Agenda item

Report of the Director of Economic Development

Chris Grocock, Employment and Skills Officer, presented his report on the Area 4 Jobs Plan, highlighting the following points:

(a)  one of the Council manifesto pledges was to reduce unemployment in Nottingham by 20%. This has now been achieved and the figure for Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) claimants in October was 4.4%. This is due both to Council initiatives and the upturn in the economy. There are however still many barriers for those who wish to work;

(b)  the area jobs plans aim to decentralise the work to reduce employment, and the Area 4 jobs plan in particular uses trend analysis to identify the top priorities within each ward of Area 4;

(c)  the key objectives of the plan for 2014/15 are:

·  increase employment rate of the working age population;

·  increase the number of adults with skills;

·  lead and deliver a Community Coordination Strategy for employment and training;

·  deliver a programme of community recruitment and information events;

(d)  some of the targets are aspirational and may be carried forward into future years;

(e)  Castle Cavendish has been appointed to be the lead for the jobs plan in Area 4, and will:

·  appoint the necessary staff to engage with local communities;

·  develop Community Jobs Plans;

·  support recruitment to job opportunities and pre-recruitment training;

·  work with partners to develop and deliver bespoke provision relevant to priority groups for the area

·  work with programme providers to engage/develop local solutions.

Van Henry and Blair Lawrence-Broughton, Castle Cavendish, then gave a presentation on the delivery of the area jobs plan within Area 4, highlighting the following points:

(f)  the project is aimed at 18-24 year olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEET). It aims to improve the work-readiness and employability of local young people, by increasing employment opportunities, reducing the stresses associated with being young and unemployed, and removing the complex barriers to work;

(g)  there are 3 main ways that the service can be accessed:

·  through the DWP, initially as a referral to Futures and then to Step into Work;

·  self-referrals by approaching the offices direct. The accessible location above Kemet FM on Alfreton Road and the open-door policy makes this easier;

·  referrals from other agencies such as local advice centres, the youth offending team or community centres;

(h)  the total number of young people who self-engaged with the programme is 27, compared with 20 who have come via the DWP;

(i)  in Area 4 there have so far been 2 young people who have successfully gone into further training, 3 who have gone into an apprenticeship and 3 who have gone into employment;

(j)  the Step Into Work programme offers 120 hours of support, which can be accessed in small chunks as necessary. It can also offer practical support such as transport, clothing or license costs. A robust assessment process is undertaken to establish each young person’s needs and to tailor an individual support package with other agencies. The programme is driven by the young person and can be flexible and adaptable. It begins with engagement and action planning and finishes with qualification and transition into employment;

(k)  if young people are interested in self-employment, support can also be provided to gain suitable qualifications. Advice can also be provided about support from other agencies such as the Prince’s Trust;

(l)  Castle Cavendish runs 5 job clubs in Area 4, supporting people to find and apply for jobs. A ‘pop-up jobshop’ which can be set up anywhere in the community to engage with local residents, is also popular. A community jobs fair was organised at The Bridge Centre, Hyson Green and another is planned for March 2015. Events in the local area enable local people to access job opportunities easily and remove the barrier of travelling into the city centre;

(m)Castle Cavendish will be working closely with a range of employers across different sectors to determine a set of benchmarks for the entry-level positions within their areas of work. These benchmarks will be the backbone of the training programme.

Committee members and others in attendance made the following comments:

(n)  members were supportive of the programme and were happy to see that it is community based as people often do not wish to travel to the city centre or other areas of the city;

(o)  it would be helpful if more detail could be given of the JSA claimant figures, broken down by age and showing what has been done with each.

RESOLVED to note the actions in the plan, and agree to a six monthly update by Castle Cavendish and Nottingham City Council’s Employment and Skills Team.