms – including, for example, procurement contract clauses, planning agreements, partnership agreements and funding agreements. Work is already being undertaken to develop this approach as part of the Stoke HMRI programme.

555...222 AAAnnn ooovvveeerrrvvviiieeewww ooofff fffuuutttuuurrreee aaaccctttiiivvviiitttyyy The overall framework for the delivery of activities is shown in figure 5.1.

Figure 5.1: A framework for Employment and Skills support within North Staffordshire

Residents:- Workless- Graduates- Other

economically active

Business:- SMEs- Key

sectors- Inward

investors

Advice Assessment Action Planning

Advice on recruitment and workforce development needs

Personal and family support (pre-pre-recruitment)

Pre-recruitment support and training

Rec

ruitm

ent a

ssis

tanc

e

Retention and after-care support

Skill

s de

velo

pmen

t and

trai

ning

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July 2008

The scope of each element of support and a brief assessment of current activity and future priorities is provided in the remainder of this section under the following headings:

(i) Support for residents to secure and retain employment:

Engagement

Individual advice, assessment and action planning

Personal and family support

Pre-recruitment and recruitment support

Retention and after care

(ii) Support for businesses:

Engagement

Recruitment advice and assistance

(iii) Skills development and training:

Workforce development

Higher level skills development and graduate retention

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555...333...111 EEEnnngggaaagggeeemmmeeennnttt More proactive and innovative approaches to engagement are required if the participation rates of those most detached from the labour market are to be increased and overall targets met. This reflects the increased emphasis of Government policy on people previously not engaged by employment support programmes (e.g. non-JSA clients in particular).

There are two broad approaches to the engagement of clients (including unemployed, graduates, and other economically active residents) - proactive and reactive. The ‘proactive approach’ involves partner agencies engaging with residents in their own environment – for example through knocking on doors or holding open days in local community venues or colleges. The ‘reactive approach’ is where residents take it upon themselves to seek support from partners and / or relevant agencies. The need to engage with previously excluded individuals will require a greater emphasis on proactive mechanisms.

Table 5.1 gives examples of both ‘reactive’ and ‘proactive’ approaches currently undertaken by partners across the North Staffordshire area.

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Table 5.1: Current approaches to client engagement

Engagement by /initiative Activity

Planned JET network (Reactive also as people will be able to drop in to the premises)

JET offices/shop fronts will be accessible and located in areas with high worklessness rates. The JETs will house and co-ordinate other provision in the area and provide a base for mainstream agencies to promote their services. It will coordinate projects formerly known as LEAP and STACE as well as influence mainstream development priorities. JET personal advisors will work with GP surgeries, Housing Associations etc in delivering support to their clients.

College in the community

Adult Safeguarded Learning:

- PCDL

- First Steps

- WFL

- FLLN

- NLDC

While the primary focus is not necessarily engaging residents in vocational training etc, initiatives such as the wider family learning project and neighbourhood learning in disadvantaged communities provide key mechanisms in which to engage with often hard to help groups – providing the first step into wider learning and employment opportunities. Pr

oact

ive

Recruitment fairs/ JobZone The universities organise recruitment fairs for employers to engage with graduates; and new initiatives such as ‘JobZone’ will provide graduates with access to recruitment and work experience opportunities online.

Stoke integrated community support team

Families intervention project – the community support team

JCP Four offices located within the area (Newcastle Under Lyme; Hanley; Lonton; Kidsgrove) providing an ‘open door’ for residents to access their services (at present by booking an appointment but soon to reverse to fully open door policy). A proportion of residents are compelled to access the services due to continuing benefit eligibility requirements.

Connexions Engagement and provision of IAG for adults under the Next Step contract.

Childrens centres Co-ordinate the delivery of childrens services – often provide a base for mainstream providers on a ‘surgery basis’ – e.g. JCP

Rea

ctiv

e

Colleges /Universities Stoke on Trent have a team of adult co-ordinators to engage workless residents and careers service for students leaving

Both Universities have careers services for Graduates.

The proposed new Jobs, Employment and Training (JET) network will have a key role in extending the reach of, and enabling better co-ordination of, current engagement activities. JETs will be located in areas experiencing high worklessness rates and will aim to provide a base for the delivery of services for people currently out of the labour market. Mainstream agencies, such as JCP and the Connexions service, will be able to deliver outreach provision in the heart of communities most in need of support. Personal advisors working in the JETs will also link in with other agencies in the area who provide services for workless residents such as GP surgeries; Housing Associations etc. As the

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JETs become more established it will become evident whether additional outreach approaches such as the ‘Streets Ahead’ (door knocking) model will be required to engage with individuals whose needs are not being addressed by existing agencies.

555...333...222 IIInnndddiiivvviiiddduuuaaalll aaadddvvviiiccceee,,, aaasssssseeessssssmmmeeennnttt aaannnddd aaaccctttiiiooonnn ppplllaaannnnnniiinnnggg Effective personal advice will be critical to the delivery of the worklessness objectives of this Business Plan and it will therefore be essential that it is well-resourced. Personal advisors will have responsibility for identifying an individual’s needs (and barriers) and preparing a tailored action plan to ensure that they receive the appropriate support and training to progress in the labour market.

Currently, the personal advisor role varies between organisations and client groups. An aspirational role for a personal advisor would be to provide a single point of contact for a workless resident to co-ordinate the provision of relevant support, taking the individual from engagement, into employment and continuing to provide support in the workplace (where required), whilst utilising the expertise of other specialist organisations and existing support structures such as Train to Gain and Working for Health. This comprehensive advisory service would use a personal action planning process to identify the type and timing of support and to monitor progress. A common ‘menu’ of support should be available to all clients regardless of the organisation providing the advice service.

A number of organisations – including, in particular, Job Centre Plus, Connexions and the Colleges and Universities – currently provide personal advice services within the North Staffordshire area. These advisors often specialise in providing assistance for particular groups. At this stage, it is not known exactly how many personal advisors there are working in the area, as there are also a number of smaller providers and individual initiatives such as Success in the City offering in-depth guidance for vulnerable groups. However as the Employment and Skills Group becomes more established and closer joint working develops it is recommended that personal advisor capacity is mapped within the area. This should be used to identify gaps and to ensure that all advisors are provided with a similar menu of support for potential client groups.

The level and intensity of support provided by the personal advisors will differ depending on the individual needs. A primary objective of the new JET service will be to complement the existing personal advisory support currently being provided by mainstream agencies. In particular, they will have a specific remit to engage ‘hard to help’ groups who often have multiple barriers preventing them from taking up employment and it is envisaged that this client group will therefore often need more intensive support and the assistance of specialist support organisations as the first step on their routeway into jobs (see following sections).

It will also be crucial that all personal advisors working in the area have access to up to date information on the availability of support/training available for potential clients. It is recommended, therefore, that, in addition to the audit of existing personal advisors and their specialisms, the partnership develop a more collaborative approach with regard to the provision of personal advice involving referral protocols; a menu/directory of support; and the potential to develop a joint system for recording and tracking clients.

555...333...333 PPPeeerrrsssooonnnaaalll aaannnddd fffaaammmiiilllyyy sssuuuppppppooorrrttt (((PPPrrreee---ppprrreee rrreeecccrrruuuiiitttmmmeeennnttt))) Those furthest from the jobs market can face significant barriers. The Hawthornes research identified the need for two types of support that are often required before such individuals can even consider developing their employability skills or undertaking a

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training course. These are ‘recovery’ – involving tackling fundamental barriers to employment such as drug addiction or homelessness for ex-offenders, asylum seekers and people with severe social problems; and ‘desire to work’ - relating to getting into shape to consider employment for lone parents or disaffected youths for example.

