employment – Page 4 – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

Back to Work Plan: UK Government to launch employment support for over a million people

**“But our message is clear: if you are fit, if you refuse to work, if you are taking taxpayers for a ride – we will take your benefits away.”**

Changes are part of the new Back to Work Plan which will help up to 1,100,000 people with long-term health conditions, disabilities or long-term unemployed to look for and stay in work.
Additional support comes alongside tougher sanctions for people who don’t look for work, as part of the next generation of welfare reforms.
Includes exploring reforms of the fit note system, expansion of available treatment and employment support, and formal launch of the WorkWell service to help people start, stay and succeed in work.

The Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Mel Stride will unveil their Back to Work Plan – a package of employment focused support that will help people stay healthy, get off benefits and move into work – as part of the Autumn Statement.

Building on the ambitious £7 billion employment package from Spring Budget the Chancellor is using his Autumn Statement to outline a new Back to Work Plan, which will expand the employment support and treatment available and reform the ways that people with disabilities or health conditions interact with the state.

Getting more people into work and ensuring work pays remains a key priority for the government. It is important for growing the UK economy, managing inflation, controlling spending, and improving living standards. Getting more people into good jobs is also good for those individuals and the best route out of poverty.

The government is boosting four key programmes – NHS Talking Therapies, Individual Placement and Support, Restart and Universal Support – to benefit up to 1.1 million people over the next five years and help those with mental or physical health conditions stay in or find work.

The new WorkWell service as announced at Spring Budget and delivered by the Departments for Work and Pensions and Health and Social Care is also being formally launched today and will support almost 60,000 long-term sick or disabled people to start, stay and succeed in work once rolled out in approximately 15 areas across England.

The prospectus that will be launched in the coming weeks will provide information for all Integrated Care Systems across England to develop their localised work and health strategy.

Ministers are also planning to trial reforms to the fit note process to make it easier and quicker for people to get specialised work and health support, with improved triaging and signposting. Since the pandemic the number of people inactive in the UK due to long-term sickness or disability has risen by almost half a million to a record high of 2.6 million, with mental health, musculoskeletal conditions and heart disease being some of the main causes.

Stricter benefit sanctions will also be enforced by the Department for Work and Pensions for people who are able to work but refuse to engage with their Jobcentre or take on work offered to them. Benefit claimants who continue to refuse to engage with the Jobcentre will face having their claim closed. The latest published data shows that there were 300,000 people who had been unemployed for over a year in the three months to July.

The announcement today forms part of wider plans to grow the economy expected in the Autumn Statement on Wednesday 22 November. The Chancellor is set to reveal a raft of changes to get the UK economy growing including getting people back into work.

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Jeremy Hunt, said: “We’re serious about growing our economy and that means we must address the rise in people who aren’t looking for work – especially because we know so many of them want to and with almost a million vacancies in the jobs market the opportunities are there.

“These changes mean there’s help and support for everyone – but for those who refuse it, there are consequences too. Anyone choosing to coast on the hard work of taxpayers will lose their benefits.”

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Mel Stride, said: “We are rolling out the next generation of welfare reforms to help more people start, stay and succeed in work. We know the positive impact work can have, not just on our finances, but our health and wellbeing too.

“So we are expanding the voluntary support for people with health conditions and disabilities, including our flagship Universal Support programme.

“But our message is clear: if you are fit, if you refuse to work, if you are taking taxpayers for a ride – we will take your benefits away.”

The plans announced today set out how the government will tackle long-term unemployment by supporting Universal Credit claimants to find work while strengthening work search requirements for job seekers through all stages of their Universal Credit claim.

As a result of these reforms, no claimant should reach 18 months of unemployment in receipt of their full benefits if they have not taken every reasonable step to comply with Jobcentre support.

The plans to tackle long-term unemployment include:

