Employability & Skills Scotland

Hazel MathiesonHead of National Operations

18th September 2013

Skills Development Scotland

Intended Outcomes from EF

• Improved efficiency from new model for commissioning of pre-employment provision

• Improved positive progression from nationally funded employability training towards and into employment

• Provision focused on client need and responsive to local labour market demand

• Participants better able to demonstrate their skills to employers

Skills Development Scotland

Skills Development Scotland

Progress to date• From June, EF Starts have been steadily increasing.

• Split by Stage at end of P4

– Stage 2 – 24.5%

– Stage 3 – 46.6%

– Stage 4 – 28.8%

• Split by age at end of P4

– 16/17 – 61.8%

– 18-24 – 19.5%

– 25+ - 18.7%

• Just over 10% of total starts to date are College starts.

• Many new providers have taken time to source premises/staff.

• Too early to comment on outcomes/outputs.

• Some issues identified with suitability of referrals.

Skills Development Scotland

Review of referral process

- Support referral organisations in Core Skills Assessment

- Work with referral organisations to identify what works

- Share best practice

- Feed into the EF formative evaluation

Skills Development Scotland

Local Provider Forums

• Across the country mixed picture

• Some limited in scope and membership

• Some in need of revival

• Some areas have never had one

• Picture is improving

Skills Development Scotland

Why Have a Provider Forum?

• Enable providers to network

• Share best practice

• Share expertise

• Keep up to date on employability policy developments

• Improve outcomes for participants

• Improve quality of provision across the board

• Ensure that provision fits with pipeline

• Support partnership working

• Review performance

Skills Development Scotland

Membership and who leads?

• All organisations delivering learning and employability provision• Local Authority• SDS• Department of Work and Pensions• Local Employability Partnership • All training providers including

Private sector Third sector

SDS will offer support to, initiate/revive/re-invigorate but ...The LEP must take ownership

Skills Development Scotland

Certificate of Work Readiness

• A qualification, developed by SDS, to help young people prove to employers that they are work ready

• A minimum of 190 hours work experience for the young person to complete and additional time spent with a training provider to develop their skills

• Made up of 5 SQA units including the SDS customised “Practical Work Place Skills” Unit

• Employers being central in assessing the young person throughout the work experience

• SCQF Credit Rated

Skills Development Scotland

Key Points for Review of Commissioning of EF (Internal & External)

• Good Example of partnership working• Clearer demand from LEP’s required – but very useful

exercise• Timescales too tight.• Earlier clarity on policy guidelines for a new programme.• Potential “conflict of interest” in decision making process

– need more transparency.• Introduce funding which is not annual.• Further training/briefing for all involved.

Skills Development Scotland

Challenges Going Forward

• Improving understanding of local needs/opportunities e.g local prospectus, Regional Skills Assessments going forward.

• Need to understand impact of work programme leavers on EF.

• Sharing information

• Conflict of interest.

Skills Development Scotland

• Questions