LOCAL GOVERNMENT ASSOCIATION – WRITTEN EVIDENCE (YUN0043) Youth Unemployment Committee inquiry |
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1.1. The Local Government Association (LGA) is the national voice of local government. We are a politically led, cross-party membership organisation, representing councils from England and Wales.
1.2. Our role is to support, promote and improve local government, and raise national awareness of the work of councils. Our ultimate ambition is to support councils to deliver local solutions to national problems.
2.1 Local government as democratically elected leaders of place play a key role in stimulating local economies and want to ensure that employers have a supply of skilled workforce to meet the current and future business demands in local areas. Young people’s engagement in education, employment or training (EET) as the next- generation workforce is vital for local areas and the economy.
2.2. Councils, alongside their role in helping economies to thrive, have several statutory duties relating to youth participation in order to ensure all young people up to the age of 18 (25 for those with learning difficulties) participate in education or training. These include: Raising Participation; September Guarantee; Not in education, employment, or training (NEET); Risk of NEET Indicators (RONI) and Tracking.
2.3. Despite having these wide-ranging responsibilities that demand close working with local providers, partners and employers, councils have very few formal levers over commissioning or coordination of provision to ensure their statutory duties are met.
2.4. At present, national government departments and their agencies are directly responsible for employment and skills policy, design, funding and oversight. 20 employment and skills funding streams are managed by eight departments and agencies, spending more than £10 billion a year on services, including the National Careers Service and the Education and Skills Funding Agency. There is no unifying plan for their work or a duty to discuss with councils how services will operate in their local areas. Equally, local areas have little ability to influence their priorities, funding or delivery to adapt national policies to the needs of local communities.
2.5. There is a need for an integrated skills system that can quickly and easily align job creation and employability measures, and identify and address skills gaps and shortages. Local leaders are uniquely placed to best understand the needs of their communities and bring together government departments and agencies to deliver targeted, locally determined and democratically accountable outcomes.
2.6. Work Local, the LGA’s plan for a devolved and integrated skills service, sets out a blueprint to bring together information, advice and guidance services alongside the delivery of employment, skills, apprenticeships and training to meet the needs of individuals, communities and local economies. We are calling on
the Government to back and fund the trialling of the Work Local model. The provision of a flexible local funding pot to meet differing needs in each locality, would allow areas to respond to local challenges, scaling up successful projects or provide wraparound support for young people to secure or sustain education, employment or training.
2.7. Alongside the implementation of Work Local, we recommend that the Government establishes an integrated Youth Employment and Skills (YES) Service to bring together youth employment, training, skills, and welfare support for 16 – 24-year olds. The Government should also appoint a Youth Minister to work across Whitehall and coordinate a new Youth Employment and Skills Taskforce (YES), that includes representatives of government departments, local government representatives, including the LGA, business and other representative organisations. This will foster a more coordinated and cross-departmental approach to deliver an integrated and adequately funded offer for young people.
2.8. Councils and the LGA would like to work in partnership with Government to support an inclusive economic recovery, by helping businesses to create and protect jobs and supporting young people into good quality work, to mitigate the economic and social damage inflicted by COVID-19. There are also implications from the UK’s exit from the EU, and access to the EU workforce where needed. It’s important that we ensure a process for recognising qualifications from EU and non-EU citizens is in place and is easy to understand for employers. Recovery efforts, including through the Levelling up Fund, Community Renewal Fund and the Shared Prosperity Fund, must recognise the impact on young people and different community groups and ensure that no one or community is left behind.
2.9. The Skills for Jobs Further Education White Paper (launched January 2021) outlines planned reforms to the further education and technical training system. It sets out the Government’s ambition to create a system that will enable everyone to access the skills they need, now and in the future. These reforms should be advanced in consultation with local authorities.
3. What are the main challenges facing young people seeking employment today? How do structural factors impact youth unemployment, and how might these be addressed?