Testing Additional Jobcentre Support in England and Scotland – testing how intensive support can help claimants into work who remain unemployed or on low earnings after 7 weeks into their Universal Credit claim.
Extending and expanding the Restart scheme in England and Wales for 2 years – expanding tailored, intensive support to people who have been on Universal Credit for more than 6 months rather than 9, helping them to tackle barriers to entering employment through coaching, CV and interview skills, and training. The scheme will be extended for two years until June 2026.
Introducing a claimant review point – Universal Credit claimants who are still unemployed after the 12-month Restart programme will take part in a claimant review point: a new process whereby a work coach will decide what further work search conditions or employment pathways would best support a claimant into work. If a claimant refuses to accept these new conditions without good reason, their Universal Credit claim will be closed.
Rolling out mandatory work placement trials – through the claimant review point, claimants who have not yet moved into work by the end of Restart will be required to accept a job or to undertake time-limited work experience or other intensive activity to improve their employability prospects. Failure to do so at this stage will lead to immediate sanction, with the full removal of the Universal Credit standard allowance.
Stricter sanctions for people who should be looking for work but aren’t – including:
- targeting disengaged claimants by closing the claims of individuals on an open-ended sanction for over six months and solely eligible for the Universal Credit standard allowance, ending their access to additional benefits such as free prescriptions and legal aid;
- rooting out fraud and error using the government’s Targeted Case Review to review the Universal Credit claims of disengaged claimants on an open-ended sanction for over eight weeks, ensuring they receive the right entitlement;
- digital tools to track claimants’ attendance at job fairs and interviews.

Plans set out also include expanding key health and employment programmes, to benefit over half a million people over the next five years and help those with mental health conditions stay in or find work:

NHS Talking Therapies – increasing the number of people benefitting from courses of mental health treatment by an additional 384,000 people over the next five years and increasing the number of sessions available.
- NHS Talking Therapies provides evidence based psychological therapies including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), for treatment of mild and moderate mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety disorders.
Individual Placement and Support (IPS) – aiming to help an additional 100,000 people with severe mental illness to find and keep jobs over the next five years. IPS is an employment support programme integrated in community mental health services. IPS employment specialists:
- Work with people accessing the service to find them employment that matches their aims, interests and skills, and offer continued support once they are in post.
- Integrate with the mental health team to support the individual with any issues that affect their work and recovery.
- Build relationships with employers to negotiate job opportunities.
Universal Support in England and Wales – matching 100,000 people per year with existing vacancies and supporting them in their new role, an increase on the 50,000 people outlined at Spring Budget, also helping people with disabilities and from vulnerable groups.
- Participants will access up to 12 months of personalised ‘place and train’ support. The individual will be supported by a dedicated keyworker who will help the participant find and keep a job, with up to £4,000 of funding available to provide each participant with training, help to manage health conditions or help for employers to make necessary accommodations to the person’s needs.
WorkWell – The service announced at Spring Budget 2023 is being formally launched to Integrated Care Systems across England and will help support people at risk of falling into long-term unemployment due to sickness or disability, through integrated work and health support. Integrated Care Systems across England will be supported to develop a localised work and health strategy, and then services will be provided in approximately 15 pilot areas.

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Victoria Atkins, said: “We know that tailored work and health support initiatives can help break down the kinds of barriers that can make finding and staying in a job more difficult for those with mental health conditions.

“Backing them with further investment means they’re more widely available, enables personalised help and will get thousands back to work by overcoming any issues that may be preventing them from fulfilling their career potential.”

Kate Shoesmith, Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) Deputy Chief Executive, said: “Today’s announcements will help the Restart scheme keep making a real difference to people’s work and life chances.

“It contributes to efforts to overcome our labour and skills shortages and to further growing our economy. Bringing public and private employment services together is vital to get people into work and not look back.

“Our own award-winning Restart scheme, which sees recruiters work with employability services provider Maximus, has helped place 1700 long-term unemployed people into work since 2021.”

Four Square: Springboard Project

The Springboard programme is for young adults aged 16-25 who are currently either at risk of homelessness or accessing homelessness services across Edinburgh.

Participants will be able to gain qualifications in Emergency First Aid at Work as well as Elementary Food Hygiene. We will support the group with employability skills such as CV writing, Job Interview Skills and Job Applications.

We also run workshops focused on mental health and wellbeing as well as weekly social outings to encourage participants to form lasting friendships.

The programme also includes a 3-day Residential trip with the Scottish Outdoor Education Centre to allow the participants to try their hand at some adventurous outdoor activities like rock climbing, abseiling, archery and much more!

Bus fare can be covered by Four Square and lunch will be provided on each day of the course.

Self-referrals can be made by emailing springboard@foursquare.org.uk

Looking back to look forward: Edinburgh employee shares trailblazing career story

A software development manager from Edinburgh has reflected on his 17-year career at Amazon to mark the company’s 25^th anniversary in the UK.

Since Amazon.co.uk launched in the UK in 1998, Amazon has invested in innovation, local talent and communities across the UK through its world-class development centres in London, Cambridge, Edinburgh, Manchester and Swansea.