Within the area there are a number of providers offering specific elements of this support - for example the Probation Service, the CAB, JCP and the PCT. In addition, Stoke Council have recently established a new Community Support Team (formally the Tenancy Support Team) to provide support to vulnerable people, families with children and young people within the community. The aim of the team is to assist people to remain in their own homes and to achieve their full potential. The team delivers services whilst also providing a dedicated lead worker, liaising with all other organisations involved with the customer, for example, Health Services, Social Care, Housing services, the courts, utility companies, education providers, voluntary organisations and many other organisations. It is intended that staff within the Community Support Team will refer workless residents to the JETs for this support and vice versa.

A key priority for the Employment and Skills Partnership is the development of a comprehensive menu of pre-pre-recruitment support for client groups. At present, partners feel that there are gaps with regard to this type of provision and it should therefore feature as a key priority under the first round of strategic commissioning using the Working Neighbourhoods Fund.

555...333...444 PPPrrreee---rrreeecccrrruuuiiitttmmmeeennnttt aaannnddd rrreeecccrrruuuiiitttmmmeeennnttt sssuuuppppppooorrrttt fffooorrr iiinnndddiiivvviiiddduuuaaalllsss ‘Pre-recruitment support’ embraces a broad range of intervention types that vary in terms of intensity of support, duration, capacity and cost. Its primary aim is to give those furthest from the labour market the employability skills which employers require. These skills can include for example; team working, time management, personal development and vocational skills. It also incorporates ‘transition to work’ to assist individuals through the interview stage and support into the job. This can include relatively low cost interventions - such as improving interview techniques; grants to purchase work clothes or equipment; or assistance with travel or other associated costs - as well as more expensive and intensive longer-term support such as transitional employment and wage subsidy schemes.

Through a combination of better co-ordination and integration of existing provision and refocusing resource on new provision, partners will need to provide a comprehensive and flexible range of interventions to assist residents to move closer to the labour market. This will involve having:

sufficient, relevant provision available at the right place and the right time;

the flexibility to tailor activity to meet the needs of individual residents; and

support which is appropriate to meet the needs of particular priority groups.

Pre-recruitment/recruitment support is broad and includes a whole spectrum of activities depending on the needs of the individual. Table 5.2 gives a broad outline of the scope of pre-recruitment activity and examples of organisations currently involved in its delivery.

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Table 5.2: Scope of activity

Examples of Provision

Basic Skills Provision of basic skills in literacy and numeracy. In addition the provision of ESOL is essential in equipping those for whom English is a second language with skills to apply for jobs.

JCP

College (DWP) – flexible employment routeways

Colleges

Employability Employability includes a wide range of support which is generally aimed at those furthest from the labour market. This support provides individuals with skills they require in the workplace such as team working, timekeeping, appearance, dealing with difficult situations. In some instances individuals can be in a supported work environment which gives an opportunity to address some of the individual barriers faced and access appropriate support measures.

Employability skills programme

College (DWP) flexible employment routeways programme

LEAP – Connexions

Pre-employment support activity – YMCA

Graduate Advantage

Skills development

Skills development can be vocational and / or tailored training packages based on employer requirements.

o Vocational skills – Provision of skills and education which is vocational; aiming towards a minimum of NVQ level 2 or equivalent.

o Sectoral skills development – skills development through demand led training and development packages such as the construction training initiative

o Enterprise support – pre-self employment support which can include advice and guidance around establishing a business, trial trading period and financial assistance for start-ups.

Colleges

Adult Education

JCP – New Deal provision

LSC – apprenticeships etc

North Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce – early entry to enterprise

Reconstruct (College, Beth Johnson and Featherstone Prison)

JETs

Transitional employment

Demand led support for long term unemployed people, including transitional employment programmes (ILM activity), and positive action training.

Groundwork

Work experience

Provision of work experience opportunities or work trials prior to taking up full time employment.

Graduate placement schemes e.g. GET, Graduate Advantage

JCP – work trials

Recruitment assistance

Recruitment assistance is provided to assist an individual into a job. This can include CV preparation, application form and interview preparation, guaranteed interviews , discretionary funding for clothing, essential equipment, childcare or travel costs, and wage subsidies.

JCP

Programme centres

Connexions

While there are a significant number of existing pre-recruitment interventions in the area, they lack co-ordination. There is also often a lack of awareness with regard to what is available which can result in duplication. The development of a directory/menu of provision and a move towards strategic commissioning will ensure that provision is more co-ordinated in the longer term.

In addition, there is a requirement to provide more demand-led sectoral initiatives to build on the identified job opportunities forecast to arise through the planned investment across North Staffordshire, for example:

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the construction sector – including programmed investment in social housing and housing market renewal;

health and social care – building on the work undertaken at the Acute Hospital Trust and the recently launched ‘Care Match’ initiative;

retail opportunities;

logistics; and

relevant AWM priority clusters.

Priorities for new interventions could also include:

skills passports - developed for particular industries, whereby short tailored training courses are provided for people currently unemployed who are then guaranteed a job interview with a relevant employer on completion of the training;

intermediate labour market initiatives – which provide transitional employment or a bridge for unemployed people returning to the labour market;

enhanced work trials and increased work experience schemes (building on initiatives that assist both workless residents and graduates); and

the development of collaborative public/private training ventures for both unemployed people and the existing workforce (for example, Partnership for Learning-type approach in South Liverpool).

555...333...555 SSSuuussstttaaaiiinnnaaabbbiii lll iii tttyyy aaannnddd rrreeettteeennntttiiiooonnn aaaccctttiiivvviiitttyyy This element of the routeway aims to provide continuous support for those individuals who may be vulnerable, once they have entered the labour market, to enable them to remain and progress within the company. Such support can include, for example mentoring, assistance with managing finances and working with the employer to resolve any issues.

Once individuals are in employment, a wide range of additional training provision is also potentially available, which is essential to ensure upskilling and sustainable employment opportunities with progression for individuals.

In the past, the provision of advice and support for the individual usually ended once they had entered employment. However, contracts are now structured in such a way that payments are withheld until a person has been in employment for a certain period (usually 13 weeks or more) – which has encouraged providers to offer ongoing advice and retention support.

Within North Staffordshire, there are very few specific initiatives focused solely on retention and aftercare support. Some agencies such as JCP and their providers, such as Progress in Work and the Connexions service, offer aftercare support as part of the programme of overall advisory and personal support available. The Partnership will review the need for additional support. If specific schemes are deemed necessary in future, it will be crucial that they are linked into key programmes such as Train to Gain and other workforce development projects that promote sustainable employment and progression in the workplace.

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555...444 EEEmmmpppllloooyyyeeerrr sssuuuppppppooorrrttt

555...444...111 EEEmmmpppllloooyyyeeerrr eeennngggaaagggeeemmmeeennnttt Partners need to engage with employers in an integrated and collaborative manner, to avoid duplication and become more responsive to their requirements. Employer engagement is essential to the successful delivery of this Business Plan in order to:

secure intelligence on future skills needs to inform types and levels of provision;

promote and facilitate upskilling of the existing workforce

promote local recruitment and secure employer commitment in the form of for example job guarantees, work trials and work experience; and

secure information on current vacancies.

A wide range of organisations seek to maintain regular contact with employers. These include mainstream business support agencies, the colleges and universities as well as providers of employment and skills services. The scope of employer engagement currently varies, according to the organisation delivering the service, but examples for North Staffordshire partners are given in the table below:

Table 5.3: Employer Engagement within the North Staffordshire area

Organisation Activity

Jobcentre Plus JCP offers a wide range of services to employers including advice on recruitment needs; matching vacancies to potential recruits and managing the recruitment process; advertising vacancies through the JCP network; providing specialist advice on training, rates of pay, equal opportunities and recruitment needs of special groups; and a 15 day work trial for potential employees.