3.1. Young people have been disproportionately impacted by job losses during the pandemic. Recent ONS figures (April 2021) show more than half of those losing their jobs in the last year were aged below 25. Of the 813,000 fall in UK employees between March 2020 and March 2021, 436,000 (53.7 per cent) were under 25 years old. As a result, there is greater competition for lower-level and entry-level jobs from a wider unemployment pool (graduates and other more qualified young people), pushing out those who are already the furthest from the labour market.
3.2. Fewer job opportunities and the increase in youth unemployment also means that young people who face additional barriers to accessing work, such as health conditions or disabilities, are facing a ‘double disadvantage’ in trying to secure employment. This cohort of young people with additional support needs, who would ordinarily be able to secure employment, are being displaced by individuals with higher-level qualifications, who ‘crowding out’ their less qualified peers and taking lower-level opportunities.
3.3. The pandemic has hit the hospitality, leisure and high street retail sectors hard. Leisure trusts are some of the biggest employers of the 18 -34 year age group. These sectors are where many young people with low skills or little or no work experience often turn to for their first job. As the economy recovers from COVID-19 and the number of
employment opportunities increase, the current generation of young people are likely to find themselves in an increasingly competitive market, applying for jobs against more skilled and experienced applicants. Young people who find themselves in-and-out of work or unemployed for an extended period of time will be at greatest risk of becoming long-term unemployed. Analysis by the Learning and Work Institute projects that long- term unemployment could hit 1.6 million in 2021-22, which is a 600% increase since the start of the crisis, and the highest level since 1994.
3.4. Digital exclusion continues to be a significant barrier to young people’s access to the job market. Whilst most young people have a smartphone, many are still not skilled sufficiently to use laptops and computers making access to work opportunities and producing CVs very challenging. Digital poverty is also a key concern and has been exacerbated by the pandemic.
3.5. The cost and complexity of travelling to post-16 places of learning can also be a barrier to young people accessing further education, particularly in rural areas and areas with limited access to public transport. As not all courses are able to be run from local colleges, supporting under 25-year olds with transport costs is vital to maintain equitable access to further education and many councils are supporting young people with costs.
3.6. There has been a rise in the number of young people who face complex barriers due to the pandemic, such as poor mental health, and struggle to access support or employment or training opportunities. Research by the Health Foundation shows that by the winter there will be a total of 800,000 unemployed people with poor mental health.
3.7. The pandemic has created new inequalities and exposed existing ones. Those on lower incomes, single parents, disabled people and people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds have seen some of the largest drops in incomes and share of job losses. Areas that have higher black and minority ethnic populations have seen welfare claimant rates rise more than three times faster than areas with lower BAME populations and two times the national average For example, recent data shows that between October and December 2020, 41.6 per cent of black people aged 16-24 year old were unemployed. This is the highest rate since the last financial crisis, analysis of data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals. While unemployment among white workers of the same age stood at 12.4 per cent.
3.8. The eligibility criteria for many programmes, for example Kickstart, which was launched to support young people into work, is restricted to universal credit claimants. However, there are many ‘hidden’ unemployed young people who do not access the welfare system and would benefit from these schemes. According to London Youth, there are a staggering 480,000 young people who are estimated to be 'hidden' in the UK every year. There are an additional 797,000 young people who we know are NEET. Therefore, we are recommending that the Kickstart programme is extended to young people who are not claiming universal credit but have been NEET (not in education, employment or training) for six months or more.
3.9. The current national approach to skills and careers support is fragmented and has struggled to tackle existing and new challenges posed by the pandemic. At our last count (2017), £10.5 billion was spent across 20 employment and skills funding streams managed by eight departments or agencies. Since then, and as a result of the pandemic, the Government has introduced more employment and skills support, including through the Plan for Jobs. Coordination of these funding streams to target them to the needs of communities and individuals is crucial.
3.10. It is clear a new approach is needed. The LGA Work Local model provides a framework for an integrated and devolved employment and skills system. This would give combined authorities and groups of councils, working in partnership with local and national partners, the powers and funding to plan, commission and oversee a joined-up system, by bringing together advice and guidance, employment, skills, apprenticeships and business support for individuals and employers, at the local level. We are calling on
the Government to back and fund the trialling of the Work Local model.