The company’s highly skilled workforce has been at the forefront of world-class innovations that are benefitting the lives of customers and employees around the world – from how people watch their favourite shows, to how they shop and work.

Tich Kent, who works at Amazon’s Development Centre Scotland in Edinburgh, is one of the employees who has shaped Amazon’s development in the UK and beyond. He has worked at Amazon since 2005, and has risen through the ranks ever since.

Tich is now a software development manager at Amazon’s Development Centre Scotland in Edinburgh. A tech trailblazer, he continues to revolutionise customer shopping experiences, while setting an example for future generations of software engineers. As Amazon reaches 25 years in the UK, he shares his 17-year career story.

Tich joined Amazon in 2005 and hasn’t looked back since. He was part of the team who coined Amazon’s personalised recommendation tool that suggests items to customers based on their previous purchases and browsing behaviour.

“When I first joined Amazon, we were only selling books, music and DVDs. I was here when we introduced Prime delivery in the UK, and I was part of making the home page on Amazon as helpful to customers as it is today.

As you can imagine, we’ve embraced different ways on how to use AI to make the experience even better, so things keep changing and evolving. We’re still at the forefront of jumping on new technology and applying it to benefit our customers.”

Speaking about innovating in this space, Tich says: “By bringing a team of machine-learning scientists and engineers together, we were able to genuinely innovate. Formulating this team was thrilling, as we were working on novel technologies that applied deep learning to a scale that hadn’t been done before, and in such an exciting space.

What Tich and his team did next transformed the customer shopping experience for everyday items. “When we were looking at product recommendations, most approaches filtered out products the customer had previously purchased. This is good in general, but there are a range of products like shampoo and toiletries that need to be repeatedly purchased.

“I was responsible for creating a team to help customers by recommending such repeat products in a timely and engaging manner. It was the first time I had created a team from scratch, setting the vision, experimenting with ideas and measuring our impact. When we had our first successful launch, that validated the team and our approach. I’m still incredibly proud of what we achieved for our customers in such a short space of time.”

Alongside his work at the development centre, Tich is one of the leads for the Amazon Bar Raiser Programme in Europe. A bar raiser is an interviewer at Amazon who is brought into the hiring process to be an objective third party. The goal of the programme is to raise the standard with every new Amazon hire, ensuring that the company is always serving, surprising and innovating for customers.

Tich spoke about why the programme is so important, saying: “Amazon’s bar raiser programme is such a valuable tool, because it means we’ll always be getting the very best talent into the business, so we can keep on innovating, having an experimental mindset, and taking big leaps to solve problems.

“For me personally, the programme also means that I’ve seen incredibly talented people grow and develop over the years. This has been hugely satisfying.”

As a member of Amazon’s community initiatives committee, Tich has also had the opportunity over the years to engage with the community around Amazon Development Centre Scotland. As a Linlithgow local, this is something Tich cares deeply about.

“Another aspect of doing good business is making a positive impact the communities around you. We regularly donate to local charities, many of which I’ve developed a personal relationship with over the past decade. It’s simply being responsible.

“We’re also embracing Amazon’s apprenticeship scheme, and with two apprentices in my own team, I love seeing how the programme continues to grow. There’s so much yet to be done, and I’m excited to be part of it.”

Since Amazon.co.uk launched in the UK in 1998, its mission from day one has been: what can deliver the best experience for customers?

It’s this customer obsession that has been the driving force behind every new product, service and technology that also benefits the lives of communities, small businesses and employees – including the software that enables customers to watch their favourite shows on any device, the just-walk-out technology simplifying how shoppers get their groceries, and the latest robotics helping to pick out customer parcels.

Innovation at Amazon starts with people. The company employs around 75,000 employees who innovate on behalf of customers every day. Amazon is a significant contributor to productivity and regional growth in key cities around the UK, through development sites and collaboration with academic and research institutions.

Understanding the impact of the transition to net zero on low paid jobs

Discussions about the necessities and trade-offs around the transition to net zero are back on the news agenda this week (write Fraser of Allander Institute’s EMMA CONGREVER and CIARA CRUMMEY).

The changes required to meet net zero targets are complex and challenging yet the risks of not doing enough are immense. Inherent in this are trade-offs but also opportunities. An ordered transition where businesses and households have certainty over what they will need to do is the best way to minimise harm to incomes and to maximise the benefits that can be realised.