Business Link Business Link offers advice and guidance to small to medium sized enterprises (SMEs). The advice covers business start up; availability of finance and grants; employing people; health and safety; business development; and international trade. Business Link also delivers the Train to Gain brokerage service, providing employers with a training plan for their workforce and providing access to training up to NVQ level 2 for employees.

North Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce and other Business Associations

The chamber of commerce and other business associations (both locality based and sectoral) offer businesses the opportunity to network and trade with each other. The chamber provides member organisations with advice and support on a range of issues and often provides a voice for the private sector regarding changes to local legislation, employment and training issues and wider economic development issues. The chamber also delivers the Early Entry to Enterprise for start up businesses.

Colleges Stoke College in particular has a dedicated team of employment brokers working with local employers to determine their workforce development requirements and other business needs.

Universities Both universities – Staffordshire and Keele – are developing one stop shop type services for employers. Staffordshire is working closely with Stoke on Trent college in the development of a business centre that will provide a single access point for employers in North Staffordshire and the wider region to reach the educational expertise of the two providers. The partnership aims to provide a seamless customer focused service that deals with workforce development needs of employers.

Staffordshire University is also due to launch ‘jobZone’ which is a centralised concept for businesses to advertise jobs for students and graduates, access the gradfairZ.com for recruitment fairs and access to Graduate Advantage. The university also has a number of dedicated employer liaison officers.

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Keele also liaises with local employers who want to take advantage of the graduate placement scheme, the Knowledge transfer project, and graduate advantage.

Private sector recruitment agencies

They develop relationships with employers to promote the recruitment of their clients. It is seen as an essential element of their delivery structure, ensuring employment opportunities are secured.

Sector initiatives For example the North Staffordshire Construction Centre – involve the development of bespoke training courses tailored to the needs of the local industry. Other sector initiatives such as Skills Passport type interventions also involve employer liaison to understand the training requirements within the particular sector. These initiatives are a good example of how partners including Jobcentre Plus, Local Authorities; and the LSC collaborate to meet the recruitment needs of employers through tailored training and support packages, whilst providing opportunities for local workless residents.

Proposed Employment Hub

The Hub will link into the Spokes (JETs) and co-ordinate the jobs and training places available within the area. Personal advisors in the JETs will work closely with the recruitment/employment brokers to try and match potential clients to the employment opportunities available.

Given the number of agencies with a remit to engage with employers, there is significant potential for overlap and duplication of services, particularly relating to recruitment guidance and workforce development. This is compounded by the lack of a consistent approach and absence of an up to date employment and skills ‘agenda’ that is promoted by all organisations contacting businesses. Strategic co-ordination of employer liaison has been identified as a key priority for the employment and skills group and a potential role for the new employment hub being established as part of the employment brokerage service. It will have a particular role in:

co-ordinating contacts and establishing a protocol for referrals;

sharing intelligence regarding recruitment and skills needs; and

developing a common employment and skills agenda for all businesses – which is capable of being promoted by business advisors offering the whole range of business advice to clients (e.g. Business Link).

Future co-ordination of employment brokerage will also be facilitated at a strategic level by the development of the Employer Board for North Staffordshire. This will bring an employers’ focus to the employment and skills agenda and the activities of the board will include:

encouraging and assisting local employers to participate in LEPs;

encouraging and assisting local employers to participate in the Skills Pledge;

encouraging employers to work in (sectoral) groups to adopt a common approach and maximise the potential for offering jobs to local people; and

encouraging employers to articulate their demand for skills.

The development of sector based initiatives will also provide a focus for the employer engagement process and assist the design of interventions that will specifically equip existing and potential employees with appropriate skills.

555...444...222 RRReeecccrrruuuiiitttmmmeeennnttt aaadddvvviiiccceee aaannnddd aaassssssiiissstttaaannnccceee The provision of recruitment advice and assistance can serve two important purposes - by supporting the effective functioning of businesses in the area and simultaneously supporting achievement of the Partnership’s worklessness and skills targets. The employment brokers or business liaison officers employed by the agencies outlined in the earlier section should have responsibility for carrying out a business needs analysis that

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includes identification of recruitment and workforce development requirements. At a minimum this should be used to provide advice on recruitment needs (e.g. the skills, experience and knowledge needed for a particular job) and how and where to advertise to attract candidates. It could also potentially involve matching recruits to potential vacancies; managing the recruitment process; advertising vacancies through the JET and JCP networks and providing specialist advice on training courses, equal opportunities and recruitment needs of special groups.

It will be crucial that the intelligence and information gathered through the employer engagement and advisory process is then shared with the personal advisors who provide advice, assessment and action planning for residents and training providers responsible for designing interventions that improve the employability of candidates. This will be a key role for the new employment brokerage service.

In some instances, it may also be necessary to offer some employers additional recruitment assistance, particularly if they are committed to training long term unemployed people or vulnerable clients who may need ongoing training and assistance in the early stages of employment. Given the level of worklessness within the North Staffordshire area and the relatively small number of existing recruitment support interventions, it is recognised that additional interventions of this nature will be required in the future. These may take the form of wage subsidies to compensate employers while new recruits gain the necessary skills and confidence to become fully productive. It may also involve (especially for hard to help groups) new intermediate labour market interventions whereby individuals are offered long term training with full employment status and are paid the rate for the job for a 6-12 month period. The potential to use social enterprises (both new and existing) as a vehicle for this type of support will be explored as a key priority.

555...555 SSSkkkiiillllllsss dddeeevvveeelllooopppmmmeeennnttt aaannnddd tttrrraaaiiinnniiinnnggg

555...555...111 WWWooorrrkkkfffooorrrccceee dddeeevvveeelllooopppmmmeeennnttt Improving skills levels within North Staffordshire will be crucial to the future competitiveness of businesses in the area and to the sustainability of jobs. Three broad and inter-related categories of workforce development activity are required:

(i) providing supported work based skills provision tailored to the needs of the individual and employer;

(ii) targeting activity to help local workless residents access employment by equipping them with the relevant skills; and

(iii) providing support to employers to up-skill their workforce and support the higher level skills agenda.

As described earlier, the majority of skills provision is funded through the Learning and Skills Council which provides a framework of support aligned with national priorities and targets that relates to 16-18yr old provision (apprenticeships, EMA, E2E); adult responsive training (Level 2, ASL, OLASS); and employer responsive training (Apprenticeships, Train to Gain). The scope of skills provision relevant to this plan is summarised in Table 5.4:

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Table 5.4: Scope of Skills activity

Skills level Scope of activity

Basic skills (e.g. Skills for Life and ESOL provision)

Development of numeracy and literacy skills to enable full participation in the work place. In addition, ESOL provision provides basic language support to those where English is not a second language.

Level 2 or equivalent Level 2 entitlement is funded through the LSC for those who do not currently have this skill level. For those in employment the Train to Gain brokers work with employers to identify their workforce development needs and by signing up to the skills pledge the employer commits to the entire workforce being trained up to basic skills level and a first L2 qualification. The brokers provide an independent assessment of the skills needed now and in the future, help arrange training and provide information about possible sources of funding.

Level 3 and 4 or equivalent Higher level skills provision - level 3 and 4 - provide the basis for workforce development and career progression. Train to Gain brokers facilitate access up to first L2/3 qualifications, higher level skills and leadership and management programmes.

Work based learning / apprenticeships

Delivery of adult apprenticeships. Employers work with closely with learning providers to identify the apprenticeship most appropriately aligned with the requirements of the business. Sector skills councils dictate the nature of the training to be delivered by the employer – which is supplemented by day release at a local learning provider.