3.11. There are clear benefits from national and local government combining resources and expertise to deliver the recovery our people and places deserve. Based on analysis of an anonymised medium-sized combined authority, a Work Local model could lead to additional fiscal benefits for a local area of £280 million per year, with a benefit to the economy of £420 million. This would be associated with an additional 8,500 people leaving benefits, an additional 3,600 people achieving Level 2 skills, and an additional 2,100 people achieving Level 3.
3.12. Every young person is unique with different needs and circumstances, so a standard approach to education and employment support is not effective for everyone, particularly those with complex needs. Our report, Re-thinking youth participation for the present and next generation: education to employment, explores how the fragmentation of the current skills and employment system is unable to meet the wider support needs of young people. Evidence suggests that a tailored offer is needed that meets both the core and wider support needs of individuals, which is best delivered through a partnership approach at the local level, to provide joined-up support.
3.13. For example, Durham County Council developed a partnership approach to provide integrated employability and wider support offer for young people through the DurhamWorks Programme. The total value of the programme is £29,040,000 and it aims to support 9,930 young people from 2016-2021. The interim evaluation report at the end of phase one of DurhamWorks (July 2018) showed that the total investment of
£12,299,041 had a social return on investment (SROI) ratio of 1:2.69. For every £1.00 of investment, £2.69 of social and economic value has been generated.
3.14. To create an integrated skills and employment support offer to young people the LGA Youth Participation report recommends:
3.15. The LGA continues to work with councils to improve the offer of employment and skills and share good practice where this exists with the sector. For example, a number of LGA’s recently commissioned case study projects will be published later this month, which aim to share best practice more widely with the sector.
3.16. The DWP expanded Youth Offer and the roll-out of Youth Hubs is timely. However, there is a need for a more localised integrated approach that includes greater scope and coverage (all young people, geography, employers and support services) to be effective, and have a measured impact on young peoples’ training and employment outcomes. Many councils are playing a central role in the establishment of these hubs, by bringing together local intelligence; working with employers and stakeholders; and identifying young people in need of support. Local government’s role as a convenor of partnerships and place-based interventions should be recognised and supported.
3.17. To build an inclusive society, all recovery work, including through the Levelling up Fund, Community Renewal Fund, and the Shared Prosperity Fund, needs to recognise the impact of the pandemic on young people and different community groups and work to ensure that no one or community is left behind.
4.1. Many employers find the skills system complex and challenging to engage with, as highlighted in the Skills for Jobs lifelong learning for opportunity and growth White Paper. Moreover, employers are frequently bombarded with direct requests for work placements, traineeships and apprenticeships, resulting in a high administrative burden, which highlights the need for brokerage in the system.
4.2. Whilst the plethora of recently introduced initiatives, including Kickstart, flexi-job apprenticeships and the expansion of traineeships, to support young people into work are welcome, there is a need for a consistent and comprehensive narrative for employers on the benefits of these programmes to encourage them to take-up the schemes.
4.3. The short-term apprenticeship incentives and extensions that have been introduced do not support long-term workforce and skills planning. The latest extension of employer incentives are due to end in September 2021 as the economy is expected to ‘re-open,’ leaving employers with little time to take full of advantage of the initiative once restrictions are lifted.
4.4. These incentives should be extended until at least March 2022 so that they can play a meaningful role in the recovery and ensure that there are inducements and advice for employers to progress young people off traineeships and Kickstart into apprenticeships when those placements come to an end.
4.5. The introduction of flexi-apprenticeships, which allow apprentices to be linked to an agency instead of a single employer and take on different jobs with multiple businesses in one sector, is a positive step forward. To date, this scheme has been targeted at industries with more flexible working patterns, such as the TV and Film sectors which have higher proportions of freelance roles that typically run shorter than 12 months (the minimum duration for an apprenticeship).