For many businesses and households, the costs associated transition to net zero will be manageable, and perhaps even cost effective in the long run. But for some, the upfront costs will be difficult to manage.

Whilst there is a general awareness of the direct costs that will fall on households from, for example the phasing out of gas boilers (a devolved policy, so not affected by the UK Prime Minister’s recent announcement) there is also the impact in livelihoods due to changes in the structure of the economy.

At the moment, all the attention is on the ‘just transition’ for workers in carbon-intensive industries, in the North East in particular. But the impact on jobs could be far wider than this.

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation asked us, along with colleagues in the Strathclyde Business School, to look into the potential for disruption to jobs in the wider Scottish economy, particularly in relation to low paid jobs. Our assessment of the available literature and various Scottish Government plans, reports and action plans didn’t provide much to go on, so we embarked on some experimental mapping and modelling of the potential intersection of net zero and low pay.

Today we published a report that we hope provides a rationale and a way forward for government, and others, to consider this issue fully. Whilst we can’t yet confidently put a figure on it, we have found that there is potential for significant disruption to jobs in sectors that employ large numbers of low pay workers, including retail and hospitality.

The mechanisms through which this impact could be felt are varied. Issues we looked at included the knock-on impact from depressed wages in areas where carbon intensive businesses cease trading. We also considered the impact on the viability of businesses with large commercial footprints who may need to invest large amounts to bring buildings up to new energy efficient standards.

There are many unknowns in this type of analysis, including the sufficiency of government policy and the behavioural response from consumers. For example, the Scottish Government is hoping to see car use reduced in Scotland.

Households may also independently decide they wish to reduce car use. It is easy to see how this could impact on the viability of out-of-town shopping centres that rely on customers arriving by car and if there aren’t serious efforts to provide adequate replacement public transport or alternative active travel routes, these large centres of employment may become unviable.

Some of the scenarios that we work through may not lead to jobs disappearing completely, but simply shifting to other places or other sectors. There are two further issues to consider here. Firstly, low paid workers tend to be less flexible on where they can work, due to a variety of factors including available transport and difficulties finding affordable childcare to cover long commuting times.

They also tend have less of a financial buffer to deal with even short periods of unemployment. Secondly, simply moving low paid jobs from one place to another misses a crucial opportunity to maximise the benefits that the transition to net zero could bring by providing career pathways into new, higher paid, growth sectors.

There is an opportunity here to better join up Scottish Government ambitions on tackling poverty and the transition to net zero that is currently missing from both the Just Transition plans and the Fair Work Action Plan. We hope this analysis will be useful in informing the future development of this work.

Disabled Employment in Scotland

FRASER OF ALLANDER INSTITUTE PUBLISHES INITIAL FINDINGS

Disabled adults are significantly less likely to be in work compared to adults without disabilities (write ALLISON CATALANO and CHIRSTY McFADYEN).

In Scotland, 81% of working aged adults without disabilities had jobs in 2021, compared to just under 50% of adults with disabilities. This discrepancy of 31 percentage points – called the “disability employment gap” – is larger in Scotland compared to the rest of the UK (Chart 1).

Scotland has a goal of reducing the disability employment gap by half between 2016 and 2038. The 2021 numbers, encouragingly, show an improvement of 6 percentage points. A higher proportion of disabled people moved into work in Scotland between 2014 and 2021 compared to the UK as a whole, as well.

Chart 1: Gap in employment between people with and without disabilities in Scotland and in the UK, 2014-21

Source: Annual Population Survey, 2014-2021

In 2023, the DWP published a report on the employment of disabled people in the UK. This report looked at the reason why employment among people with disabilities has increased, while employment for the rest of the population has stayed roughly the same.

The DWP report highlighted four reasons behind the growth in the number of disabled people in employment:

Disability prevalence has increased in the UK, and the most common types of disabilities have changed.
The non-disabled employment rate has increased, implying that more jobs are available to both groups.
The disability employment gap has been narrowing overall.
There are more individuals in the working-age population.

The level of detail provided in the DWP report for the UK is difficult to replicate for Scotland with publicly available data: smaller sample sizes north of the border mean that more restrictions are placed on the data available to ensure that appropriate care has been taken with interpreting the robustness of results.

The Fraser of Allander Institute, in collaboration with the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (SPICe) are undertaking work to understand whether the same factors are driving changes in Scotland, and if not, what is different here and why.