Delivery is through a wide range of organisations including the FE colleges (6th Form, Stoke, Leek, Newcastle), Adult Education and Community Learning (within Stoke Council and Staffordshire County Council), private providers and the community and voluntary sector. In recent years, training providers and the colleges – in particular Stoke College - have become more flexible in the delivery of training provision in order to respond to the needs of employers and ensure training is in line with demand in the workplace. Maintaining this responsiveness will be particularly important as new employers are attracted to the area through the planned programme of investments.

The overall responsibility for co-ordination of workforce development activity lies with the LSC who are committed to working with the NSRP – including the Employers Board - to ensure the continuing relevance of provision. Two particular areas that have been identified where the partnership can add value to the existing workforce development interventions relate to:

assessing the feasibility of establishing a ‘Partnership for Learning type model’ within the area – a collaborative skills venture that meets the needs of key businesses and sectors through the establishment of world class training facilities (that can also meet the needs of local communities); and

the development/or expansion of other collaborative training initiatives for the those sectors expected to generate significant employment opportunities in the future – construction, retail, health and social care and logistics.

555...555...222 HHHiiiggghhheeerrr llleeevvveeelll ssskkkiii lll lllsss dddeeevvveeelllooopppmmmeeennnttt aaannnddd gggrrraaaddduuuaaattteee rrreeettteeennntttiiiooonnn Increasing higher level skills and graduate retention is a key priority for the North Staffordshire Regeneration Partnership and achievement of its skills targets. It will assist in attracting new investors into the area and assisting existing employers to become more

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competitive through the creation of high value added services and products. It is also a key priority for the West Midlands region as a whole as identified in the Regional Skills Strategy.

Higher level skills training is provided by the colleges and the two universities – Keele and Staffordshire – through a range of courses and foundation degrees. In addition, the two universities are also engaged in a number of initiatives that aim to retain graduates within the North Staffordshire area. These include:

(i) Graduate Advantage – which is a regional initiative, backed by a consortium of 13 Higher Education Institutions – to promote graduate retention in the area and increase the number of graduates working in SMEs. Working closely with employers, the project involves the creation of work experience placements within SMEs and courses to improve the employability of graduates – e.g. ‘GradSkills’ and ‘mini- GradSkills’;

(ii) Business Advantage – a regional initiative which offers funding to SMEs towards Leadership and Management training qualifications; and

(iii) Other Graduate/Student Placements Schemes such as Knowledge, Innovation, Technology Transfer schemes and Knowledge Transfer Partnerships which combine graduate placements – undertaking structured research and development – with access to University specialists throughout the programme.

Given the extremely challenging skills targets contained within the Business Plan, further enhancement or increasing the capacity – particularly within the North Staffordshire area - of the existing interventions to retain graduates will be a major priority for the partnership.

555...666 SSSuuummmmmmaaarrryyy ooofff kkkeeeyyy iiinnniiitttiiiaaalll ppprrriiiooorrriiitttiiieeesss The following summarises the key actions that have been identified as the initial priorities for development and investment of resources by the NSRP Employment and Skills Partnership:

Establishment of a new employment brokerage service operated through a hub and spoke network. The hub (called the JET Business) will undertake liaison with employers and new inward investors and will coordinate existing and new sectoral initiatives. As well as job capture activities it will promote workforce development (including higher skills) and access to other forms of business support. It will also assess employers’ recruitment and skills needs and link to the ‘spokes’ – which will include a new network of Jobs, Enterprise and Training Centres (JETs) based in areas of high worklessness (Bentilee, Blurton, Burslem and Knutton); satellites in other areas including Biddulph; as well as existing agencies.

The JETs will have the role of identifying and engaging with workless residents, undertaking vacancy matching and sourcing relevant training or other support required. They will be delivered through locally based host organisations working to common standards and approaches. The various stages required to assist clients progress into employment will be delivered through specialist providers. Connexions will undertake the vital initial assessment and preparation of job and skills action plans.

Development of a commissioning framework for enhanced support to provide employment routeways for disadvantaged groups. Many of the projects will be delivered or commissioned through the JET infrastructure They include:

o additional engagement and in-work support – including initial client assessment; in-work support; and redundancy support;

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o intensive support for individuals and families – including personal and family support; support for workless groups; debt management; and overcoming barriers to employment;

o transitional employment options – including wage subsidies; intermediate labour market initiatives; and volunteering and work placements;

o business start-up – including business coaching; and business start up grants for workless residents;

o job capture and sectoral initiatives – including joint procurement initiatives and sectoral support initiatives.

development of a more collaborative approach with regard to the provision of personal advice involving referral protocols; a menu/directory of support; and the identification of the potential to develop a joint system for recording and tracking clients. This will need to be informed by a detailed mapping of PA capacity within the area;

concerted action to develop the social economy both as a provider of services under this plan and as a source of new employment opportunities. This will include research to examine means whereby social enterprises can be enabled to access procurement opportunities including in particular public sector contracts;

development of initiatives that will integrate housing and worklessness and in particular capitalise upon the local economic potential of new housing investments (including in particular HMRI);

co-ordination via development of an Employer Board to bring an employers focus to the employment and skills agenda and to inform the activities of the new brokerage service. Activities will include:

o encouraging and assisting local employers to participate in LEPs;

o encouraging and assisting local employers to participate in Skills Pledge;

o encouraging employers to work in (sectoral) groups to adopt a common approach and maximise the potential for offering jobs to local people; and

o enabling employers to articulate their demand for skills;

exploring the potential for development of collaborative skills ventures that can meet the needs of key businesses and sectors by the development of world class training facilities that can also meet the needs of local communities. An initial priority will be to explore the feasibility of establishing a ‘Partnership for Learning Model’ for North Staffordshire;

further enhancement of interventions to retain graduates within the area thus developing the area’s pool of higher level skills. This will include ensuring the following planned programmes are effective within North Staffordshire:

o Graduate Advantage project;

o graduate works (employability) project;

o leadership and management programme;

o employer engagement in higher education; and

o knowledge transfer programmes.

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666 MMMaaannnaaagggeeemmmeeennnttt aaarrrrrraaannngggeeemmmeeennntttsss aaannnddd fffiiinnnaaannnccceee

666...111 IIInnntttrrroooddduuuccctttiiiooonnn This section sets out the proposed governance and operating arrangements for implementation of this Business Plan. It also identifies the roles of partners, along with the estimated costs and funding.

The management and governance arrangements need to embody a commitment by partners to co-ordinate, collaborate and integrate their activity at all levels in pursuit of achieving the targets as set out in Section 4. This will involve the clear identification of both individual agency and joint responsibilities.

These commitments will need to be cascaded through the partner bodies. Delivery needs to be flexible and responsive to changing circumstances and partners need to ensure that internal management processes allow for elements of discretion. The partners need to ensure quality standards are agreed, managed and reviewed collectively, providing a framework in which the strategy will be delivered in the future.

As the partnership becomes more established over the lifetime of this plan, it is envisaged that levels of collaboration will increase. In particular this will involve movement from a position of agreeing joint targets and a joint plan; to one whereby partners strategically commission and approve delivery contracts in accordance with an agreed framework; and ultimately to the full integration of resources. The stages of this process are indicated in Figure 6.1 below.

Figure 6.1: Progress to integration

Agreeing Agreeing common common agendaagenda

YR 1YR 1

YR 2YR 2

YR 3YR 3

CoCo--alignment of funding alignment of funding the achieve objectivesthe achieve objectives

Share information on contracts

Agree framework for delivery of contracts

Joint/strategic commissioning of

budgets (single pot approach)

Achieving priority Achieving priority targetstargets

Prepare joint action plans to achieve priority

targets.

