DES0007

Written evidence submitted the by Co-op Group

1. Introduction

1.1.       The Co-op is the UK’s largest consumer co-operative, with 4.6 million active members and a presence in every postal district in the country. We are a major food retailer with 2,500 stores of our own and a major food wholesaler servicing a further 5,300 stores made up of 1,300 shops owned by independent co-operative societies and 4,000 more independents including NISA and Costcutter shops.

1.2.       We are also the largest funerals provider in the UK; the largest probate provider; and we provide life planning services and sell insurance products.  Our businesses are all UK-based and our main support centre is in Manchester. We employ 63,500 colleagues, more than 55,000 of whom work in our Retail business.

1.3.       We have publicly welcomed the action taken by Government to support business during the pandemic. The Government has explicitly prioritised jobs via its ‘Plan for Jobs’ and objectives for a jobs-led recovery. We welcome the proposed reforms to post-16 education. As a champion of social mobility, the Co-op wants to see that all young people have a fair and equal chance, irrespective of where they live or their background, to develop vocational skills and enable them to unlock and reach their potential in later life.

1.4.       The challenge of economic recover for the UK is significant. However, we believe that a truly collaborative approach between businesses, local education providers and the government can make a difference to young people’s education and skills.

1.5.       As an industry leader in providing apprenticeships to 1,200 colleagues across the Co-op Group, we’ve seen the energy, enthusiasm and new ways of thinking that apprentices bring to work with them and their contributions help us achieve a better way of doing business.

1.6.       The Co-op publicly committed to recruit 150 young people for the Kickstart scheme and have an aim that 50% will move into a permanent role with us after their placements end. We are in favour of any initiative that supports people into the workplace, particularly young people given the disproportionate impact of COVID, and are already co-operating with the Department for Work and Pensions to inform the continuous improvement of the programme and the experience of participants. We have sought to offer placements in locations where we believe there is most acute need, informed in part by the insight provided by the Co-op's Community Wellbeing Index[1]. 

2. Co-op Experience of the Kickstart Programme

2.1.       By working in partnership with Government, all employers can do more to deliver the opportunities for career progression that are needed by individuals and communities. It’s clear that skills initiatives must reflect needs at a local, and even community level. Making the skills agenda work will require true co-operation between government, local employers and education providers to ensure that young people develop skills that add value to local businesses, and therefore their local economy. Successfully embedding a framework where this can happen will be key to future success.

2.2.       The changing structure of the UK labour market since the creation of Kickstart has undoubtedly impacted all of those involved in the scheme. When the scheme was announced by the Chancellor in July 2020 there was real concern that as a result of the pandemic of levels of youth unemployment would significantly increase to as high as 10% in Q2 2020 – these has, however, not materialised with OBR predictions of a peak of 6.5% in Q4 2021.

2.3.       It is significantly easier for the target audience of 16-24 year olds to gain full time, permanent employment than had been anticipated in July 2020, and this has impacted on the ability of many employers, including the Co-op to both recruit and retain employees.  At the current time the Co-op is experiencing acute labour shortages in many parts of our business (particularly logistics) and more broadly in our supply chains (particularly food production and farming).

2.4.       For any employment scheme to work, particularly in large organisations, employers and Government should work together to co-create processes that work effectively for both parties. This worked particularly well when the Co-op re-shaped the recruitment process with the Department for Work and Pensions, enabling our in-house resourcing experts to advertise direct to market and improve our application rate.  Not only did this free up Job Coach capacity, but we were also able to share resources such as the Co-op career development hub [2].

2.5.       As a large employer with a nationwide presence we would welcome a standard route to market for candidates. This would provide consistency in support and guidance for employers and enable job centres to forecast Job Coach capacity. 

3. Young Voice, Employment Schemes and Future Government Policy

3.1.       In addition to collaboration with employers, future employment schemes should consider seeking the views of young people to shape policy development and approach.  The Co-op’s recent research report, Covid, the shadow on a young generation? [3] demonstrates, young people have great aspirations and are clear on their expectations of Government to help them achieve these goals. Involving them in decision making is key to understanding how they can be supported to thrive and prosper post pandemic, particularly those who have been most disproportionately impacted.  

3.2.       In this research young people told us they would support:

-          Youth Hubs in local areas to support young people with their education/training and careers;

-          A ‘Youth Productivity Index’ using data to measure activity and progress of young people to help the Government understand where to focus or invest money;

-          Personalised and holistic support for young people who have had 6 months or more out of education/ employment/training and for those most at risk of long-term unemployment;

-          A government-wide ‘Young Person’s Strategy’ focused on education/training and employment, influenced by young people, so their voices/experiences/ideas are included in the areas that impact them;

-          Compulsory employability and life skills taught at school during the period after GCSEs and A-Levels;

-          Education and training opportunities based on what skills are in demand and likely to be needed in future by young people where they live; and

-          Employment and training opportunities through apprenticeships for 16 to 24-year-olds.

4. The challenges and risks DWP may face in delivering value for money in this area in the coming years.

4.1.       We recognise the scale of the investment made by the Government in the Plan for Jobs. By working in partnership with Government, all employers can do more to deliver the opportunities that are needed by individuals and communities. It’s clear that skills and employment initiatives must reflect needs at a local, and even community level. Making the agenda work will require true co-operation between government, local employers and education providers to ensure that young people develop skills that add value to local businesses, and therefore their local economy. Successfully embedding a framework where this can happen will be key to our national success.

4.2.       We believe that objective evaluation and continuous improvement will be essential in delivering value for money and ensuring that opportunities benefit those with the most to gain. Continuing engagement and co-creation with employers should be a key component of the ongoing strategy to mitigate risk and deliver a joined-up approach to the various initiatives such as Kickstart and others that form the Plan for Jobs.

December 2021