This work is ongoing and future articles will get into more of the detail. This article sets the scene about the scale of the issue in Scotland vs the UK based on what know from data currently available.

What’s the state of disability employment in Scotland?

Scotland has a higher proportion of working-aged disabled people compared to the UK. It also has a lower rate of employment among disabled people, and a larger gap in employment between people with and without disabilities. Employment rates are noticeably different for different types of disabilities in Scotland compared to the rest of the UK, and disabled peoples are less likely to have educational qualifications in Scotland.

How is disability defined?

The current definition used in UK (and Scottish) surveys comes from the Government Statistical Service and the 2010 Equality Act. This change affected data collection from mid-2013 onwards, meaning that it’s not possible to compare current data to data before 2013. Our analysis specifically looks at the data since 2014 as a result.

This definition covers people who report “current physical or mental health conditions of illnesses lasting or expected to last 12 months or more; and that these conditions or illnesses reduce their ability to carry out day-to-day activities.” Previously, the definition was based on the Disability Discrimination Act (2005) (DDA), which applied to “all people with a long term health problem or disability that limits their day-to-day activities.” The slight difference in these terms means that some people may qualify as DDA disabled but not as Equality Act disabled.

Scotland has consistently had a higher proportion of working-aged disabled people.

In 2014, around 18% of the Scottish working-age population were classified as Equality Act disabled.

Since 2014, the number of disabled working-age adults has grown by around 222,000 people, making up over 24% of the working-age population as of 2021. By comparison, the total size of the working-age population only grew by around 31,000 people over the same time period. had a higher proportion of disabled adults in 2014 than the UK average, and this gap has widened over time. The 2021 data shows a further significant divergence, but this may be due to particular issues related to the pandemic and may not persist (Chart 2).

Chart 2: The size of the Scottish population with and without disabilities, and the proportion of the population with disabilities from 2014-21.

Scotland has a higher disability gap and a lower rate of employment among disabled people.

Employment rates for working-aged people without disabilities in Scotland is roughly the same as in the rest of the UK. Employment rates for disabled people is much lower, however.

Since 2014, disabled people have moved into work faster in Scotland compared to the rest of the UK. The employment gap fell by around 6.5 percentage points between 2014 and 2021 in Scotland, compared to a fall of around 4.5 percentage points for the entire UK (Chart 3).

Chart 3: Proportion of adults between 16-64 that are in work by disability status, Scotland and the UK, 2014-21

Scotland has different employment rates for people with different types of disabilities.

Unsurprisingly, Scotland has lower employment rates than the UK as a whole for the vast majority of types of disability.

The largest differences in employment rates are for people with diabetes, chest or breathing problems, and difficulty with seeing, hearing, or speech. Scotland fares better in the employment of people with stomach, liver, kidney and digestion problems, for instance, and slightly better for people with autism.[1]

Chart 4: Proportion of the working-age population with disabilities by working status and type of disability, 2022

Source: Annual Population Survey, 2014-2021. * Estimates are based on a small sample size and may not be precise.

Disabled people have lower qualification levels in Scotland.

Disabled people are more likely to have no qualifications than those without disabilities, both in Scotland and the UK. Scottish adults are also more likely to have no qualifications compared to the rest of the UK, although the gap in qualifications for disabled people is larger for Scotland than for the rest of the country (Chart 4).

The proportion of people with no qualifications has been falling in recent years. This may be due to older people, on average, being less likely to have formal qualifications, and as they move to retirement age, the number of working age people without qualifications goes down.

For disabled people, it may also be true that the increase in the number of disabled people have changed the make-up of the disabled population, especially for people who are becoming disabled later in life (for example, due to mental health issues that present post-education).

Chart 5: Proportion of working-age adults with no qualifications by disability status, Scotland & rUK, 2014-21

Where are there gaps in our knowledge?

As discussed at the start, publicly available data on disability types is severely limited. For example, survey data in Scotland has detailed disaggregation on different types of disability, but only publicly provides information on whether or not someone qualifies as disabled under the 2010 Equality Act definition. The Scottish Government has been making strides to improve this data, however – a 2022 publication analyses disability employment by type of disability, but only examines one year.

One particular issue that we have found is for people who have a learning disability where the data is extremely poor. We will be publishing a new article later this week that sets out some of the particular issues for people with a learning disability.

