W1 - NEETs Young people not in education, employment or training looking particularly at transition points

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1 West London WPCB / PSTN Work stream summary W1 - NEETs Young people not in education, employment or training looking particularly at transition points Description & Rationale NEETS are defined as year olds (academic age) not in education, employment or training and high needs year olds with a Learning Difficulty Assessment (LDD / SEN) not in education, employment or training. The proposal is to focus on young people aged in order to capture / include young people at an age when they are having to make choices and decisions about their future (i.e. school subject choices - with implications for follow-on courses / vocational pathways) and to capture other key transition points. While the numbers of NEETs in each of the six boroughs are relatively small (ranging from : 1,710 in total) the potential social and resource implications / consequences, over a period of time, are thought to be significant (i.e. costs of welfare, support services, care, crime, etc.) NEETs, and those at risk of becoming NEETS, have a number of common characteristics, from among the following: having parents who are poor and unemployed; living in deprived neighbourhoods near schools with poor overall average attainment; living in particular circumstances which create barriers to participation, including e.g. being or having been in care; being pregnant and a parent in their mid-teenage years; having a disability, special educational need or learning disability; being young carers; being homeless; having a mental illness; misusing drugs or alcohol; involved in offending; pre-16 educational disaffection / truancy / school exclusion; having poor or no qualifications at age 16 plus; dropping out of post-16 educational attainment. A range of services are thus involved with the NEETs group. Communication and the sharing of information among these service providers is therefore very important. To support young people through co-ordinated, seamless and integrated provision, which addresses their needs at key stages and transition points, to help and enable them to make informed choices regarding education and training pathways into sustainable employment. A range of government, local authority, ESF and lottery funded education, training, work experience and support services exist. However, provision is not even, consistent or universal. E.g. not all boroughs have young people personal advisers or EFA and SFA contracts; discretionary funding is usually short-term and may carry restrictive criteria; data is not always effectively shared between agencies; provision for the hardest to reach groups tends to be labour intensive and relatively costly; different agencies drop in at different ages (with some beginning to cross previous boundaries e.g. JCP is starting to look at pre-16s). Co-design of a more consistent and coherent programme should lead to more young people accessing the dream i.e. a good job with training: enabling them to lead more productive and positive lives; reducing demand and reliance on public sector services; and reducing public expenditure.

2 JCP, L/As, Schools, Education Services, Connexions, SFA, providers including charities / third sector and EBPs, Health, businesses / employers. Work with employers W2 - Adult long-term unemployed/workless with a particular focus on those being supported into work sustaining that employment The proposal is to focus on adults who have been out of continuous work for significant periods. A definition (to be tested) could be those adults who have been unemployed for three years out of the last four. Boroughs are currently focusing on those affected by the benefit cap and the need to apply the learning from this; those with multiple needs and troubled families. Key issues to address include: the need to look at intractable unemployment; workless families; and, once people are in employment, keeping them in employment, whether it be the same job, another job or a better job. As with the NEETS group there are key transition points e.g. when adults first go on to the work programme, where value could be added by a co-ordinated approach to address the range of issues which prevent people from obtaining and staying in employment, e.g. health, skills / training, attitude, childcare, disability, low pay, discrimination, criminal record, etc. JCP is currently considering co-location of services and multi-disciplinary teams to provide more effective wrap-around provision. In addition to support for those seeking work, support for and coordinated contact with employers will be key in getting long-term unemployed into work and maintaining them in work. Improve health and well-being through moving people into employment and sustainable employment JCP Work Programme Third Sector L/A Health As with the NEETs group a more consistent and coherent programme should lead to more adults accessing employment and sustaining that employment: enabling them to lead more productive and positive lives; reducing demand and reliance on public sector services; and reducing public expenditure.

3 JCP, L/As, FSB, businesses / employers, work programme providers, third sector Map current investment Work with employers W3 - Support for businesses to grow - with a focus on those that would make significant contributions to employment and GVA growth While West London has a good track record creating new businesses, a greater percentage of businesses fail (10.7%) than across London (10.3%) and the UK (9.5%). In addition, the percentage of VAT registered businesses showing year-on-year employment growth is among the poorest performers nationally. There are key and strong sectors. Banking, finance and insurance is the most significant sector, followed by distribution, hotels and restaurants and transport and communications. A large proportion of employment is in the knowledge-based sectors (32%). Other key sectors include: logistics, creative industries incl. media, health and social care, high technology services, tourism and food and drink, construction, education, food manufacturing. West London also has uniquely strong overseas trading links due to the presence of Heathrow and the entrepreneurial characteristics of its economy and the businesses located here. There is a need to maximise this trading expertise and knowledge to support businesses especially SMEs. Businesses who are trading and ready to grow are often prevented from so doing through lack of: access to finance; knowledge or expertise e.g. in relation to developing their products, widening their markets or export-led growth; appropriate move on premises (type and location); supply and value chains; IP support; metadata in understanding markets, trends and customer base. Increase survival rates and promote growth Business Link West London Business Gateway Asia Harrow in Business UKTI British Library IP Centre BIS Banks / accountants / a range of firms offer chargeable business advice and services Chambers of Commerce Business Improvement Districts