Agree joint working and monitoring arrangements

Contract new additional delivery activities to

achieve targets

Implement plans and direct integrated

resources to deliver targets

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666...222 GGGooovvveeerrrnnnaaannnccceee aaarrrrrraaannngggeeemmmeeennntttsss

666...222...111 SSStttrrruuuccctttuuurrreee The proposed governance arrangements for overseeing delivery of this Business Plan are shown in figure 6.2 below:

Figure 6.2: NSRP employment and skills governance arrangements

666...222...222 NNNSSSRRRPPP EEEmmmpppllloooyyymmmeeennnttt aaannnddd SSSkkkiii lll lllsss GGGrrrooouuuppp The NSRP Employment and Skills Group will have overall responsibility for co-ordination of the delivery of activity to achieve the targets for employment and skills, as set out in this Plan. It will also in effect act as the agency for achievement of the LAA targets for Stoke-on-Trent and (within the North Staffordshire area) Staffordshire (and ultimately for the MAA once finalised). It will therefore be required to regularly report progress to the two Local Strategic Partnerships.

The Group will work collaboratively and with other strategic and delivery partners in order to:

influence the spend of partner agencies e.g. WNF/LSC/JCP/ AWM;

determine priorities for the investment of new resources; and

embed the objectives of this plan into not just other regeneration activities but also into the working practices – including procurement - of all relevant organisations.

The role of the Group will be to:

co-ordinate and align programme activity;

oversee the development and delivery of programmes for worklessness and skills development;

oversee the development and delivery of the JET infrastructure;

develop commissioning frameworks for new provision;

North Staffordshire Regeneration Partnership

Employment andSkills Group

BurslemSouth (Including Biddulph East)

Knutton & Cross Heath

EmployersBoard

BentileeBlurton

Neighbourhood Working and Skills Groups

Stoke LSP

Development andEnvironment Theme

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consider how funding streams can be combined to deliver programmes in new ways;

oversee the implementation of this Business Plan, review progress towards achievement of its (and associated LAA) targets and determine the need for additional or revised activities; and

liaise with NSRP groups and regeneration agencies across North Staffordshire to establish and develop appropriate linkages.

The NSRP Employment and Skills Group incorporates senior members from key public, private, community and voluntary sectors, providing a range of leadership, profile, experience and connections to implement the vision. The establishment of the Group has cross-party political support from Stoke on Trent City Council, Staffordshire Moorlands District Council and Newcastle District Council. The proposed membership is as set out below but the facility needs to be retained to co-opt additional members (e.g. from RSLs) as changing circumstances dictate:

Chamber of Commerce

Learning and Skills Council

Stoke on Trent City Council

Staffordshire Moorlands City Council

Newcastle Council

Advantage West Midlands

Primary Care Trust

Staffordshire University

Job Centre Plus

Connexions

Stoke College

CVS

Employers Board

666...222...333 TTThhheee EEEmmmpppllloooyyyeeerrrsss’’’ BBBoooaaarrrddd The Employers’ Board has been established as a crucial part of the governance, to provide a collective voice for local employers to ensure that their employment and skills needs inform the agenda and to increase employer engagement and investment in skills. The Board will support the development and delivery of the employment and skills plan for North Staffordshire by providing an employer perspective on the labour market and skills challenges in the area; the effectiveness of programmes and support initiatives; and a channel for the engagement of the private sector in delivery of the plan’s objectives.

The broad terms of reference for the group are to increase the competitiveness of all employment sectors within North Staffordshire by:

taking advantage of the opportunity to network and share good practice and support between the board member organisations;

supporting the public sector’s understanding of the labour market and skills challenges, especially the significance of the changing demographic context for all sectors;

44


July 2008

being a sounding board and feedback mechanism for programmes and products that are intended to support business and skills development, in particular the Skills Pledge, Local Employment Partnerships and Train to Gain service;

being champions to promote the business benefit of employing disadvantaged residents and encouraging other employers, particularly SMEs, to do the same;

being champions to promote the business benefits in signing the Skills Pledge by qualifying existing employees and encouraging other employers to do the same;

identifying future skills and training required and where appropriate support the development of solutions to meet those needs; and

identifying progression routes for existing employees and entry routes for those who are entering work for the first time.

The Board is private sector led and will have senior level representation from key economic/employment sectors.

666...222...444 NNNeeeiiiggghhhbbbooouuurrrhhhooooooddd WWWooorrrkkkiiinnnggg aaannnddd SSSkkkiii lll lllsss GGGrrrooouuupppsss The Neighbourhood Working & Skills Groups (NWSG) are locally-focused steering groups, relevant to each JET, bringing together local area knowledge from cross sector representation. Their composition varies but can include, for example, community and voluntary groups operating in the locality, RSLs, the City Council Local Neighbourhood Manager, health and social service practitioners, local Citizens Advice Manager and the local Children's Centre manager. The NWSGs’ primary purpose is to ensure that the JET service maximises local opportunity and works in a complementary way to existing services, thus adding increased value to clients. It will ensure that the JET service is kept informed of local neighbourhood strategies and changes in policy that impact at the local level. The NWSGs will meet at monthly intervals.

In addition, Operations Groups will be established to provide oversight for each JET and ensure that local performance targets are being delivered, identifying reasons for divergence and proposing remedial actions if required. These groups will be the first alert for delivery breakdown and will closely monitor the JET performance on a monthly target basis. The groups will be made up of key funding bodies' representatives.

666...333 EEExxxeeecccuuutttiiivvveee aaarrrrrraaannngggeeemmmeeennntttsss The importance of the employment and skills agenda, the level of the resources involved and the overriding need to ensure the effective ‘joining-up’ of activities point to the need to ensure that an executive team is in place that is sufficiently senior and well-resourced.

It is proposed that the core Employment and Skills team will be housed within Stoke-on-Trent Council and, in the first instance, comprise staff with responsibility for:

development and implementation of the integrated approach to employment and skills outlined in this plan. This will involve the co-ordination of the activities of all partners including:

o refocusing of public resources on the priorities and targets identified in this plan;

o sharing resources through the pooling and alignment of funding;

o removing duplication;

o determining delivery responsibilities;

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July 2008

o filling gaps in provision; and

o ensuring quality of provision;

monitoring and reviewing targets and progress towards their achievement and identifying and rolling out best practice;

enhancing the corporate profile of employment and skills within partner organisations generally and the local authorities in particular; maximising the benefit to the employment and skills agenda of other services including adult and community learning; and promoting the use of procurement activity to secure employment and skills objectives;

overseeing the delivery – through a combination of direct delivery and commissioning - of the JET Service across North Staffordshire. This will involve managing the delivery by various service providers of both the community-facing Job Enterprise and Training Centres (JETs) and the employer-facing Hub; and

development of new activities to fill gaps and enhance delivery in order to achieve targets – for example provision to support ‘routeways to work’, Intermediate Labour Market (ILMs) and social economy support.

It is also envisaged that the Community Adult Learning team at Stoke on Trent City Council will become part of the team. This will have major benefits in providing focus to the employment and skills agenda.

As projects are developed, it is possible that further implementation posts will be established. The fundamental principle will, however, be to facilitate and enhance delivery of the agenda through delivery by partners in the public, private, community and voluntary sectors.

The precise structure of the team will be finalised when the newly-appointed Employment and Skills Director takes up her post in September. She will work closely with the Chair and other members of the Employment and Skills Group and with key individuals in the local authorities, partner organisations and the private sector to commission and co-ordinate delivery of the identified actions within the NSRP area. Figure 6.3 sets out a draft structure for the team and Table 6.1 outlines the key envisaged roles.