Our next phase of research will look into more of the detail around employment levels for people in Scotland living with different disabilities based on access to non-public secure data held by the ONS. There may still be limits on the data we are able to use (for example, where robustness thresholds set by the ONS are not met), but we hope we will be able to add to the evidence base here in Scotland and provide better insights for policy makers and stakeholders on where support needs to be focussed.

£12.4 million to help change choices about work

£12.4 million awarded to six innovative new projects to understand barriers to getting into work.
Projects include investigating the impact of endometriosis on women’s work choices and how programmes to reduce obesity and type 2 diabetes can improve workforce participation.
Funding will help overcome barriers facing those who need the most support getting into work

Six ground-breaking projects including an investigation looking at how endometriosis impacts women in the workplace have been awarded £12.4 million, the UK Government has announced today (Tuesday 12 September).

The projects comprise the first round of the Labour Market Evaluation and Pilots Fund, and take place over the next two years. The results will help to transform the government’s approach to the jobs market and drive forward research into best practice in employment.

While the UK’s employment rate is higher than a number of other advanced economies, the government is committed to ensure that those who most need help getting into the workplace are supported.

The Chancellor announced a range of interventions to address this at Spring Budget 2023 – including a significant expansion of childcare support, making 30 hours of free childcare a week available to parents from children aged 9 months.

The Labour Market Evaluation and Pilots Fund is part of that and will be used to test new approaches and generate better evidence to help specific groups back into work or to work longer hours.

Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Victoria Atkins, said: “Our jobs record is incredibly strong, with high employment that means millions of people are benefiting from work. But for some, that’s not happening.

“We need to look for solutions that are tailored to help people thrive in the jobs market. This analysis is the first step towards that – looking at specific health conditions or living arrangements to find out what works to help people work.”

Minister for Social Mobility, Youth and Progression Mims Davies MP said: “The vital opportunities and confidence employment gives, helps to transform lives. This is why we are determined to support all those who want to progress to do so, while also driving down inactivity and importantly growing the economy.

“This key new funding for our pilots will enable us to support even more people to move forward in work, including vitally those in supported accommodation and more disadvantaged communities, to help people to break down any barriers to work, so more people can fulfil their employment potential.”

National Statistician, Sir Ian Diamond, said: “The ONS welcomes the opportunity to shine light on this important area with these projects.

“This new analysis will provide crucial insight for decision makers in helping to understand how health conditions impact on people’s working lives and what interventions can help people stay in work.”

One of the projects includes a first-of-its-kind Office for National Statistics (ONS) evaluation which will investigate the impact of endometriosis on women’s participation and progression in the workforce.

Endometriosis can affect around 1 in 10 women, with symptoms including chronic pain and fatigue which can disrupt daily routines, fertility and mental health and time off work may be needed for coping with symptoms.

Previous work has shown that women with the condition often take this into consideration when making career choices, including the likelihood they will need to take significantly more sick leave. This project will improve understanding and help inform government plans to support women with the condition in their careers.

A second project by the ONS will evaluate whether programmes to reduce the risk of developing type two diabetes and obesity improve people’s ability to join the labour market.

Around 3.8 million people in the UK have type 2 diabetes and 2.4 million are at high risk of developing the disease which can have a strong effect on quality of life, including the ability to work. The evaluation will include reviewing the impact of the Healthier You NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme (DPP), a large scale nine-month, evidence-based lifestyle change programme aimed at people at risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

There will also be a new pilot to address barriers to work faced by those aged 18-24 living in supported housing, which is accommodation provided alongside care, support or supervision to help people live as independently as possible in the community and can act as a pathway to transitioning into work.

To support young people in making that transition, DWP and the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) have developed a Proof of Concept that will test financial support and simplification of the benefits system for 18-24 year olds living in supported housing who move into work or increase their working hours.

This will help them to build their employment prospects further, work towards becoming financially independent and progress into move on accommodation in a planned way.

Funding will also be allocated to two HMRC projects to evaluate the impact of Tax-Free Childcare on parents’ work choices and women’s return to work after maternity leave. In addition, funding will be provided to DWP to trial employment support and rent incentives to move people out of work or on low earnings into work or onto higher earnings.

Warm welcome for Edinburgh’s Project SEARCH interns

A supported internship programme for young people with a disability has welcomed 21 recruits.

Each young person will spend the next nine months gaining work experience within the council or with one of the city’s Project SEARCH partners, which includes NHS Lothian and Virgin Hotels.