4.6. Flexi-apprenticeships should now be expanded to other sectors that would benefit from this flexibility, to help boost the number of apprenticeship places. Alongside this, greater local coordination needs to be built into the system to ensure that apprenticeships are being used strategically to meet the needs of employers and young people in our communities.
4.7. While more incentives for employers to take on apprentices is welcome, the LGA, along with the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) and business, believe fundamental reform of the apprenticeship system is needed to ensure employers can get the most out of the system and create wider opportunities for young people. The LGA are recommending the Government to:
4.8. Many councils are developing initiatives to support the apprenticeship programme and work with businesses to boost local placements. For example, Hampshire County Council has set up Levy Transfer Scheme to create more job and training opportunities in the area, following the Government’s announcement to allow employers to transfer up to 25 per cent of their annual Apprenticeship Levy funds to support apprenticeships with other employers.
4.8.1 Hampshire County Council’s apprenticeship levy is approximately £3.5 million annually. The County Council took the decision to allocate up to £2 million from Levy funds to be made available for transfers (subject to agreed criteria) from December 2019 to March 2022. The aim of this was to allow the transfer of uncommitted Levy funds to support the expansion of apprenticeship recruitment in Hampshire.
4.8.2 In December 2019 the County Council launched their Levy transfer scheme and since January 2020, 367 Levy transfers worth a total of £2 million have been approved with just over £1 million currently being claimed via the Apprenticeship Account. The care sector is the biggest recipient supporting 230 apprenticeships. Feedback from both providers and employers has been extremely positive. The application process has been moved online and requests are processed on a weekly basis.
4.9. Traineeships have an important role to play in preparing young people for apprenticeships. However, a lack of funding has hindered the development of traineeships. As a result, there were just 12,100 traineeships starts across the country in 2019/20 and their impact has been limited. The incentive payments for traineeships announced in the Plan for Jobs are welcome, however these are due to expire in July 2021.
4.10. The Kickstart Programme, which funds the set-up costs for work placements and training costs for a six month period, has opened up opportunities for young people to enter work. For example, Hull City Council are acting as a Gateway provider for 350 placements in the city for ninety-plus local employers. The transition of these placements into permanent employment will be key when the time on the programme ends for a young person. There is also concern when Kickstart placement ends without some further support many young people may return to benefits. The LGA Kickstart: what good looks like paper aims to support local and national discussions on the design, commissioning, and delivery of the Kickstart programme.
4.11. Critically, the Government’s recent skills reforms are creating a lack of Level 2 opportunities and hampering the ability of employers to offer these to young people due to the lack off-the-job provision available to support the trainees. The Government has discontinued some BTEC Level 2 Qualifications before T-Levels have fully been implemented, and removed many Level 2 Apprenticeships without standards in place to ensure they were replaced with other training opportunities at the same level. This, combined with fewer SME’s being able to access the apprenticeship system, has culminated in a ‘blackspot’ in the system and an overall reduction of level 2 opportunities.
4.12. Given many employers are now working remotely, this creates additional challenges in supporting young people in the workplace. Young people starting their career journeys often need face-to-face support and guidance to help them make an effective transition from education to employment.
5.1. With the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution many employers are concerned about the lack of digital and technical skills that are required to meet the needs of exponentially growing sectors.
5.2. The introduction of Technical Level routes goes some way to address this shortage but there is still a need to promote and encourage greater numbers of young people to study STEM subjects from an earlier age; increase diversity in such subjects; raise awareness of the ever-changing world of work with the aim to stimulate realistic expectations of the future labour market; and greater involvement from employers to identify future skills gaps and support the development of a post-16 offer which is fit for the future.
5.3. There is also gender disparity in STEM employment. A recent article showed that only 25% per cent of all jobs in STEM industries in the UK are held by women. Also, in general, there are fewer young women studying STEM subjects, resulting in fewer women in STEM occupations. According to recent UCAS data provided by HESA, only 35 per cent of STEM students in higher education in the UK are women. One of the reasons for this is that not all career choices are not equally discussed as viable options. For example, the Youth Voice Census found that young men were more likely to have T Levels and accessing Jobcentre provision discussed with them in college or sixth form more than young women.