Figure 6.3: Project staff

Director

Workforce Develop-

ment LSC)

Brokerage Co-ordinator

and employer

engagement

JET managers

Employment engagement

officers

Recruitment officers

Policy funding and

strategy

JET Co-ordinator & communic-

ations

BlurtonJET

STACE (Skills,

Training and Employment)

Programme and

Finance

Employment development programmes

ILMS

Social economy

(procurement)

Admin

Community and Adult Learning

Team

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July 2008

Table 6.1: Draft roles and responsibilities of the core team

Post Responsibilities

Employment & Skills Director - With full responsibility to the E&S Group for the effective delivery of the agreed employment and skills agenda

The Director will manage and co-ordinate the core management, the employment brokerage and other key teams dedicated to delivery of the employment and skills agenda, and oversee links with other NSRP groups as well as ensure effective PR and communications;

Strategy, Planning and Funding Manager – will be responsible for maximising benefits to North Staffordshire from national, regional and local programmes and maximising resources to the employment and skills agenda

This post will act as a ‘deputy’ to the Employment and Skills Director and will advise the worklessness agenda. They will have a range of responsibilities including:

overseeing the effective delivery of the JET structure; maximising the resources to the worklessness and skills

agenda; overseeing the effective programme management of externally

funded programmes; overseeing the development of new initiatives including the

commissioning of new routeways provision; and reporting on performance and progress toward achievement of

targets

Workforce Development Manager – will be responsible via the Skills Board to bring an employers focus to the employment and skills agenda. This post is being resourced from the LSC.

Allied to this agenda will be the further development of demand-led sectoral initiatives to provide more effective and relevant pre-recruitment and training support, to include

the construction sector with particular reference to opportunities associated with the substantial programmed investment over the next few years in social housing and housing market renewal;

health and social care – building on the work undertaken at the Acute Hospital Trust;

retail opportunities; logistics; and exploring the potential for development of collaborative skills

ventures that can meet the needs of key businesses and sectors by the development of world class training facilities that can also meet the needs of local communities.

Brokerage Co-ordinator and Employment Engagement Manager

This post will co-ordinate the employer facing services in the team. This will incorporate:

alignment of brokerage services both delivered directly and through partner organisations; and

manage the overall operation of the employer facing ‘Joblink’

JET Co-ordinator and Communications Manager – will have responsibility for the overall co-ordination of activities in the JETs.

This will include liaising with JET managers and existing agencies dealing with workless residents. This role will also have a key responsibility for overseeing communications for the employment and skills team. It will have direct line management responsibility for Blurton JET and STACE.

Employment Development Manager(s) – Housing, construction and social economy. It is anticipated that further development of the social economy will be undertaken both as a provider of services under this plan and as a source of new employment opportunities.

This will include research to examine means whereby social enterprises can be enabled to access procurement opportunities including in particular public sector contracts. In addition there is a need to co-ordinate, develop and oversee the development of initiatives which maximise local jobs and training through the planned programme of investment over the next 10 years. Will provide support to the development of key demand-led sectoral initiatives especially those which involve local authority departments as key partners, for example, housing and construction.

Secretarial/and administrative support

Essential to the efficient running of the team will be adequate secretarial and administrative backup.

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July 2008

666...444 PPPaaarrrtttnnneeerrr rrrooollleeesss aaannnddd rrreeessspppooonnnsssiiibbbiiillliiitttiiieeesss The following summarises the roles of the Employment and Skills Group key partners. Clarity of roles and responsibilities will be essential to ensure that the NSRP Employment and Skills group creates distinctive added value through complementing and boosting the internal capacity of partners and members. It is suggested that detailed memoranda of understanding should be prepared.

666...444...111 SSStttoookkkeee CCCiiitttyyy CCCooouuunnnccciii lll Stoke City Council is taking a leading role in the development of the NSRP strategy and Business Plan and leads the strategy for the economic development for the city within the context of the RES. The Council has recently received substantial funding to support the worklessness agenda in the city through the Working Neighbourhoods Fund – a successor to NRF – and is committed to pro-actively developing and supporting the delivery of the employment and skills programme. The City Council will:

act as the accountable body for the employment of staff;

provide line management for the team through the MD of the NSRP;

provide financial and operational support;

act as the accountable body for EU funding;

ensure a strategic approach to the commissioning of employment and skills in the context of the Working Neighbourhoods Fund settlement;

take a strategic leadership role with the other local authorities in the promotion and development of key employment and skills initiatives; including involvement in LEP’s and skills pledges;

ensure the employment and skills issues are on the agenda of key local authority services and activities and aim to utilise, where appropriate, planning and procurement activities to pursue these objectives; and

promote key projects jointly.

666...444...222 NNNeeewwwcccaaassstttllleee aaannnddd SSStttaaaffffffooorrrdddssshhhiiirrreee MMMoooooorrrlllaaannndddsss CCCooouuunnnccciii lllsss

Both Newcastle and Staffordshire Moorlands lead the economic development of their areas within the context of the RES and the NSRP strategy and Business Plan. Both authorities will:

provide operational support for the NSRP team and agenda;

support the submission of bids for EU funds to implement key employment and skills projects;

promote the development of key employment and skills initiatives;

support employment and skills as a corporate issue within the local authority, using best endeavours to incorporate appropriate requirements into planning permissions and in the procurement of goods/services;

consider involvement in LEP's and skills pledges as an employer; and

promote awareness of learning and skills initiatives via the Authority's communication media.

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July 2008

666...444...333 AAAdddvvvaaannntttaaagggeee WWWeeesssttt MMMiiidddlllaaannndddsss AWM is the strategic leader for economic development in the region and targets and invest resources to achieve delivery of the Regional Economic Strategy. Through the Regional Skills Partnership it provides up-to-date market intelligence on the skills and employment gaps and needs in the NSRP area. Its role will be to:

provide support to the Employment and Skills group;

sponsor and fund key employment and skills projects;

provide support in the form of specialist staff and skills input and funding for consultancy, feasibility work, and other enabling activities to promote and progress key projects; and

help promote and market NSRP employment and skills projects to inward investors, developers, occupiers and other private sector partners.

666...444...444 LLLeeeaaarrrnnniiinnnggg aaannnddd SSSkkkiii lll lllsss CCCooouuunnnccciii lll The LSC aims to make the NSRP area better skilled and more competitive. Its potential role involves:

direction of its resources to ensure that they contribute to the delivery of the employment and skills Business Plan’s objectives for the NSRP area;

co-ordination via the Employers Board to bring an employers’ focus to the employment and skills agenda;

provision of specialist staff resources and skills to the NSRP team;

funding and promotion of key projects; and

support for the promotion and marketing of NSRP employment and skills projects to inward investors and private sector partners.

666...444...555 JJJooobbb CCCeeennntttrrreee PPPllluuusss Jobcentre Plus aims to help more people into paid work, help employers fill vacancies and give people support if they are unable to work. Its role will include:

direction of its resources to contribute to the delivery of the employment and skills Business Plan for the NSRP area;

contribution to the development and implementation of the employment brokerage infrastructure;

provision of resources including specialist staff and skills to the NSRP team; and

promotion of key projects.

666...444...666 FFFEEE CCCooolll llleeegggeeesss aaannnddd TTTrrraaaiiinnniiinnnggg PPPrrrooovvviiidddeeerrrsss FE Colleges and other (largely private) training providers are key delivery partners. Their role is crucial in ensuring that workless clients have the necessary skills to proceed into sustainable employment. Stoke-on-Trent College is particularly important in this regard due to the number of worklessness and workforce development contracts it holds - including the DWP Flexible Routeways contract, the Programme Centre contract and a range of Train To Gain provision.

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July 2008

666...444...777 CCCooonnnnnneeeXXXiiiooonnnsss ConneXions Staffordshire has statutory responsibility for young people aged 14-19 but also holds a range of adult contracts as well. ConneXions will have at least three key roles in the development of employment and skills activity in North Staffordshire: ensuring that the age 19+ work is linked to work with 14-19 year olds, particularly in terms of young people not in education, employment or training (NEETs); other adult provision, including its Information, Advice and Guidance (IAG) contracts; and the assessment and mentoring work they will undertake on behalf of the JETs of clients at some distance from the labour market.