Edinburgh Project SEARCH is a programme where young people with a disability, aged between 16 to 29 years, are given the opportunity to complete three 10-week work experience placements across the academic year while also studying for a qualification with Edinburgh College. The programme, which is now in its ninth year, aims to prepare young people to move into mainstream employment upon completion.

Tom Randall joined the council as part of Project SEARCH and has recently gone on to secure a position within the council’s facilities management team. He said: “I have come; I really feel I can do the job for the Facilities Management team now and Edinburgh Project SEARCH has helped me to do this.

“Now that I have this job I am really looking forward to feeling like I am a real part of the team and doing a good job with all the tasks. With my first wages I am planning to get a big takeaway!”

Most recent figures show that just 4.1% of young adults with a learning disability and/or autism in Scotland enter secure paid employment following education, compared to 80% of their peers.

Supported internships – work-based study programmes for 16 to 29-year-olds with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) – dramatically change the employment outcomes for those who take part.

DFN Project SEARCH figures show that 70% of people who complete their supported internships achieve this and successfully remain in employment.*

Hannah Goodall participated in Project SEARCH and now has a job in the City Chambers. She said: “I was an Edinburgh Project SEARCH intern on the 2022/23 programme. Project SEARCH helped me with my confidence and helped me to prepare and successfully apply for a job with the City of Edinburgh Council.

“I work at the City Chambers in the licencing department. My job title is licensing support assistant. All my colleagues are friendly and supporting. I like knowing that every month money is coming into my account, and I can choose when to take my holidays. I like being independent when I go out to work every day and maybe one day I’ll be able to move out and live independently.

Connor McDermid, another Project SEARCH alumni who enjoyed a placement with Virgin Hotels, has also secured a job since his internship. He said: “Edinburgh Project SEARCH really helped me develop my confidence.

“My work experience placement with Virgin Hotels Edinburgh helped me further develop my customer service skills too. These gave me the motivation to apply for a role as a concierge in the hotel – a job I was successful getting!

“This was all made possible with the support of my workplace buddies and the ‘People Team’ in the Virgin Hotels Edinburgh and the Edinburgh Project SEARCH team.”

Edinburgh’s new starts were welcomed by Council Leader Cammy Day, Planning Convener James Dalgleish and Chief Executive Andrew Kerr at a special induction ceremony.

Celebrating the start of the new Project SEARCH term, Council Leader Cammy Day said: “One of our biggest priorities in the aftermath of the pandemic has been to improve opportunities and outcomes for our young people, including those with complex needs.

“I’m proud of the inspiring and talented group of graduates we’ve nurtured to date and excited for the 21 new recruits. Such internships give these special young people the same opportunities as their peers and space to shine.

“Since 2014 Project SEARCH has been about teaching skills to be an employee as well as learning and a number of graduates have gone on to succeed in getting jobs in the council, which is fantastic! The placements can unlock confidence, build CV skills and be the difference between someone choosing to enter the workforce or feeling unable to.”

Oxfam: Almost two-thirds of women’s working hours excluded from GDP

A staggering sixty-five per cent of women’s working hours are unpaid every week and excluded from official measures of economic activity, according to a new Oxfam report.

Radical Pathways Beyond GDP highlights how unpaid care – which accounts for forty-five per cent of all adults’ working hours each week globally – is excluded from gross domestic product (GDP) calculations.

The discussion paper looks at how the over-reliance on GDP warps governments’ priorities. Women carry out the majority of unpaid care – nearly 90 billion hours a week.

There is a growing consensus among policymakers and institutions that GDP is no longer fit for purpose as the primary indicator of economic and social progress.

By excluding many factors that contribute to the overall health of the economy and wider society, the metric steers policymakers towards priorities that are fuelling inequality, gender and racial injustice and climate breakdown.

The report argues that transformative alternatives to GDP are urgently required and that narrowly defined growth should never be a primary objective or end goal.

The report cites a handful of countries which have made efforts to incorporate alternative approaches into the highest levels of national law and policy, including Scotland.

But while the Scottish Government describes the transition towards a wellbeing economy as a “top priority”, Scotland’s journey beyond-GDP remains far from complete.

Anam Parvez, Oxfam head of research and author of the report, said: “Women are being short-changed the world over, pushed deeper into time and income poverty.

“To add insult to injury, the majority of their work is ignored by official statistics.

“Unpaid care is a hidden subsidy to the global economy; without it the system would collapse.

“In an age of climate crisis, growing inequality and economic turmoil, there is a strong case that this outdated metric should no longer be the dominant compass guiding policy making.

