Treasury and Resources
Ministerial Decision Report
Allocation of fiscal stimulus funding for ADVANCE to work (Plus) 2011
- Purpose of Report
To enable the Minister for Treasury and Resources to approve a request by the Department for Education Sport and Culture (ESC) in respect of additional funding for the Advance to Work Plus (20+ year olds) and Careers Strengthening to enable both schemes to continue beyond January 2011, until September 2011.
- Background
The Advance to Work Plus (20+ year olds) scheme was established by the Department for Education, Sport and Culture (“ESC”) in the summer of 2010. It established a scheme of employer led training courses for jobseekers of 20+ years of age by way of a more concentrated programme of vocational training, while also gaining full time work experience. Courses run by the scheme so far have attracted jobseekers between 20 and 50 years of age, who appear to require basic training around confidence, interview skills and CV writing. The length of time delegates had been unemployed prior to the scheme varied between 2 and 19 months, with an average of 11 months. The scheme provided training along side specific administration training such as IT packages, office skills and other professional training as well as a five week work placement.
Careers Strengthening (CS) was established by ESC in June 2009, and is focused in 3 areas:
- Additional Advisor capacity
- Project/events co-ordinator
- Funding of training/research
Additional Advisor capacity has provided extra capacity for individual one-to-one appointments with a drop in advisor and has allowed Careers Jersey to provide targeted workshops for job seekers resulting in an increase in the usage of the learning area. The Project/events co-ordinator has particular responsibility for Job Fairs, which taken place 4 times a year. A “Back to work” event has also been held with the intention of brining people together with agencies who may also be able to provide help and support to job seekers. CS have been able identify areas of the Finance industry where recruitment is taking place (Trust & Compliance) and provide courses which focus training on skills required as well as other jobseekers, office and professional skills.
This gives rise to need to provide targeted training and guidance for those aged 20 and over who are not able to benefit from the Advance to Work scheme. ESC has together with the Skills Board, prepared a detailed bid submission to continue a successful scheme which provides training and development opportunities for those aged 20 and above, on a short term basis aiming to get people into the available employment opportunities quickly.
Providing additional opportunities for training during an economic downturn should deliver long term economic benefits through a more highly educated and skilled workforce, as well as the stimulus benefits in the short term. This was recognised in the Proposition for the Economic Stimulus Plan (P55/2009), including the fact that any skills and training initiatives are intended to provide longer term benefits despite potentially delivering weaker impacts initially than other types of project (such as construction or civil infrastructure projects).
- Evaluation Process and Results
In September 2010, green light funding was obtained to develop more employer-led training courses for jobseekers of 20+ years of age by way of a more concentrated programme of vocational training and work experience similar to the Advance to Work Programme.
Administration and Retail courses were launched in 2010, enabling delegates to gain work experience with employers, while also attending training and mentoring courses focusing on the specifics required by each discipline. Delegates, had all been unemployed for some time, and all required basic training around confidence, interview skills and CV writing, along side administration training such as IT packages, office skills and other professional training.
At the end of the Administration scheme, 7 of the 14 participants remaining had been offered paid employment either with their placement employer or as a direct result of their training and experience on the scheme. At the end of the Retail scheme, 7 of the 16 participants had been offered paid employment. Overall, this is a 46% success rate. All delegates gave excellent feedback of how the scheme had made a real difference to their job seeking and self esteem. The combination of training and work placements was welcomed by delegates and employers alike.
As part of the Careers Strengthening, a training course was developed for Trust Administration and Compliance, where 16 of the 40 delegates were offered paid employment as a result of the scheme, a 40% success rate.
Both schemes have proved highly successful in giving job seekers the confidence and vocational skill to apply for and obtain jobs in areas of activity required by employers. The offer of training opportunities to job seekers also brought benefits to Social Security Staff in that they were able to identify recipients of benefit who appeared unprepared to make the effort to improve their skills in order to obtain employment.
- Recommendation from the Fiscal Stimulus Funding Group
The Fiscal Stimulus Steering Group recommends that the Minister for Treasury and Resources allocates funding of £393,650 to the Department for Education, Sport and Culture to enable the continuation of both Advance to Work Plus and Career Strengthening schemes until September 2011.
- Reason for Decision
A discretionary fiscal stimulus allocation from the Stabilisation Fund of £44m has already been approved. The projects meet the key criteria for fiscal stimulus being timely, targeted and temporary. They will benefit local individuals and help achieve the third and fourth objectives of the fiscal stimulus; preparing the foundations for economic recovery through a more highly skilled workforce and achieving longer term economic benefits as well as fiscal stimulus benefits in the short term. The £393,650 allocation to the projects, will enable ESC to continue to help people of all ages improve their skills and gain qualifications during the recession when there are fewer employment opportunities available.
- Resource Implications
Both of these schemes will involve additional headcount, all costs for which are included in the allocated funds. Additional headcount of 7 (6 FTE) will be on short-term contract between January and September 2011.
Report author : Fiscal Stimulus Programme Manager | Document date : 23rd November 2010 |
Quality Assurance / Review : Deputy Treasurer | File name and path: l:\treasury\sections\corporate finance\ministerial decisions\dss, wrs and sds\2010-0164 - fiscal stimulus - award of funding for highlands college - np\wr - fiscal stimulus - award of funding for highlands college - np.doc |
MD sponsor : Interim Treasurer of the States |
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