Future-Proofing the Skills System in the Glasgow City Region (Scotland, United Kingdom)

Report

OECD Reviews on Local Job Creation

16 September 2024

4. Enhancing labour market inclusion of the economically inactive

Abstract

This chapter examines the employability system in the Glasgow City Region, focusing on how the system is set up to support people furthest from the labour market into work. The chapter provides insights on the main characteristics of the economically inactive in the Glasgow City Region and analyses how they are supported through the local and regional employability system and the integration of employability services with other services such as basic skills, health and mental health services.

In Brief

The inactivity rate in the Glasgow City Region (GCR) is high, but many inactive in the region would like to work. The inactivity rate in GCR was 25% in 2023 – higher than the rest of the UK (21%), many cities in the UK and the OECD. After excluding students, the inactivity rate in GCR remains one percentage point above the Scottish average (17% vs. 16%). At the same time, 15% of the inactive would like to work. The inactivity rate differs across the eight Local Authorities in GCR, with the highest rate observed in North Lanarkshire (28%) and Inverclyde (27%), all above the UK average.
The primary cause of inactivity across all Local Authorities (LAs) in GCR is long-term sickness. In 2023, the leading causes of economic inactivity in GCR were long-term sickness (45%), followed by looking after family/home (30%) and retirement (13%). The high incidence of inactivity due to long-term sickness is likely driven both by the high share of people with a disability in the population and the high inactivity rate in this group. Across age, gender and ethnicity, the inactivity rate is exceptionally high for males aged 35 to 49 and females aged 50 to 64 and for individuals from an ethnic minority born outside of the UK. The inactivity rate in GCR decreases with education attainment.
LAs in Scotland play a leading role in engaging economically inactive and unemployed people through devolved employability programmes. Employability services are not a statutory requirement for Scottish LAs. Yet, their engagement in supporting those furthest from the labour market is strong and has been further strengthened following the devolution of responsibilities for employability services from the UK to the Scottish Government and the implementation of the No One Left Behind (NOLB) Programme – the first fully devolved employability programme in Scotland.
Despite potential benefits from stronger regional co-ordination, GCR plays a limited role in designing and delivering employability services. In GCR, employability services are mainly comprised of locally designed programmes delivered by the eight LAs. Administrative borders restrict the provision of services, and regional approaches to design and delivery have only been tested in a few instances, but they have had positive results. The region could consider the potential benefits of a more regionalised approach, e.g., drawing on experiences from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority in England.
The Scottish employability system operates in parallel with the UK Government’s Jobcentre Plus offices. Jobcentre Plus is a UK Government-funded national agency that helps people find jobs and provides income replacement benefits to those who are eligible (e.g Universal Credit). There is an overlap in target groups between the Scottish and UK systems, meaning that individuals are followed by multiple systems in parallel, and cross-referrals from Jobcentre Plus offices to LAs are common. Co-ordination between the two systems is hampered by differences in the approach to clients and a lack of data-sharing systems. Inspiration to develop more joined-up working methods across relevant authorities can be found, e.g. in France and Denmark.
The collection and use of labour market information (LMI) has increased in recent years. Still, there is a potential for LAs to exploit national, regional and local data further to guide outreach and programme design. LMI is available at Scotland’s national, regional and local levels to inform employability provision. Local data collection is guided by the Employability Measurement Framework introduced by the Scottish Government as part of the NOLB plan. Building on these sources, LAs could take a more data-driven approach to designing and targeting local employability programmes and support systematic evaluation.
Entry points and referral procedures are not entirely streamlined and connected at the local level, and some individuals risk falling between the cracks of the system. Introducing the Keyworker Model as part of the NOLB programme has simplified the client journey and streamlined the registration of individual-level data. Yet, the distinction between Keyworker Service Providers and other external providers remains vague, and individuals continue to enter the system without being registered and assigned to a Keyworker. Continued rollout of the Keyworker Model across LAs is essential to simplify and improve clients' journeys and avoid registration and data collection gaps. In addition, by drawing on experiences from Germany and the United States, LAs could strengthen outreach measures to provide services for those furthest from the labour market.
Third-sector organisations are vital for the Scottish employability and skills system. The third sector in Scotland comprises over 46 000 voluntary sector organisations, 6 000 social enterprises and 25 000 charities. With the decentralisation of funding for employability to the local level, third-sector organisations increasingly rely on LAs to secure financing for their activities. LAs could seek to streamline commissioning processes across funding streams, strengthen provider networks to enhance collaboration and engage third-sector organisations in decisions on local delivery.
Supporting the economically inactive often requires joined-up interventions that combine services from different policy areas (e.g. social, health, education and training services). In GCR, models for co-location of employability and health services are under development, including through local Employability Hubs. These are places where individuals can show up and get in contact with representatives from different services and providers. Building on international evidence and aligned with the NOLB approach, LAs should continue their efforts to build up and further develop the Employability Hubs.