4 Business Associations / Networks Business Growth Fund Universities and colleges Increased GVA; new investment and jobs. WLB, BIS, Businesses, Universities, HIB, Gateway Asia, etc. Undertake sector analysis and align shared investment (BIS / LEP / local) W4 - Support for business start-ups particularly focused on improving accessibility to quality advice and support In 2009, 9,650 businesses in West London failed. This represents 13.8% of all active enterprises. The proposal is to ensure that there is no wrong door in terms of accessing advice and support. This requires the wide circulation / availability of comprehensive information on the range of services being provided, including quality assurance. Business advice and support services are currently offered from a variety of sources, some of which is accredited, and with varying charges. What a business receives will be dependent on where they begin to look. Private sector engagement and input is vital. This could be through, for example, business / peer mentoring, informal or formal networks and so on. Start-ups require advice and support on the basics i.e. business planning; financial management; where, when and if to start. Identified barriers include: government regulation; inconsistent access to information and advice; inflexibility of requirements e.g. access to finance; too much red tape; lack of incubation environments, start-up units and managed work spaces. Increase business survival rate at 12 and 24 months and 5 years. Increase the numbers successfully starting up, surviving and growing. Business Link a free on-line government helpline for simple questions about starting or running a business. Also provides a more in-depth service for more complex enquiries. Call charges to use the advice phone line are variable. Harrow in Business business support to start, fund and grow start-ups and trading businesses. A free How to guide is available on-line for those interested in starting a business in Harrow. Costs vary according to service / course required.

5 GLE GLE runs a number of free programmes to support Londoners wanting to start a business. For those not eligible for one of the free schemes, consultancy rates apply. Start-up loans are also available to eligible clients. Through the New Enterprise Allowance programme of business support JSA claimants in West London can access free guidance and support to turn their business idea into a realistic plan of action, over eight weeks. Further free support is available to help through the early months of growing a business. Clients, with a viable business plan, may access a loan of up to The Prince s Trust Enterprise Programme helps those aged 18-30, unemployed or working fewer than 16 hours a week with a business idea decide whether self-employment is right for them (NB. Exclusions, e.g. recent graduates and those with a professional qualification). BIS Banks and accountants.. Informal networks Business Networks / Associations Business Forums Business Angels Crowd funding - 20 million is available to British businesses through Funding Circle, as part of the Government s Business Finance Partnership Scheme (BFP) Peer to peer mentoring Universities and colleges Increased survival rate; self-employment (reduced reliance on public sector services); job creation; leading to longer-term growth Providers, L/As, BIS, FSB, WLB, Businesses, universities and colleges, Third Sector W5 - Addressing skills mismatch with a focus on learners making the right choices and simplifying skills provision for employers West London data points to skills shortages and skills mismatch. There is a need both for low level and high level skills, with the latter predicted to be very much in demand for the future. In addition job-ready or soft skills are required at all levels. The proposal is to focus on two sets of customers - learners and employers. Learners will be seeking employment or in employment and employers will be recruiting or needing to develop their workforce to improve productivity and competitiveness. Barriers and challenges to be addressed include: funding mechanisms; criteria including e.g. age restrictions; quality information, advice and guidance for both customer groups; flexibilities and

6 freedoms for courses to be more responsive to the labour market; affordability; employee and employer buy-in; incentives for employers; fragmentation; employer confusion regarding the education landscape; inconsistency across providers; and so on. The focus will be on large sectors and growing sectors in the context of maximising opportunities and promoting growth. The existence of workforce development and how well it is developed and supported is reliant on the company s / industry commitment and investment, which in turn is dependent on prevailing financial circumstances and other factors. To ensure local people have the right skills to compete for jobs; learners are able to make the right choices; and provision meets both the needs of the learner and the employer. National Career Service (being re-procured next year will be web-based) JCP Range of training providers National Apprenticeship Scheme (EFA / SFA) Employer based training schemes Sector Skills Councils government recognised, industry-focused body established to support the development of skills and training within that industry: to drive enterprise, create jobs and support sustainable economic growth. 22 SSCs cover different commercial sectors e.g. People 1st covers hospitality, leisure, passenger transport, travel and tourism. College and University support for workforce development (e.g. Uxbridge College) A more consistent and coherent programme of support, information, advice and guidance for learners and employers should lead to quality of life improvements for individuals and families and increased productivity and competitiveness for business. This in turn should reduce reliance on public sector services - reducing public expenditure; and reduced business costs (e.g. recruitment) and increased GVA, etc. FE Colleges, Training Providers, Universities, NCS, JCP, Employers, L/As, Sector Skills Councils, Identify more detailed future skills needs and develop a skills strategy including an employer forum to gain insights and input Co-design bespoke, flexible, responsive systems and training Other activity Promotion, Premises and Innovation

7 Workshops were also held on the promotion of West London for investment; the supply of business premises for start-ups and SMEs; and innovation and knowledge transfer. With regard to the first two the conclusion was that these themes and the activities and services did not necessarily lend themselves to, or require, a place based budget approach. In the case of the latter, it was agreed that we need to have a further consideration of the issues with Higher Education providers and other interests before deciding if this would be a work stream for place based budgeting.