An Employability Policy for Wales

Transcription

1 An Employability Policy for Wales Within the context of our new legislative backdrop, the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act, it is critical we do all we can to improve the social, economic, environmental and cultural wellbeing of Wales and use the levers available to us to create a society we want to live in now and in the future. We will be able to deliver the Wales we want if we focus and prioritise our effort to tackle poverty, improve prosperity and create a healthier and more equal Wales. What is employability and why is it important? Employability refers to a set of characteristics which increase an individual s chances of being in and maintaining work, particularly good work. These characteristics include skills, qualifications, health and wellbeing, managing caring responsibilities, support within the family, as well as access to transport, financial and social capital. At the same time factors such as labour market demand, job vacancies, recruitment processes and employment policy also play an important role in determining how employable an individual is, at any given time. Increasing employability is fundamental to tackling poverty and reducing inequality. There is strong evidence to show that employment provides the most sustainable route out of poverty. We know that workless households are more at risk of being in poverty and are especially at risk of living in persistent poverty. Being unemployed adversely affects both mental and physical wellbeing. At the same time, children living in workless households are much more likely to have poorer health and educational outcomes, both as children and later as adults. Being unemployed as a young adult, leads to a higher likelihood of long-term scarring in terms of subsequent lower pay, higher unemployment, reduced life chances and greater mental health problems. From a poverty perspective, the evidence to support a focus on employability is overwhelming. Whilst finding work is important, we also know that staying in work and having opportunities to progress are vital. We want to do all we can to build a strong economy, underpinned by decent opportunities for employment and where people have a real chance of making work a sustainable option. From an economic perspective, a focus on increasing skills and moving people on in work is critical to generating the high wage, high skill economy that we want in Wales. Why do we need an Employability Policy? We already have a Child Poverty Strategy, a Skills Strategy and Implementation Plan and a specific focus on building a strong economy, all of which include an emphasis on jobs and growth, supporting people into work and increasing skills all of which are fundamental to the issue of employability. What we don t have is a specific focus on employability as a priority and a well defined system of support. We also need greater clarity over the outcomes that we want to see delivered. At present, there is no shared set of employability outcomes or common view of what works best and how the different strategies are contributing to improving outcomes. In addition,

2 there is no means of comparing and contrasting different approaches or evaluating overall performance. So what are the challenges for Wales? While we are making important progress, we are not delivering change at the pace and scale needed in a number of key areas. Employment in Wales is close to a record high and the number of people living in workless households is continuing to fall. There were nearly 150,000 jobs supported by the Welsh Government during the last administration. At the same time, however, economic inactivity remains high: While there were 74,000 people in Wales who are unemployed in January to March 2016, 451,000 people were economically inactive for the same period. 1 A significant proportion of those who are economically inactive are disabled people, lone parents and people with low skills. Under-employment is also an issue, which is linked to the growing problem of inwork poverty. A focus on employability and in particular, a focus on those who are economically inactive is therefore critical. The current employability landscape is complex. With a range of different policies and programmes aimed at supporting people into employment and increasing skills we know there is potential for duplication of provision. At the same time, we know there are gaps and in particular that our mainstream services need to work together more effectively to engage with those most at risk of poorer outcomes. Our Vision is: To support and empower individuals to progress towards, get into and stay in employment and to move on in the workplace through decent, sustainable employment. Objectives and links to the Well Being Goals and National Indicators: Our Employability Policy will make an important contribution to the achievement of the Well Being of Future Generations Act. In particular, there is a clear link between the objectives of the Policy and Well Being Goals to create a more prosperous Wales and a more equal Wales. 1 Everybody aged 16 or over is either employed, unemployed or economically inactive. The employment estimates include all people in work including those working part-time. Unemployment is measured according to internationally accepted guidelines specified by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). Unemployed people in the UK are those without a job who have been actively seeking work in the last 4 weeks and are available to start work within the next 2 weeks. It also includes those who are out of work but have found a job and are waiting to start it in the next 2 weeks. People who meet these criteria are classified as unemployed irrespective of whether or not they claim unemployment related benefits. The Claimant Count measures the number of people claiming unemployment related benefits. Economically inactive people are not in employment but do not meet the internationally accepted definition of unemployment because they have not been seeking work within the last 4 weeks and/or they are unable to start work within the next 2 weeks. Examples of economically inactive people include people not looking for work because they are students, looking after the family or home, because of illness or disability or because they have retired. Source: Office for National Statistics, Statistical bulletin: UK Labour Market: April 2016.