5.4. The LGA commissioned report, Local government’s role supporting the advanced digital skills pipeline, shows the different types of digital skills and explores how councils can help to develop these skills. The types of skills are similar to those recently defined in the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), ‘No Longer Optional: Employer Demand for Digital Skills:
5.5. Many councils, recognising the increasing demand for these types of digital skills are starting to develop programmes to support their tech sectors; facilitate digital transformation within other sectors; grow and enhance their local tech skills base to ensure a pipeline of digital skills and reduce skills gaps both now and in the future. For example, the West Yorkshire Combined Authority works closely with partners to boost the digital skills required in the region through the targeted improvement of the pipeline of digital talent working with schools, colleges, universities and in the promotion of digital apprenticeship uptake. Lancashire Digital Skills Partnership was the first DSP to be set up in the UK, bringing together public, private and third sector organisations to address IT shortages within the area. This initiative was funded by DCMS (who funded a DSP coordinator) but operates very much as a two-way partnership.
5.6. Pre-pandemic, research by the Learning and Work Institute for the LGA estimated that by 2030, skills gaps would persist across England suggesting that our skills system would fail to keep up with in-demand jobs (and qualifications needed to fill them). It revealed there could be a shortfall in England of 2.5 million highly qualified people compared to jobs created. Conversely fewer jobs requiring intermediate or low qualifications could lead to a surplus of 6.2 million people. It is important to increase skills levels across the board to avoid squeezing the least qualified from the labour market, which is a particular concern as furlough ends in September.
5.7. Most young people attend a local provider for their post-16 education, while there may be more suitable options for their career path elsewhere. This is often due to a lack of information about other available options or transport issues. Therefore, it is important for young people to have clear information about all the available post-16 options, including ‘travel to learn’ opportunities.
5.8. Local government plays a critical role working with employers to ensure a pipeline of skills to meet local needs. For example, Somerset County Council has developed a series of ‘Talent Academy’ programmes, to support schools to engage with local employers and provide young people with opportunities to learn about specific industry sectors. The Talent Academies are a collaboration between young people, schools, FE Colleges, employers and the Somerset Education Business Partnership. To date over 500 young people have taken part in the programme with EDF with national and local employers, for example, Rolls Royce, Mulberry, Leonardo, Yeo Valley.
5.9. The changes in working practices and how businesses have been forced to operate to survive during the crisis have accelerated automation and digitalisation; resulting in a need for a more digitally skilled workforce and meaning upskilling and reskilling will become even more of a priority.
6.1. The national approach to education, training and skills at the national level often results in a disconnected offer at the local level, meaning that many young people fall through the gaps. If locally planned, these schemes could be targeted to the needs of communities and local economies, to ensure that every young person has the right help, including the essential wrap-around support needed to secure and sustain training or employment.
6.2. The Government has provided significant support to tackle the impact of the recent crisis through its Plan for Jobs which is welcome. However, it is clear if the funding was used working in partnership with local government, it could be better targeted and therefore improve outcomes for young people. Councils are able to develop a more integrated employment and skills offer working in collaboration with health, housing and welfare support agencies.
6.3. The Government’s Devolution and Recovery White Paper must rethink the top-down process of devolution seen over the last decade and set out a new English devolution baseline for their communities. It must reverse the process, with local leaders bringing central government departments and agencies together to deliver locally determined and accountable outcomes for residents and businesses. A reformed approach to devolution should be developed in partnership between the Government and local authorities. The LGA Work Local model provides a blueprint for devolution of employment and skills, which would deliver significant social and economic benefits for communities.
7. Does the national curriculum equip young people with the right knowledge and skills to find secure jobs and careers? What changes may be needed to ensure this is the case in future?
Is careers education preparing young people with the knowledge to explore the range of opportunities available? What role does work experience play in this regard?