Introduction

The inactivity rate in the Glasgow City Region is high, and many inactive would like to work. A high level of inactivity is a long-standing phenomenon in GCR. In 2023, the overall inactivity rate in GCR, at 25%, was higher than in the rest of the UK and many cities in the UK and the OECD. However, some improvement in the economic activity of GCR residents has been observed over the last two decades, with the inactivity rate decreasing from 27% in 2004. Despite these improvements, economic inactivity remains a fundamental challenge for the economy of the Glasgow City Region, including through pressure on local government finances through increased spending on social services and potentially limiting economic growth through lower labour market participation.

This chapter reviews skills and employability services for individuals furthest from the labour market, including those who are economically inactive. The first section provides an in-depth analysis of the characteristics of those furthest from the labour market in the Glasgow City Region. The following two sections provide an overview of Scotland's employability system in general and the Glasgow City Region more specifically and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the system to identify, reach out to and provide support for the economically inactive in the region. Section three analyses the provision of basic skills for those furthest from the labour market and the link between employability services and other services such as health and mental health services.

Who are the economically inactive in the Glasgow City Region?

The inactive population is diverse, and the barriers that inactive people face in entering the labour market vary. The inactivity rates differ across socio-economic groups and are relatively high among people with disabilities, ethnic minorities, women aged 50-64, men aged 35-49, and people with lower educational attainment. This section further characterises the inactive population in the GCR, focusing on the differences in disability status, gender, age, ethnicity, and level of education.

Long-term sickness

In the Glasgow City Region, a high share of the working-age population is inactive due to long-term sickness. In 2023, the primary cause of inactivity in GCR was long-term sickness (45%), followed by looking after family/home (30%) and retirement (13%) (Figure 4.1). In 2023, 8% of 16-64-year-olds were inactive because of long-term sickness, two percentage points higher than the UK average. However, it should be noted that over the last two decades, the share of the working-age population that was inactive for this reason decreased in GCR from 10% in 2004.

While long-term sickness is the primary cause of inactivity in all Local Authorities of the Glasgow City Region, the phenomenon's scale varies. In 2023, in North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire and Inverclyde, long-term sickness was the cause of inactivity for more than half of the inactive, well above the UK average (38%) (Figure 4.2). In contrast, 36% of the inactive in Glasgow City were long-term sick. In South Lanarkshire, a high percentage of the working-age population was inactive due to long-term sickness despite the low inactivity rate.

Figure 4.2. Long-term sickness is the primary cause of inactivity in all Local Authorities of the Glasgow City Region

Share of the 16-64-year-olds who are inactive based on the reason for inactivity, excluding students, 2023

In the Glasgow City Region, the high incidence of inactivity due to long-term sickness is likely driven both by the high share of people with a disability in the population and the high inactivity rate in this group. Almost 30% of the population of GCR had a disability in 2023, which was five percentage points higher than the UK average and two percentage points above the Scottish average (Figure 4.3). Yet, the inactivity rate among those with a disability in GCR, at 56%, was below both the UK average (60%) and the Scottish average (58%). In the EU, the inactivity rate among those with a disability was more than ten percentage points lower than in GRC (45%) but ranged from 23% in Czechia and 27% in Finland to 87% in Bulgaria and 77% in Greece (Eurostat, n.d.[1]). However, comparisons across countries should be treated with caution, given that the categorisation of people with a disability may differ.

