ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL
COMMUNITY SERVICES / DEPARTMENTAL MANAGEMENT TEAM
28th May 2012
OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL and Youth employment
1. / SUMMARY
1.1 / This report outlines the proposed action plan for delivering the Scottish Government’s policy Opportunities for All across Argyll and Bute, with its key focus of tackling disengaged/disaffected young people.
This report will also inform DMT of the proposed development for delivering the Argyll 100 Agreement, which aims to secure appropriate Level 2 Modern Apprenticeship opportunities for our unemployed and disaffected young people within local authority departments.
2. / RECOMMENDATIONS
2.1 / To approve, endorse and support the Argyll 100 Agreement and remit it to the SMT for ratification.
3. / BACKGROUND
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3.2
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3.5
3.6 / OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL
The focus of Opportunities for All is to improve Argyll and Bute’s young people’s participation in post-16 learning, training or employment through appropriate intervention and support between their 16th and 20th birthdays.
The local authority will deliver this focus by implementing the Scottish Government’s policy Opportunities for All. This policy is committed to offering a place in learning or training for every 16-19 year old who is not currently in employment, education or training.
The estimated size of the 16 – 19 year old Argyll and Bute cohort who are currently not in employment, education or training is 127.
The long term aim is to enable all our young people to
· access and progress in their learning;
· be equipped with the skills to participate and progress into employment;
· improve their life chances through the provision of learning and training opportunities; and
· give them access to the personal support they require to achieve these aims.
PARTICIPATION
A young person is deemed to be participating in Opportunities for All when they are actively engaged with an organisation for the purpose of learning, training or work. Participation will include:
· remaining at or returning to school;
· taking a course of Further or Higher Education;
· undertaking a National Training Programme – modern Apprenticeship, Get Ready for Work or Training for Work;
· engaging in an Activity Agreement;
· participating in Community Jobs Scotland
· participating in provision offered by third Sector Providers;
· participating in provision offered by Community Learning and Development
· Volunteering Work and some other volunteering activity;
· Work Experience
· Participation in the DWP Single Work Programme
· Training and support offered by Job Centre plus; and
· Being employed or self-employed.
TRACKING, MONITORING AND ENGAGEMENT
The Local Authority has signed an agreement with Skills Development Scotland (SDS) that allows both organisations to share data on our young people. SDS is responsible for administering the Data Hub. Each secondary school enters information onto SEEMIS with regards to the proposed destination a young person has indicated on their school leaver form. This information is then uploaded once a month to the Data Hub and matched to the information held by Skills Development Scotland.
The information that is shared between the local authority and SDS includes:
· Client’s personal details;
· Client’s academic achievements;
· Client’s proposed destination
· Destination information states whether or not this is an actual firm offer, a conditional offer or the option the client would like to purse.
The Data Hub allows current data to be shared between partners to allow them to target their support to
· those who need it most;
· when they need it most; and
· in a cohesive and collective manner.
Currently Skills Development Scotland, the Education Department, CLD and the local colleges are all or will shortly be feeding data into the data hub.
The information held on the Data Hub forms the basis of the information that is gathered by SDS on behalf of the Scottish Government and collated in the School Leaver Destination Report in September and March each year.
The Data Hub will allow us to track and monitor young people on a monthly basis, along with the monthly youth unemployment report produced in partnership between SDS and JobCentre Plus. By sharing data and the reports we will have access to far more robust and valid information on individual Argyll and Bute young people and the barriers they face to moving into a positive destination. For example: we will be able to track and monitor Looked After and Accommodated Children (LAAC) as they move from secondary school and progress in their initial destination.
LOCAL AUTHORITY MULTI-AGENCY PARTNERSHIP
Education Services, its schools and partner agencies are now systematically planning transitions for young people leaving post-16 compulsory education. This partnership will be widened to take account of the larger cohort group and the longer time span (16th to 20th birthday).
Partners involved in this multi-agency approach include Education Services, Community Learning and Development (CLD), Skills Development Scotland (SDS), Social Work – Children and Families and Adult Services, local colleges, Job Centre Plus and the third sector.
All partners will work together to ensure sufficient appropriate, high quality learning/training opportunities and support is available across Argyll and Bute.
This partnership working contributes to the Community Planning Partnership’s Single Outcome Agreement for progressing the National Indicator 10 to “increase the proportion of school leavers (from Scottish publicly funded schools) in positive and sustained destinations (FE, HE, employment or training)”.
THE ENGAGEMENT MODEL
KEY ELEMENTS OF OPPORTUNITES FOR ALL
Employment
· Modern Apprenticeships - provide young people with vocational training linked to their employer. Apprentices are supported with training that is appropriate to the level of the job and relates to the industry area. In addition apprentices will develop a range of 'soft skills' including sound communication, teamwork and problem solving skills, and improved numerical and IT skills. In most cases, apprentices work towards SCQF 5 (SVQ Level 2) or above to gain their MA qualification.
· Permanent/temporary jobs
· Argyll 100 Agreement (see below)
Training
· National Training Programmes
Get Ready for Work: is a pre-employment course aimed at 16 to 19 years olds that will improve young people’s vocational and core skills, whilst filling knowledge gaps. The programme is aimed at boosting a young person’s overall employability.
Get Ready for Work staff work closely with the young person for up to six months. Then, once they feel ready to put what they’ve learnt into practice, they are given a temporary work experience placement with a business relevant to their interests and skills.
– Targeted Pathways
Further Education
· Non advanced courses up to National Certificate level delivered within FE Colleges
Higher Education
· Specific courses delivered within FE Colleges – Higher National Certificate and Higher National Diploma
· Degree courses delivered within universities
Activity Agreements
· Individual activities and programmes for those young people who need additional support to be able to move into a positive destination. Activity Agreements are led by the Local Authority and are delivered by CLD and voluntary sector organisations.
