No One Left Behind: next steps for employability support

The plan sets out the next steps we will take to deliver more effective and joined-up employability support across Scotland.


Summary of actions

Our ambition is to build a fairer and more prosperous economy and society. To help us to achieve this we want to work together to create a fairer labour market and this includes developing an employability system that provides more effective and consistent support to those who are further removed from the labour market ensuring no one is left behind.

Developing Scotland's employability system in this way will require partners at local, regional and national level to work together and in collaboration with providers of other services. We want to build on, and encourage that activity and this plan sets out the following 13 actions that we will take to help start to build those links.

ACTIONS

Review of the Employability Landscape and of the scottish government Funded Employability Services.

Target Date for Delivery

Engage with people and organisations in a discussion on the future of the employability system in Scotland and publish our findings.

Autumn 2018

Employability Support at a Local Level

Work with Local Government partners, to develop a joint action plan that will identify and address emerging employability themes which will include a focus on improving integration and alignment of employability provision at a local level to help simplify the landscape.

December 2018

Employability Pathways

Identify areas of good practice across Scotland of supporting people out of work into new job opportunities in growth sectors such as Early Learning and Childcare and encourage replication in other areas, including making links to devolved employment services.

June 2019

Health

Pilot a Single Health and Work Gateway service in Fife and Dundee to help disabled people and people with health conditions access support at an early stage.

Summer 2018 to Summer 2020

Explore innovative ways with delivery partners in the Single Gateway pilot areas of Fife and Dundee to support people with mental health issues who require more ongoing support than what will be available under the Single Gateway.

Summer 2018 to Summer 2020

Explore ways to develop new risk and decision assessment tools that will provide support for people at the right time.

Summer 2018 to Summer 2020

Align employability services with a National Musculoskeletal ( MSK) Disorder advice and triage service to help people with MSK conditions to find and sustain work.

June 2019

Publish a refresh of The Road to Recovery: A New Approach to Tackling Scotland's Drug Problem that will include a focus for Health and Social Care Partnerships and Alcohol and Drug Partnerships to integrate with employability services to help improve employment outcomes for people experiencing substance misuse issues.

December 2018

Justice

Undertake a review of the Community Payback Order practice guidance for Criminal Justice Social Workers to bring greater clarity to the processes for improving the employability prospects for people on Community Payback Orders.

June 2019

Work collaboratively with Criminal Justice Social Work Services and Local Employability Partnerships to raise awareness of employability opportunities for people serving community sentences with a view to encouraging more people into employability services.

This work will remain ongoing from June 2018

Collaborate with Scottish Prison Service to support people with convictions into local and national employment services through an agreed referral process.

April 2019

Collaborate with Victim Reduction Unit of Police Scotland to develop an Employability Toolkit for Navigators to signpost people who want to work to employability services.

August 2018

Housing

Support the development of a Housing Options Toolkit on employability for local authority and registered social landlord frontline staff management and delivery of housing options to signpost more people to employability services.

March 2019

Work with homeless organisations to increase the focus of employability within homeless organisations and identify referral routes to direct people to local and national employability support.

August 2019

We will develop a framework to monitor our performance delivery against each of the actions. The development of this framework will begin with an exploration and identification of baseline data, and from this a set of indicators will be developed which will allow us to track our progress over time.

The broader strategic benefits will be identified for each action in the Plan. For example, as well as a focus on achieving sustained job outcomes as a result of delivery of the action, these may include a consequent reduction in demand for other public services or a reduction in the number of people with convictions who re-offend.

A Delivery Group will be established. The remit of the group will be to ensure that the actions are being delivered efficiently, that they are being delivered on time, and that any key risks and issues which could threaten the delivery of actions are identified and strategies put in place to mitigate these.

Feedback from the Delivery Group will raise awareness of any risks and provide suggestions to mitigate these. It will also provide an opportunity to learn from the success of the delivery of other actions and provide an opportunity to drive continuous improvement. The Project leads responsible for delivery of each action will review any feedback provided from members of the Delivery Group and take appropriate action to ensure that the delivery of the action remains on target and within the timescales set out in the Plan.

Contact

Back to top