666...444...888 VVVooollluuunnntttaaarrryyy aaannnddd CCCooommmmmmuuunnniiitttyyy SSSeeeccctttooorrr The voluntary and community sectors will have key roles to play in delivering provision to disadvantaged groups. Voluntary sector training providers (for example, Groundwork, YMCA, Richmond Fellowship) have a degree of trust amongst difficult to engage groups which mainstream agencies sometimes find difficult to attain. They can also be more enterprising than their public sector partners, allowing innovative activity to be piloted.

The community sector (tenants and residents groups, faith communities etc) are also key players in this agenda in that they provide a “voice” for disadvantaged groups, as well as being the first point of contact in terms of engagement. Finally, the intelligence they provide regarding local community needs is invaluable.

666...444...999 CCChhhaaammmbbbeeerrr ooofff CCCooommmmmmeeerrrccceee The Chamber of Commerce will provide a vital connection to local business to maximise the number of potential job opportunities for local residents as well as provide guidance about programme content.

666...444...111000 PPPrrriiimmmaaarrryyy CCCaaarrreee TTTrrruuusssttt The PCT has an important potential role to play as an:

employer / investor in the area;

a provider of specialist support services to address barriers to work; and

as a referral point particularly for ‘hard-to-reach’ groups.

666...444...111111 UUUnnniiivvveeerrrsssiiittt iiieeesss A major strength of the sub-region is the presence of two Universities – Keele and Staffordshire - both of whom are committed to the regeneration of the area. The Universities are critical to increasing the number of people in the sub-region skilled to level 4 and above. They will be directly involved in – and in certain instances lead on - a number of projects concerning graduate retention, HE access, employer engagement and higher level skills.

666...555 OOOpppeeerrraaatttiiinnnggg bbbuuudddgggeeettt aaannnddd fffuuunnndddiiinnnggg The following section sets out the estimated costs and proposed funding sources for the activities identified in this Business Plan for the three year period April 2008 – March 2011. The information included is indicative at this stage and will require detailed

50


July 2008

consideration by the Partnership and the subsequent submission of relevant funding applications to WNF and others.

The total estimated cost of the proposed ‘new’ activity under the Programme (including its administration and management) over the three years is some £24.75m. It should be emphasised that this figure (with the exception of the four ‘pipeline’ projects) excludes existing provision which the Partnership will be seeking to co-ordinate. As referred to in Section 3 relevant LSC, JCP and College programmes alone are in excess of £30m per annum. Funding sources for the ‘new’ provision will need to be finalised but it is currently envisaged that the main sources will include:

Working Neighbourhoods Fund £11.7m

AWM £4.2m

ESF £3.3m

ERDF £1.4m

LSC £0.7m

Private £3.4m

Table 6.2 sets out the core operational costs (based on the draft staffing structure in Figure 6.3) for the 3 year period from April 2008 to March 2011, totalling just under £2m.

Table 6.2: Core Team costs and funding8

2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 Total

Salaries & on-costs 320,000 469,655 481,396 1,271,051

Premises 50,000 51,300 52,500 153,800

Administration 25,000 25,600 26,300 76,900

Promotion & marketing 50,000 51,300 52,500 153,800

Strategic & development costs.

75,000 102,500 105,100 282,600

Establishment costs 50,000 50,000

Total costs 570,000 700,355 717,796 1,988,151

8 The costs are based on assumptions regarding staffing and premises and have assumed 2.5% per annum inflation. The key elements of the cost breakdown are as follows:

Staff costs - this includes the salaries and on-costs of the seven members of the Executive Team.

Premises - cost based on an estimated contribution to premises at Stoke Civic Centre.

Administration overheads - telephone, reception, post, reprographics, periodicals, office hospitality.

Marketing and Promotions - to include web and publicity/branding materials.

Strategic costs - to include costs of preparing operational business plan, feasibility studies and development work.

Establishment costs - Year 1 costs to accommodate recruitment.

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July 2008

Stoke City Council W’king N’hoods Fund

320,000

400,355 467,796 1,188,151

LSC (In kind) 50,000 50,000 100,000

AWM 200,000 250,000 250,000 700,000

Total income 570,000 700,355 717,796 1,988,151

Table 6.3 summarises the estimated 3-year staffing and running costs of the proposed JETs. At the time of writing detailed negotiations are taking place with the potential funders.

Table 6.3: Employment Brokerage costs and funding9

2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 Total

Salaries & on-costs 303,750 415,125 425,503 1,144,378

Premises & administration 75,000 102,500 105,063 282,563

Marketing & promotion 37,500 51,250 52,531 141,281

Employment Hub Total 416,250 568,875 583,097 1,568,222 Salaries & on-costs 797,224 1,069,916 1,100,587 2,967,727

Overhead Costs 36,000 49,200 50,430 135,630

Marketing & publicity 45,000 61,500 63,038 169,538

Beneficiary Costs 150,000 150,000 150,000 450,000

Community JETs Total 1,028,224 1,330,616 1,364,054 3,722,894

Total Brokerage revenue costs 1,444,474 1,899,491 1,947,151 5,291,116

Estimated Capital 235,000 235,000

Total costs 1,679,474 1,899,491 1,947,151 5,526,116

ERDF SUD 334,021 377,779 387,258 1,099,058

AWM 115,222 130,317 133,587 379,125

WNF 171,985 194,516 199,396 565,897

CRT 46,814 52,947 54,275 154,036

ESF (Contract management) 69,750 93,000 23,250 186,000

ESF (staff in HUB) 400,000 533,000 133,000 1,066,000

ESF (NSCCI Contract) 25,000 34,000 9,000 68,000

ESF (JET costs) 663,000 884,000 221,000 1,768.000

ESF (Beneficiary costs) 90,000 120,000 30,000 240,000

Total income 1,915,792 2,419,558 1,190,766 5,526,116

9 Hub staffing includes: Employment Brokerage Manager; Administrative Support; 5 Employment Engagement

Advisors; 2 Recruitment Officers; Research and Data Advisors.

Community JET staffing includes: 4 Managers & admin plus other staff through service providers including Engagement Co-ordinators (x5); Assessment staff (x6); Pre-employment Advisers (x9); Jobs and Training Brokers (x5).

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July 2008

Table 6.5 sets out the estimated costs and potential funding sources associated with delivery of the key new projects, as discussed in Section 5.

Table 6.5: Proposed Projects costs and funding (£’000s)

2008/09 2009/10 2010/11 Total

Project pre-development Fund 100 150 100 350

Funded by: WNF 100 150 100 350

Collaborative Skills Ventures 100 625 1,250 1,975

Funded by: Private 100 200 300

WNF 25 25

LSC (Train to Gain) 25 50 75

AWM 75 500 1,000 1,575

Demand Led Sectoral Initiatives 250 1,250 1,500 3,000

Funded by: HMRI 4 21 25 50

Private (Prologis) RSLs & College 8 42 50 100

WNF 58 292 350 700

LSC (In Kind) 42 208 250 500

AWM 125 625 750 1,500

ERDF 13 63 75 150

Social Economy 70 330 375 775

Funded by: ERDF SUD 13 63 63 139

WNF 57 267 312 636

Support for Employment Routeways (including personal & family support and ILMs)

1,000 4,500 5,000 10,500

Funded by: Private 300 1,200 1,500 3,000

WNF 700 3,300 3,500 7,500

Integrated housing & Worklessness (Federation Road)

100 250 250 600

Funded by: WNF 100 250 250 600

Total 1,620 7,105 8,475 17,200

666...666 MMMaaarrrkkkeeetttiiinnnggg aaannnddd cccooommmmmmuuunnniiicccaaatttiiiooonnnsss A Marketing and Communications Plan is being developed for the Employment and Skills Group. The key principles need to be:

to promote the diversity of approach and effectively use resources through established networks/partner organisations;

to promote services in a unified, branded and exciting way;

to ensure quality, innovation and accessibility in the production and dissemination of materials; and

to actively engage businesses, community groups, providers and partners in promoting available employment and skills services and in disseminating materials.