3 We expect the Policy to contribute to delivering change for a number of key national well being indicators: Increased Employment. The Employability Policy will ensure there are more people in work and less people not in education, employment or training. Although wider factors such as the creation of jobs and growth in Wales will also play a key role, we would expect the Policy to contribute to increasing employment and reducing the inactivity rate across Wales, especially for the long-term unemployed, disabled people and young people. Increased Skills. The Employability Policy will contribute towards raising skills and supporting individuals to engage with the labour market in a positive way. There are important links between increasing skills and increasing productivity and the Policy will align closely with other levers looking to deliver change in these areas. Having higher skilled individuals will provide an important building block for other policies looking to raise productivity, increase innovation and attract higher skilled jobs to Wales. It is also critical we reflect on the demand side of the skills and employability agenda. We will be considering the needs of business, as well as individuals, as we develop our approach. We will use Labour Market Intelligence to identify future skills needs and shape provision. This will all contribute to reducing skills shortages and skills gaps and will deliver improved employer feedback about the availability of skilled employees. Increased Living Standards. Increasing people s employability should help to increase their potential earnings. As a result, we would expect to see an increase in levels of household income, a fall in the number of households living in poverty and ensure more people are able to afford everyday goods and activities. The Policy will also make an important contribution to reducing the number of people living in workless households and families living in in work poverty, as well as increasing in the number of individuals classed as having a decent job. Reduced Variation Across Wales and Amongst Certain Groups. We want to see the above outcomes achieved across Wales, but also to see a reduction in the regional variation in these outcomes between different parts of Wales. We also want to ensure that outcomes for key target groups such as the long-term unemployed, disabled people and young people aged improve within these overall success measures. Scope of the Policy There is already a strong series of activities and interventions to build on being delivered across Welsh Government departments and by our partners and stakeholders which attempt to improve the employability of people in Wales. We will draw together and build on this work, while also setting out the future direction of travel to provide a clear focus for our work and our partners.

4 We will connect and join up a range of other policies across Welsh Government, all of which have an important contribution to make to the outcomes above. This includes the broader approach to supporting growth and jobs; health, housing and transport; childcare and third sector delivery. We will ensure existing employability programmes are linking closely with mainstream services. It will be particularly important to integrate health and employability services to ensure a strong focus on supporting people to enter and remain in employment and overcome any barriers they may face. The Policy will set out the fit with current devolved responsibilities and help set the direction of travel for future devolution. Welsh Government support will need to fit alongside and wrap around DWP employment programmes and support services. This includes plans for the design and development of employment programmes and employment services, both now and in the future. In particular, the Employability Policy and its Implementation Plan will need to align closely with future DWP employment provision in Wales, the role of JCP services and developments including the new contract arrangements for the Work and Health Programme operating from October 2017, wider work of the Work and Health Unit and the expansion of Universal Credit in The Policy will focus on all ages (16 to 65) but have a targeted approach. It will link to work to promote employability amongst those younger than 16, through the Youth Engagement and Progression Framework and the new Welsh Curriculum. It will segment the groups it focuses on, but will look at all stages of the employability pipeline: supporting those furthest away to move closer to employment; helping others to get a job; supporting those most at risk of poorer outcomes to stay in jobs; and helping others to move on in their careers, so that all have an opportunity to achieve decent and sustainable employment. The Policy will focus on those who are able to and want to seek employment; this will include economically inactive people as well as job-seekers. Its primary focus will be on middle and low skilled individuals. Securing sustainable employment is often less likely amongst those experiencing multiple disadvantages such as lone parents, disabled people or those with a severe health condition, those with low qualifications, as well as other groups with protected characteristics. The Policy will need to include a strong focus on these groups, with the view to boosting employment and progression across low activity groups. Where appropriate, the Policy may also look to influence attitudes and address barriers amongst those who don t currently want to work. The Policy will not look to support those individuals who are capable of finding and progressing within employment on their own and those with such serious barriers they have no realistic prospect of entering the labour market. Defining the boundaries of these groups will be an important piece of work, as the Policy progresses.

5 There will be a strong focus on working with external partners including the private sector. Welsh Government will work collaboratively with different partners to develop and subsequently implement the Employability Policy. This will include private sector organisations and employers who have a key role to play in driving forward this agenda and ensuring an ongoing focus on employability. Next steps The intended publication date for the Employability Policy is December A number of high profile external engagement and consultation events will be held across Wales in the summer and autumn of A more detailed implementation plan will be developed with key partners and published in spring The Policy and its Implementation Plan will look at the following broad areas: How people enter and progress within a clearly defined employability system what are the different routes and access points? How well known and understood are these? Is there a clear and consistent set of expectations about what should happen at the point of first contact and what should happen next? The initial assessment process and identification of needs what are the most common and frequent barriers faced by different groups? How are individuals having their specific needs identified and assessed? Should there be a common and consistent approach to assessment across all agencies? Would a common approach to categorisation or segmentation help and if so what should this look like? The information, advice and guidance available and how to access it having had their needs identified, how are people referred on to the most appropriate services for further information, advice and guidance? Should some people have a dedicated key worker or broker to support them at this stage? How much of this information, advice and guidance can be delivered online and how much needs to be given face-to-face? The provision needed to give clear pathways to employment how do we achieve the right mix and balance of provision across all parts of Wales to provide clear pathways to employment? What are the different types of provision we need and what outcomes do we expect from each type; how do we ensure the provision meets the needs of employers? How do we simplify the overall landscape and offer? The Policy will review current delivery models and explore the benefits of a strong regional element and the co-location of services. Tracking and monitoring the progression of people into employment how do we track the outcomes of the support provided to different clients and groups? How do we measure all types of outcomes including progression made towards employment, entry to the labour market; sustained employment, and progression within the labour market?