7.1. Having an effective careers advice and guidance system is vital to help young people navigate the world of jobs and skills. Yet the careers system in England remains complicated and fragmented with a range of initiatives and providers delivering provision in any one area: schools, colleges, councils, careers professionals, and national agencies including National Careers Service, Careers and Enterprise Company, and Jobcentre Plus. It is a confusing landscape for both young people and employers.
7.2. Current evidence, based on self-assessment, in the State of the Nation 2020 report suggests the quantity and quality of careers provision available to young people in England is improving but there is still a lack of resources to deliver high-quality provision, resulting in a failure to target those most in need of support.
7.3. For example, despite there being a ‘critical skills deficit’ in the constructions sector, a survey by housebuilder Redrow found that half of 16 to 21 year-olds have never thought about a career in construction and only one in five young people are getting high-quality careers advice at school.
7.4. The Youth Voice Census found that the offer of careers support and the level of information provided to pupils is dependent upon the pupils’ age, gender, eligibility for free school meals or additional needs. Likewise, the pathways and opportunities discussed with pupils in school, college and sixth forms differ. For example, young men are more likely to be informed about vocational pathways while young women are encouraged towards academic routes. Those with additional needs are less likely to be informed about all the available options. Just over half (52 per cent) of those with additional needs had the option of going to university discussed with them, compared to 59 per cent of those without additional needs.
7.5. As leaders of place, local government is best placed to have oversight and plan the local offer to ensure quality and consistency in careers provision. With greater powers and resources, local government can be enabled to co-design and co-commission with The Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) and the National Careers Service (NCS) a more relevant careers offer, determine and challenge local careers provision for consistency; and ensure that the careers offer meets the needs of employers and all young people.
7.6. Councils are already working with schools and business to join up and improve the national careers offer. For example:
7.7. During the pandemic many young people have found had their studies at school or college paused or partially continued digitally. This has meant that many have not had access to face-to-face careers advice and guidance support to make an effective post- 16 transition to the next stage. In addition, many leavers have also missed out on the personal development curriculum, including employer interaction through work experience, which is fundamental to building skills and employability. It is vital to have a blend of face-to-face and online provision. There are many examples of best practice initiatives where councils have created online hubs for careers guidance and training opportunities:
7.8. Despite being required to secure independent and impartial careers guidance for their students and support them to effectively transition into post-16 EET, schools do not have dedicated funding for these services and stretched school budgets often undermine schools’ ability to provide quality careers advice.
7.9. To address this, the Government should provide local government dedicated careers and transition support funding for secondary schools (and academies). This dedicated funding would allow schools to fund a small team of careers and employer engagement professionals in each school, or to pool with other schools in the local area to provide a shared expert resource at a local level and help councils to work with schools to better target those at risk of becoming NEET.
8. What more needs to be done to ensure parity of esteem between vocational and academic study in the jobs market and society? How can funding play a role in this?
8.1. The traditional academic route is not appropriate for all post-16 students. Apprenticeships and T Levels both offer a range of vocational skills from Business Administration to Construction. Moreover, apprenticeships give young people the opportunity to earn whilst learning, and T Levels combine learning with the opportunity to gain practical experience through an industry placement.
8.2. However, there are significant disparities in the funding for different pathways in post-16 education. For example, the funding rates for 16 to 19-year-olds are lower than those for secondary schools (pre-16) and higher education. Moreover, the rate of funding for full- time 18-year-old students is lower than that for full time 16- and 17-year-olds students. This includes students who did not achieve grades 4 or 5 and above at GCSE, (grade 4 is a 'standard pass' and grade 5 a 'strong pass') and would, therefore, need more time and support to achieve a level 3 qualification.
8.3. These discrepancies in funding have become even more critical this year as there has been an increase in the take-up of post-16 places and more young people are expected to need three years of study at level three in courses starting this year than in previous years, due to the learning young people have missed during the pandemic.