The plan will define in detail the approach to the following key groups:

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July 2008

Workless residents - in order to engage and encourage participation. The key principle will be the development of a single brand to represent partner objectives and to co-ordinate activity. Information will be made available through a wide range of outlets, including community organisations, the emerging JET network, Local Authority premises, local housing offices, GP surgeries and Jobcentre Plus offices. Alongside this, a more targeted approach will be undertaken through mail shots to eligible people, with an initial emphasis on the priority groups, with the response from the mail shots being monitored and used to increase quality and targeting. In order to improve collaborative marketing and communication partners need to consider the development of a shared database in order to share intelligence more effectively.

Employers - marketing to employers will need to be co-ordinated and undertaken in collaboration with existing business support organisations – including Business Links, Chamber of Commerce and local authority economic development teams - to ensure that there is no duplication which would confuse potential employers. The Employers Board should be used to advise on the most effective approaches to employer communication and direct marketing.

Providers and other key partner agencies – to ensure awareness of needs, opportunities and available support. The focus of the approach to addressing worklessness in this plan is via personalised routeways. Co-ordination of these will be the responsibility of advisors based not just in the mainstream partners and the JETS but across a range of other organisations in the area. It will be essential to ensure that, whatever an individual’s point of entry to the system, that they potentially have access to the full range of support available. Accordingly, all providers need to have ready access – ideally online – to up-to-date and comprehensive information (including eligibility criteria) on the range of support provision available.

666...777 QQQuuuaaallliiitttyyy aaassssssuuurrraaannnccceee,,, mmmooonnniiitttooorrriiinnnggg aaannnddd rrreeevvviiieeewww

666...777...111 QQQuuuaaalll iii tttyyy aaassssssuuurrraaannnccceee Each partner organisation currently has their own quality assurance standards for service delivery. These should be reviewed with consideration given to developing a standard core framework which would provide a collective approach to delivery.

This could involve the development of core standards focused on each element of the routeway:

engagement;

personal advice;

pre-recruitment; and

post recruitment.

The core standards could be established through a representative task group with the aim of all partners signing-up to them through a ‘charter’.

The core quality standards would be a key component in commissioning frameworks for the strategic partners, thus helping to align activity and quality. In addition, partners should consider developing joint appraisal systems - within which the core quality standards would form an element.

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July 2008

666...777...222 MMMooonnniiitttooorrriiinnnggg aaannnddd rrreeevvviiieeewww Ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the joint delivery of employment and skills activity by partners at all levels (neighbourhood, district and sub region) will be essential both to review the effectiveness and relevance of delivery and to assess performance against targets. The Employment and Skills Group should establish clear information and data sharing protocols and explore the feasibility of establishing a shared monitoring database(s).

The Group’s monitoring and review framework should comprise :

Monitoring performance against delivery of agreed targets and impact of activity on priority groups.

The Employment and Skills Group will need to develop a common monitoring framework to monitor the district wide and North Staffordshire outcome targets in terms of the worklessness rates and skills levels. At a local level these will be informed through the emerging JET structures and Neighbourhood Employment Groups who will monitor activity at a neighbourhood level and report performance to the Employment and Skills Group.

Reviewing activity in terms of relevance, impact and sustainability.

The relevance, potential impact and sustainability of any activity should be established through an appraisal process which should include a review of its relevance in terms of priority groups and employers, any impact the activity has had in terms of their priorities and the sustainability of the activity; referring any identified issues to relevant partners to be addressed.

Monitoring against priorities and milestones identified within the plan

The plan is a ‘living’ document and as such needs to be reviewed, monitored and updated at regular meetings of the Employment and Skills Group.

Dissemination of best practise

Through regular review of effectiveness and appropriateness of activity, partners will be required to identify and disseminate best practice from and to the neighbourhoods, across the three districts and the North Staffordshire area.

666...888 RRRiiissskkk aaasssssseeessssssmmmeeennnttt aaannnddd mmmaaannnaaagggeeemmmeeennnttt The potential risks involved in delivering the employment and skills Business Plan are summarised in Table 6.5 (in terms of their likelihood and potential impact) together with an assessment of how these risks can be limited.

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July 2008

Table 6.5: Risk management Risk Probabil-

ity High – 5 Low - 1

Impact High – 5 Low -1

Risk management

Negative impact on ability to achieve targets due to external factors (e.g. economic downturn)

3 4

The risk of external factors is beyond control of local partners and can not be mitigated.

Inability to gain the commitment from key partners at a strategic and operational level 2 4

Partners signed up through the NSRP Board and the Employment and Skills Group

Partners will be sharing targets through the LAA process

Implementation team (with key operational staff) established to plan for new delivery within the North Staffordshire area

Failure to recruit high calibre candidates to the new posts

3 3

Competitive salary packages on offer to attract candidates

Multi-agency approach to selection and recruitment Potential to appoint interim posts/secondments until

the ‘right’ candidates are appointed

Insufficient funding for the infrastructure and funding streams for the programme 2 4

Worklessness and high level skills are key priorities within the funding streams being applied for

Infrastructure costs will add value and complement major capital investments

Can be mitigated by partners reviewing their activity, reducing duplication and prioritising resources to address the targets – in addition targets will need to be realistic and set within the capability (capacity) of partners

Failure to engage and attract clients to the programme of activities – both individuals and businesses

2 5

Proactive engagement mechanisms to be developed Clarity about the ‘offer’ for individuals – jobs and

training Screening/quality matching essential to provide job

ready candidates to employers in order to establish the reputation of the brokerage hub

Major capital investments and regeneration activity not realised - reducing the availability of jobs

3 4

Capital investments underway Need to maximise opportunities through S106

agreements, targeted recruitment and training clauses for construction and end users

Claw back of public funding if outputs are not achieved

2 Effective management and monitoring/ review systems

will keep track of performance and processes put in place to address shortfalls in meeting targets

Ineffective targeting to respond to local needs

3 3

Partners need to sign up to reducing the disparities across the North Staffordshire area and working together at an operational level to reduce duplication

Inconsistent communications

2 2

Single branding approach required – to avoid confusion for clients (residents, businesses) and providers

Process required for ensuring local needs can be articulated to Strategic Employment and Skills group – key responsibility of Employment and Skills Director and management team

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July 2008

777 NNNeeexxxttt sssttteeepppsss

777...111 MMMiiillleeessstttooonnneeesss The key milestones for further development of the Employment and Skills Plan, establishment of a co-ordination and delivery infrastructure and the commencement of delivery are set out in the following table:

Agree Employment and Skills Business Plan - July 2008

Agree key delivery programmes to impact on employment and skills targets

- July – December 2008

Agree employment and skills appointments - September - December 2008

Appointment to permanent senior post - In post September 2008

Establish the Employers Board - Summer 2008

Secure in principal AWM support for key delivery projects - Autumn 2008

Secure ESF co-financing monies & WNF for early projects and brokerage

- Summer 2008

Establish JETs and HUB - Summer / Autumn 2008

Prepare and agree commissioning frameworks for new employment routeways support

Autumn 2008

Development / contracting of new key delivery programmes - April 2009

Review of activity - Ongoing

nsrp business plan

Documents

skills business plan

skills targets

targets section

skillsbusiness plan

north staffordshire

skills group

worklessness targets

key aims