“It fails to distinguish whether economic activity is harming or benefitting people and the planet.

“Government policies and budgets should be guided by a set of metrics that look at the whole picture, including closing the divide between the richest and the rest, instead of relentlessly pursuing growth for its own sake.”

Scotland’s drive towards becoming a wellbeing economy is underpinned by its National Performance Framework and the eleven National Outcomes which sit within it, as well as by the linked Wellbeing Economy Monitor.

However, care work is currently invisible within these, despite the Scottish Government saying the National Outcomes describe “the kind of Scotland it aims to create”.

Encouragingly, Scottish Ministers are in the process of reviewing and refreshing the National Outcomes for the first time in five years.

Campaigners, including Oxfam Scotland, are calling for the glaring omission on care to be addressed through the creation of a dedicated new National Outcome on Care.

The A Scotland That Cares campaign is backed by over 60 organisations, including frontline care and health organisations, those representing unpaid carers and parents, and prominent anti-poverty charities and think tanks.

Jamie Livingstone, head of Oxfam Scotland, said: “The Scottish Government accepts that traditional economic metrics like GDP are inadequate and that women’s contribution to the economy is persistently undervalued.

“But while it talks a good game when it comes to measuring the things that really matter, now is the time for that rhetoric to be realised.

“Without carers, Scotland’s communities and economy would grind to a halt yet they are virtually invisible in the Scottish Government’s vision for the country. Now is the time to right that wrong by ending the invisibility of care in Scotland’s wellbeing framework.

“Ministers must capitalise on the opportunities presented by the refresh of its National Performance Framework and through the upcoming Wellbeing and Sustainable Development Bill to commit to, and then build, a truly caring wellbeing economy that puts people and planet above a blinkered pursuit of profit.”

Aldi recruiting in Edinburgh

Aldi is currently looking to recruit over 20 new store colleagues across Edinburgh.

In a welcome boost to the local economy, the UK’s fourth largest supermarket is looking for people of all levels of experience to fill roles at its stores across the region including Hermiston Gate, Gilmerton Road, Oxgangs, Commercial Street, and Portobello.

This includes both full-time and part-time positions including Store Management Apprentice, Stock Assistant, and Store Assistant, all the way up to Deputy Managers.

The recruitment push forms part of Aldi’s nationwide expansion drive, with the supermarket set to open an average of one new store a week across the UK between now and Christmas.

Kelly Stokes, Recruitment Director at Aldi UK, said: “As we continue to invest in new stores, we’re looking for more colleagues to join our incredible teams across Edinburgh.

“Working at Aldi means a great working environment and real opportunities to progress within the business and we look forward to welcoming even more people to be a part of our success in the future.”

Starting pay for Store Assistants at Aldi is £11.40 per hour with the supermarket also paying for breaks.

Those interested in applying for jobs can visit www.aldirecruitment.co.uk.

Final spaces remain on free job skills training course at Fort Kinnaird

A free skills training session to help people take their first step on the career ladder is being hosted at Fort Kinnaird in collaboration with Capital City Partnership (CCP) next week.

Delivered by the Focus on Recruitment and Training (FORTY) scheme, which is based at the centre, the one-week course on retail and customer service skills will give participants an SQA accredited Customer Service qualification, as well as support with CV building, job applications and interview tips, and an opportunity to be interviewed by a recruiting Fort Kinnaird retailer.

The course is open to anyone aged between 16 and 24, will run from 31st of July – 4th of August.

To help local people build their confidence in applying for retail job vacancies, participants will also have the opportunity to hear from Fort Kinnaird employees about their career journeys to date, alongside getting their advice on applying for retail or hospitality jobs.

Liam Smith, centre director at Fort Kinnaird, said: “We know how difficult applying for a job can be, so we want to help people in our community take the first step – whether it’s moving into employment for the first time or a jump between careers.

“FORTY provides a fantastic opportunity for individuals to seek advice, learn more about the retail industry and gain new qualifications.”

FORTY is funded by Fort Kinnaird’s co-owner, British Land, and in-kind support from the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal.

To register or to find out more information about the course, please contact Maria at: maria.banaszkiewicz@capitalcitypartnership.org or call 07856089669.

More information on FORTY and upcoming skills training opportunities can be found here: https://www.fortkinnaird.com/whatson

Fort Kinnaird is open from 9am – 9pm on weekdays, and 9am – 6pm on weekends.