8.4. Addressing these discrepancies in funding was not covered in the Skills for jobs: lifelong learning for opportunity and growth White Paper that was published in January 2021. Even if the ambitions contained in the Skills for Jobs Further Education White Paper are realised, it will still leave funding silos, for example, the academic to T Level route, that will make it difficult for young people who might need to change track in the course of their studies. It could also separate technical education and skills from other elements of business support and local planning, with any possible benefits of cross-funding to maximise the return on public investment being at risk or substantially reduced.
8.5. While funding is clearly important, parity of esteem is equally significant. To achieve this, it is vital to build confidence among four distinct audiences:
8.6. The phased approach to introducing T Levels means that in the current academic year, the number of educational settings (schools and colleges) that are offering T levels and the number of students taking them up is very low. We will have a clearer picture of the success of the initiative after 2024 following the full rollout.
8.7. One of the major barriers in the take-up of T Levels is that their introduction has coincided with the Government’s programme of qualification reforms. The Government’s decision to exclusively fund A levels, T Levels and Apprenticeships and promote them through performance measures, while removing funding for BTEC courses that compete with them, will only limit young people’s choices in qualifications. Reducing the options available to young people may result in fewer young people deciding to take up courses which has the potential to have long-term impact on the economy, through the loss of skills and talent.
8.8. The LGA recognises that T Levels are pivotal for councils and employers for addressing skills shortages and gaps, and to develop a pipeline of a skilled workforce, and is delivering a pilot programme to promote T Levels industry placements within councils and is also working to capture sectoral best practice.
8.9. The LGA has produced a set of guiding principles to ensure the success of T Level implementation for young people, employers, and the economy:
8.10. To raise awareness and boost the number of young people starting a T Level course, the Government should:
9. What lessons can be learned by current and previous youth labour market policy interventions and educational approaches, both in the UK and in other countries?
9.1. The Government’s recent investment in skills and measures to create jobs, apprenticeships and opportunities for young people are positive steps. However, these programmes have an even greater chance of success if they are localised, by building on local intelligence and delivery models and working in partnership with local government, employers and providers. Local programmes tend to be more flexible and are therefore able to rapidly respond to changes to meet local needs.
9.2. Labour market interventions, such as the Expanded Youth Offer, Traineeships, Kickstart Scheme and expansion of the Work and Health Programme need to be linked to other local services where more integrated and cross-cutting support is required (e.g. physical health, mental health, and homelessness). This approach would deliver better outcomes for individuals than standalone interventions, as many job seekers experience mental and physical health-related barriers to employment, as well as other issues associated with long periods of unemployment, including a lack of confidence, skills or experience.
9.3. Councils have demonstrated their ability to effectively convene and coordinate local partners to provide an integrated employment and skills service that is client-centred, with a personalised approach. For example, the devolved Youth Contract to Leeds City Council, Wakefield and Bradford Council succeeded in supporting 57 per cent of users into education, employment or training, outperforming the nationally contracted provision which supported just 27 per cent. Derbyshire County Council has developed the ‘I-Step up Re-engagement Programme’ to address a gap in transition support and provide the wraparound provision for young people. Since the start of the programme, a total of 72 young people have taken part with 71 per cent progressing to positive destinations. It is estimated that the I-Step up programme so far in its lifetime has generated £523,804 of social value, with a total investment of around £117,000 and a ratio of 4.5:1 in terms of return on investment.
9.4. The current incentives on offer including additional payments for employers to take on new apprentices, whilst welcome, are short-term measures which mean that it is difficult for businesses and providers to plan for the longer term. New initiatives like Kickstart have created much-needed demand in the labour market. We need to build on this and create more quality jobs including through Kickstart and a sustainable longer-term approach.
9.5. The Government should seize the opportunity to support an inclusive recovery with a focus on greater community benefit that eliminates vulnerable and low paid employment. During the crisis, it is the low paid forms of employment that have suffered the most across the country, with low paid workers in London bearing the greatest impact.
9.6. It is well established that short periods of unemployment often lead to a deeper issue of long-term unemployment with its ‘scarring’ effect.