4. / THE ARGYLL 100 PROPOSAL
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4.5 / BACKGROUND
Each September the School Leaver Destination Return (SLDR) is collated by Skills Development Scotland. The return is based on a follow-up of young people who leave school between the 1st of August and the 31st July in each academic year. The data produced in the return is used by the Scottish Government to report against national Indicator 10 – to increase the proportion of school leavers in positive and sustained destinations.
Overall the percentage of leavers entering a positive destination from the Argyll and Bute local authority area 2010/11 cohort is 88.9%, a rise of 2.1% compared to 86.8% in 2009/10. This is the highest level of positive destinations Argyll and Bute has reported since the new School Leaver Destination Report came into being and gave us a ranking of 10th place against the other 32 local authority areas.
The percentage of leavers reported as unemployed and seeking has fallen to its lowest level area at 9.6%, a fall of 1.7% since 2009/10.
The Scottish Government has given each local authority additional funding and resources to develop and support the More Choices, More Chances agenda along with the 16+ Learning Choices initiative. The Scottish Government monitors the progress that each local authority has made to implementing and developing local policy and practice to move forward these areas of work. In March 2011, Argyll and Bute Council was ranked in 32nd place. We re-examined how we were working both at a strategic and operational level and appointed a Lead Officer to move this agenda forward. At our recent review meeting with the Scottish Government we were told that we had made significant progress and improvements in our work and were now ranked in 16th place and as a low risk authority continuing its improvement.
However the Council should not be complacent about these significant positive changes that have been made. Argyll and Bute still has a core group of unemployed young people who are seeking employment but due to a variety of barriers they are unable to find and sustain a job opportunity. Consistently we have around 100 young people who are unemployed and seeking work and it is this group who we require to focus upon and make a concerted effort with in order to change their negative destination into a positive employment experience.
THE ARGYLL 100 PROPOSAL
Argyll and Bute Council is looking to create work-based opportunities for our young people.
It is proposed that the Council will establish 10 brand new, Level 2 Modern Apprenticeships from August 2012. In doing so, the Council wishes to send out a clear message about its wider corporate commitment to tackle poverty and youth unemployment in our area.
This initiative is built around short-term training placements using the Level 2 Modern Apprenticeship qualification route. Argyll and Bute Council would employ the young people for a period of 9 months. During this period they would embark on a Level 2 Modern Apprenticeship and would be paid a training allowance of £100.27 per week.
The refreshed skills strategy, Skills for Scotland: Accelerating the Recovery and Increasing Sustainable Economic Growth (Oct 2010), makes clear the Scottish Government’s commitment to training and skills and sets out flexible, responsive partnership approach to meeting Scotland’s skills needs at a crucial point in our economic recovery.
To achieve this vision local policy on developing young people’s skills should focus on 4 priority themes:
· Empowering People to ensure they have the opportunity to access the right advice, support and opportunities to acquire the skills and attributes to both contribute to, and benefit from, future economic success;
· Supporting Employers by better understanding and assessing the skills they need for future success, and ensuring that the supply of skills, training and qualifications is responsive to this;
· Simplifying the skills system to ensure that it is more coherent and easy to understand for individuals and employers; and
· Strengthening partnership and collective responsibility between public, private and third sectors to help improve skills and the contribution they make towards achieving Scotland’s social and economic aspirations.
Empowering Our Young People
Level 2 Modern Apprenticeships are enhanced supervised training places with a recognised qualification. Ten young people will be given the opportunity to acquire new skills, be motivated and experience the world of work. On successful completion of their Level 2 the young people may wish to progress to the Level 3 qualification, although this would be dependent upon them securing appropriate employment.
These 10 opportunities will keep young people active; provide a qualification and a pathway for progression onto further training, education or full-time work. Participants would also receive job search support delivered in partnership with Skills Development Scotland as they near the end of their apprenticeship programme.
Supporting Our Employers
This approach to Level 2 Modern Apprenticeships would allow Argyll and Bute Council to consider new opportunities as part of our future workforce planning. The apprenticeships will also create staff opportunities for CPD, in first-line management and supervision.
Simplifying Our Skills System
All Level 2 apprentices within the project will be working towards a Modern Apprenticeship qualification. These qualifications will be delivered across a wide range of skills sectors but will cover the core employability skills our young people need to succeed and flourish in their future careers.
Strengthening Our Partnerships
The Council is demonstrating a clear sense of direction and leadership by recruiting 10 local young people to complete the Level 2 programme and experience a 9-month period of paid work activity. For the initiative to be successful, all Council departments will need to actively commit to participate in the programme. Each department is asked to identify service areas where young people could be placed that will allow them to experience the relevant sector skills set for a Level 2 qualification.
The Council will also seek to target placements in service areas where some recruitment difficulties have been experienced such as supply and bank janitorial posts and social care posts to maximise the potential for those successfully completing their apprenticeship to gain employment and reduce recruitment risks to the Council.
HR will play a pivotal role in the recruitment and placement of young people within the authority and will be instrumental in advising on legal terms and conditions of this unique cohort. Initial discussions have begun with HR who are keen to support this new initiative.
Council staff will supervise and support the young person during their time on the Modern Apprenticeship programme. The estimated cost of the 10 Level 2 apprentices will be approximately £39,000. Skills Development Scotland, Job Centre Plus and external training providers will offer relevant help and support to the young people as they work towards their Level 2 qualification.
There are a number of potential strategic, financial and reputational risks associated with creating and delivering these 10 apprenticeship positions. The risks outlined below will be mitigated by the actions proposed in this paper:
· Failure to create adequate new apprenticeship and work based opportunities will have a negative impact on the skills, confidence and well being of our young people in Argyll and Bute.
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