Transcript Stephen Evans

Innovation and the Work Programme
Stephen Evans
Business Development Director
Working Links: About us
Established in 2000 to support unemployed
and disadvantaged individuals into lasting
employment.
Unique mix of government, private and
voluntary sector ownership.
To date, we’ve worked with over 15,000
employers and helped more than 230,000
people back into work.
Our delivery: Britain
Labour market: key challenges…
Economic
growth
Productivity
(+2.2pp)
Average hours
(-0.2pp)
Employment
rate
(-0.2pp)
Population
growth
(+0.5pp)
Living
standards
Hourly wages
Hours worked
Employment
Transfers
Public finances
Economic
growth
Demography
4
…have profound implications…
‘Secure’
employment
with prospects
C.4m
Entrenched
low pay
C.4m
Entrenched
worklessness
5
…with tough policy challenges
Support those excluded from the labour market back in touch
Rebuild link between work and reward
Do this in toughest economic and fiscal context for 60 years+
6
What’s this got to do with the Work
Programme?
1) Work Programme will not succeed unless providers can
engage those out of labour market for many years
2) Work Programme will not succeed without a different
partnership model with employers for jobs and progression
3) Work Programme offers opportunity to try new approaches to
joining up support – hitting multiple policy outcomes
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Working Links’ approach
Delivering and innovating
Customer journey
Referral
Assessment
Into work support
In work support
• From Jobcentre Plus
• Invitation letter
• Induction session
My Way Up:
Employability
Skills
Lifestyle
Health
Goals
Attitudes
Dedicated Personal Adviser
Flexible support (such as CV, jobsearch,
work experience, training, health, coaching)
Dedicated In-Work Support Adviser
Flexible support
Help to find next job and build career
Cross cutting:
How to make best use of Universal Credit?
How best to integrate services locally?
Opportunities for innovation
Referral
Use of behavioural
economics approach to
engagement?
Assessment
Do our tools allow a finer
assessment of who is most
likely to succeed?
Into work support
Does integration of other
support (like skills, money
management, enterprise)
improve outcomes?
In work support
How do we work with
employers and customers
to improve progression?
Innovation in practice
Enterprise
- Wales. New approach to self-employment has doubled proportion of
customers starting their own business. Plan to roll out further across wales
- South west. Integration of enterprise coaching scheme with work
programme to build up expertise in WP advisers. Already helped 80+
people start their own businesses
Motivation
- Wales. Trialling number of different approaches to boosting motivation
and attitude among those furthest from the labour market. Scale of WP
gives opportunity to measure impact, for example of completers of one
scheme (using a diagnostic tool to measure progress on confidence,
resiliance and so on) c.37% have found work, higher than for other similar
groups
Next steps
- Measuring impact of innovation already underway, eg retention in work later
this year
- Working up further pilots for year ahead
- Open to new ideas, both in WL Work Programme areas and beyond, so
please get in touch
Contact details
[email protected]