10.1. The recent crisis has had a significant impact on several sectors and their supply chains. Some sectors have experienced major impacts during lockdown, for example, manufacturing and construction, while others have experienced increased demand as a result of the crisis, including health and social care, logistic, personal protective equipment (PPE) manufacturing, and digital to name a few, present a number of job opportunities.
10.2. As we look towards a green economic recovery, jobs in low-carbon sectors look to be an area of growth potential and increased demand. LGA commissioned analysis by Ecuity, estimates that there could be 700,000 direct total jobs in England’s low-carbon and renewable energy economy by 2030, up from 185,000 in 2018. Between 2030 and 2050, the low-carbon workforce could increase by a further 489,000, taking the total number of jobs to more than 1.18 million by 2050.
10.3. Nearly half of these green jobs will be in clean electricity generation and providing low- carbon heat for homes and businesses, including manufacturing wind turbines, installing solar panels and installing heat pumps. Around 40 per cent of jobs will be involved in installing energy efficiency products, such as insulation, lighting and control systems; providing low-carbon services, including financial, legal and IT; and producing alternative fuels, such as bioenergy and hydrogen. The remainder will be directly involved in manufacturing low-emission vehicles and the associated infrastructure.
10.4. Localising and devolving skills investment, back to work support and a job guarantee is critical for councils, who are driving the climate change agenda locally, and they can work with businesses and education providers to ensure everyone benefits from this expected demand for green jobs. We want to work with Government, employers and providers to create green apprenticeship opportunities for young people as part of this green investment package.
10.5. Our Work Local and jobs and skills recovery integrated employment and skills offer sets out how this can be achieved. The Government should provide full funding and the right powers for councils to grasp the opportunity to not just recover from this pandemic but to go further and address the stark inequalities the virus has exposed, develop a green recovery, address skills gaps and rebuild the economy so that it benefits everyone.
10.6. Many councils are already leading innovative work in growth sectors, for example, The Helping Londoners Into Good Work Mission, which forms part of the London Recovery Programme, has identified four sectors that will be critical to the recovery: digital; health and social care; green economy; and creative and cultural industries. These are all likely to be key growth sectors for London in the years ahead and will therefore provide emerging job opportunities for Londoners, including young people. For example, film production generated £1.3 billion of inward investment spend in London in 2019. Major development of new film and TV studios are planned, including a £110 million studio in Barking & Dagenham, which will create 1,200 jobs and contribute £35 million a year to the east London economy.
10.7. Waltham Forest Council has partnered with local providers on the Green Energy Skills Training Alliance, which delivers training in retrofitting. However, as retrofitting work is largely dependent upon government funding, such as the Green Homes Grant, greater long-term clarity is therefore needed over funding for decarbonisation schemes to ensure greater certainty over the skills demand for the future.
11.1. For too long employment and skills support has been centrally driven and often failed to meet and respond to local need. Increased and better-targeted skills investment, channelled through councils and combined authorities working in tandem with businesses and education providers, is needed to train and retrain young people to move into jobs. This is a unique opportunity to Re-think local to unlock the full potential of local and national partners across the country to support economic recovery.
11.2. Moving beyond recovery and thinking ahead to the Devolution and Recovery White Paper, our Work Local model provides a framework for an integrated and devolved employment and skills system. Combined authorities and groups of councils, working in partnership with local and national partners, would have the powers and funding to plan, commission and oversee a joined-up service. Bringing together advice and guidance, employment, skills, apprenticeships and business support for individuals and employers. This should be used as a blueprint for skills and employment devolution that works for all people and places.
11.3. Based on analysis of an anonymised medium-sized combined authority, an integrated, Work Local model could lead to additional fiscal benefits for a local area of £280 million per year, with a benefit to the economy of £420 million. This would be associated with an additional 8,500 people leaving benefits, an additional 3,600 people achieving Level 2 skills, and an additional 2,100 people achieving Level 3 qualifications.
7th May 2021