The Scottish Approach to Employability - 5 October 2021
Letter from the Minister for Just Transition, Employment and Fair Work to the Convener - 5 October 2021
Dear Convener,
NO ONE LEFT BEHIND – THE SCOTTISH APPROACH TO EMPLOYABILITY
I am writing to update the Committee on progress the Scottish Government is making with our approach to transforming employability to be more person-centred, tailored and responsive to the needs of individuals and local labour markets.
I am sure the Committee understands that employability provision is pivotal in supporting those who are most at risk from the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 crisis and is essential in supporting Scotland’s economic recovery and tackling the inequalities in Scotland’s labour market.
No One Left Behind sees a departure from nationally commissioned programmes offering specific support for a time limited period to a more localised commissioning approach, which supports local service delivery and a holistic package of support tailored to individual needs to drive better outcomes for individuals who want help to find work.
The first stage of implementation commenced in April 2019 when ‘Activity Agreements’ and ‘Scotland’s Employer Recruitment Incentive’ ceased and were replaced by a local allocation of No One Left Behind investment across the 32 local authority areas.
From 1 April 2022, we will proceed with further implementation of No One Left Behind. This means the employability programmes Community Jobs Scotland and Employability Fund will cease with funding transferring to No One Left Behind local governance arrangements.
This local governance approach is in line with Christie Commission principles and allows Local Government, statutory bodies including Skills Development Scotland, Department for Work and Pensions, Colleges, NHS, the third sector and business representatives to work together with local communities to design and deliver services that best meet both individual and labour market / business aspirations in each local area.
We remain committed to working with partners in the public, private and third sector as we prepare for this change to ensure continuity of support and access to employability services for individuals.
I look forward to updating the Committee further on progress.
If Committee members would like to find out more about No One Left Behind, I encourage them to get in touch with Local Employability Partnerships in their area to find out how they are preparing for implementation of the next phase. Contact details for local employability leads can be found at the following link:
https://www.employabilityinscotland.com/local-employability-services/
I hope the above is helpful to the Committee.
RICHARD LOCHHEAD