Author: davepickering

Summary of discussion at networking event

 Youth Employment 16-19 – How can we help improve the number of young people going into employment and other positive destinations? 

City wide and National issues

• Need to increase training capacity across the city
• Need to look at incentives to take on a young person (converting benefits into wage subsidy?). SDS Employer Recruitment Incentive relevant here.
• More Modern Apprenticeships.
• Fund projects that get people directly into jobs.
• 21^st century homes programme should include employability initiatives and apprenticeships, build into the master planning process at an early stage

Schools and youth agencies

• Need more vocational courses built into schools and make them on par with academic routes.
• Increase Careers advice in schools – time spent per pupil
• Make sure school leavers are aware of choices.
• Increase opportunities for part time work at schools.
• Improve links between schools and outside agencies.
• Need to engage with 12/13 year olds before they become disaffected.
• Bring local people into schools, including slightly older young people in the job market to “tell it like it is”.
• High drop out rate of young people from the educational system in the area – need a partnership approach to this
• Stronger links with local youth agencies
• Early intervention – teach employability skills in Youth Centres. 

Mentoring/Attitudes/ Presentation Skills

• Need to look at building the work ethic and correct attitude to work
• There are jobs are available – young people need relevant skills and attitude.
• Most vulnerable have challenges in interview presentation, personal confidence/appearance. Can we make preparing for a work interview a more viable option – Interviewing makeover programme designed and delivered by partners & College.
• Recognise the value of activity that is not directly job related.
• Confidence building is the key skill needed to address this issue – e.g. Duke of Edinburgh awards
• Mentoring and 1 to 1 work makes the difference with young people likely to fail. Can we get higher profile on this? Is there a link with Forth Voluntary Sector forum that could be scaled up – possibly part of TOTAL PLACE project?

Business Links

• Involve small businesses.
• Need strong and sustained links to the business community.
• Opportunities for local jobs – where are the employers? They need to be part of any action plan, and contribute to better outcomes. Care Sector will have openings locally but perhaps more suited to 20+.
• Refocus work of SBC – excellent example of recent school projects

Training/Support

• Consider putting in place here an innovative supported one stop, integrated accommodation/training /support model for young people Ref Aberdeen Foyer model.
• Improve links with Telford College Construction faculty
• More pre-vocational courses needed
• Use innovative ways of engaging. Community Renewal use informal “ pizza night” approach to inform young people of opportunities

Strategy/Processes

• Need a clear strategy for what we want to achieve. Identify who are the key local partners who can actively contribute as part of solution, and stakeholders – these are both important but different things.
• Need specific statson the scale of this problem in North Edinburgh? E.g. we know that Craigroyston has lowest qualifications, but are we clear which aspects/priority group we need to target – the farthest away from employment, or those who need better direction and are closest to it?
• Review how we measure and monitor outcomes for longer term benefits
• Simplify the process and make it clearer to understand for young people and their families

Employment of those in 20 plus age group: What can we do to help this group into employment?

City wide and National issues

• Get more support from large public employers – Council/NHS.
• Job Centre Plus should be integral member of this partnership – they have new programmes many of us were unaware of and we can join up on how we promote: e.g. work experience programme.
• More potential for employers to pay a wage for work placements
• Simplify the process of taking short term and part time work (benefit issues). Allow people to continue on benefits whilst they take part in work experience. If a full time student there are rents/ benefits issues

Business Links

• Can SMEs help?
• How can employers tap into these young people who have successfully come through training and/or work experience

Training/Support 

• Improve training in IT Skills.
• Need to increase the opportunities available – limited support for over 25s. Focussing on 16-19yr could be at expense of this group.
• Use more Work based training – e.g. CLD Youth Work degree.
• Provide funded access to learn driving as this opens up job opportunities and builds self-esteem , motivates (Birmingham project over 2 years provided mopeds+ driving test support, then passed mopeds on to next recruits) ; SQA have a qualification that provides evidence for theory test.
• College is not for many of this group.
• Difficult to get a second chance for training.
• Most vulnerable of this age group need a programme similar to younger age group to move on from past errors. Many are parents so could be reached via the schools.

Mentoring/Attitudes/ Presentation Skills

• Need to look at role models for people (third generation unemployment, who do they look to?)
• Home circumstances sometimes do not support a work ethic so how do we support them better
• How do we apply the carrot and stick?
• Ask people want they want or need.
• Hopelessness is a key issue for this age group, but many have a family to support so can motivate, be a key driver, links to schools.
• Get appropriate local people of this experience and age group to be part of the solution – get a voice.
• Buddy programme for people from this age to mentor younger ones – need positive role models.
• A key focus is how to help this age group keep jobs once they have them. 
• Improve Money management skills – Financial literacy is now a huge issue for 3^rd generation of unemployed in families
• Literacy issues
• Health issues – mental health issues still area of concern in area

Other key focus areas – What other key issues could be addressed by partnership working?

City wide and National issues

• Different agencies having different geographies – eg Job Centres, Scottish Government.
• Benefits Changes likely to be detrimental.
• Community Jobs Scotland – can we do it here? Like S Lanarkshire Youth Jobs fund model, funding paid for local officer, working with a number of organisations to coordinate and direct.
• Look at potential to include providing local employment opportunities as a part of planning process
• Crime and anti social behaviour impacts on young people even when they are not directly involved – often as victims.

Coordination

• Is there duplication of services locally? So many organisations and short term initiatives makes it had to know what is going on. This gets in the way of joint working
• Need to simplify structures, increase transparency, work more jointly on service (consortia) and think about longer term initiatives
• Need to get better at sharing good practice and being open about ideas and services.
• Strategic overview – planning what is needed in an area.
• With so many services it is difficult to know who to refer to?
• Encourage and reward Partnership working

Funding

• Danger that simplistic outcome-based funding can work against partnership approach
• Promote /Develop a “common good fund” – based on £xx contribution from key partners to use for targeted interventions.
• Important to note the impact of central cuts to funding of local employability projects
• Short term funding leads to interruptions of planning process

Information

• Making sure that all partners have knowledge.
• Need good labour market information – especially locally.
• Join up guidance, information and advice locally – forum?
• Use social media to engage with young people

The way forward – What is the best way to address these issues locally?

Structures/Processes 

• A Forth Action Group supported but think membership should be reviewed- include service providers e.g. Chamber of Commerce, Community Renewal
• A Forth Employment Action Group be useful but should focus on business and life skills
• An Action Group could be useful for networking and co-ordination of services
• Needs to have a clear purpose and have teeth and continuity and commitment.
• Any Action Group needs a strong effective chair and secretarial support.
• Meet say twice a year to review outcomes and progress, impact, gaps /next priorities, once groundwork established.
• Involving local people in processes is important.
• Short life working groups may be useful.
• May be best to have a series of themed workshops/forums on issue we want to tackle – and also have 2/3 plenary meetings a year.
• Cross agency meetings about particularly difficult young people/groups of young people – GIRFEC approach – could be useful.
• Look at Gate 55 as an ideal model (?).

Priorities/Issues

• The initial focus could be on 16-19 year old group.
• Need to look at how resources can be shared
• Need to capture local knowledge and advocate for services needed by the community (evidenced approach)
• Need to build relationships between organisations – joint training sessions around key issues.
• Get Job Share involved in future activity. 
• Get clients to come along and describe their experiences and identify flaws/opportunities.
• Get Challenge Fund MCMC group involved in future activity.
• Need a review of funding – a more strategic approach to make best use of funding
• Look at an Action Plan

Next Steps 

• Hold a meeting to feedback on the issues raised at Networking event – to plan what action, who should be involved. Look to involve young people (Youth Forum/Parliament?) and employers.