Figure 4.3. In the Glasgow City Region, there is a high share of people with a disability in the population and the inactivity rate in this group is also high

Gender and age

While the inactivity rate among women in the Glasgow City Region is higher than among men, the gender gap is relatively small compared to the UK and EU averages. In GCR more than one in five men is inactive. Like in the UK and EU, in GCR, women's inactivity rate is higher than men's (Figure 4.4). In 2023, 28% of women were inactive compared to 21% of men. However, the gender gap in inactivity, at 7 percentage points in GCR, was smaller than in the UK (8 percentage points) and the EU (10 percentage points). Compared to the UK, the inactivity gap is larger for males than females. The inactivity rate among women was three percentage points higher in GCR than the UK average but five percentage points lower than the EU average. A comparison to the UK and EU averages reveals that, in relative terms, males fare worse than women for economic inactivity in GCR. The inactivity rate of males in GCR is four percentage points higher than the UK average and one percentage point higher than the EU average.

Figure 4.4. While the inactivity rate among women in the Glasgow City Region is higher than among men, the gender gap is relatively small compared to the UK and EU averages

Inactivity rate, 15-64-year-olds, 2023

The Local Authorities in the Glasgow City Region differ regarding the relationship between gender and inactivity. In North Lanarkshire, the inactivity rate was higher than the UK average mainly for women in 2023 (Figure 4.5). In contrast, in Inverclyde, the difference between the inactivity rate and the UK average was driven purely by men. In East Renfrewshire, women had lower inactivity rates than the UK average, while the opposite was true for men.

Figure 4.5. In some Local Authorities in the Glasgow City Region, the inactivity rate among males is worryingly high compared to the UK average

Differences in the inactivity rate compared to the UK average, percentage points, 2023

The inactivity rate in the Glasgow City Region was higher than the UK average for males aged 35 to 49 and females aged 50 to 64. The inactivity rate in GCR increases with age. Among the 25- to 34-year-olds, 16% were inactive in 2023 (Figure 4.6). The inactivity rate increased to 29% for 50- to 64-year-olds. The inactivity rate in the youngest population group is 3.5 percentage points above the UK average. The inactivity gap differed in terms of age and gender. For women, the biggest gap in activity rate compared to the UK was among the 25-34-year-olds, while for men among the 35-49-year-olds, in both cases it was slightly less than four percentage points.

Figure 4.6. In the Glasgow City Region, the inactivity rate is particularly high among males aged 35 to 49 years and females aged 25 to 34 years, compared to the UK average

Inactivity rate by age and gender, 2023

Ethnicity and place of birth

In the Glasgow City Region, the inactivity rate among ethnic minority people was higher than among the white population compared to both the UK and Scottish averages. In 2023, 39% of the ethnic minority population was inactive, a fourteen percentage points higher share than for the white population (Figure 4.7). Ethnic minorities, regardless of their place of birth, were overrepresented among the inactive people, in comparison to both the Scottish and the UK averages. The inactivity rate of the white non-UK-born population (14%) was lower than for the white UK-born population (24%).

Figure 4.7. In the Glasgow City Region, the inactivity rate is high among ethnic minority people born outside of the UK

Inactivity rate, 15-64-year-old population, Glasgow City Region, 2023

Educational attainment

The inactivity rate in the Glasgow City Region decreases with educational attainment. The inactivity rate in 2023 was the highest for those without education, at 48% (Figure 4.8). This is twice as high as the UK average (24%) and 22 percentage points above the Scottish average. The inactivity rate was lower among university graduates (RQF level 4+), at 14% in 2023. This is slightly above the UK and the Scottish averages at 11% and 13% respectively. In addition, the inactivity rate was higher in GCR compared to the UK average for those with RQF3 (corresponding to Higher in the CfE) and RQF2 (corresponding to National 5 in the CfE) by five and seven percentage points respectively. Between 2008 and 2018, the inactivity rate among those without a university education was stable, but an increase has been observed since 2018. At the same time, the inactivity rate for university students has been decreasing since 2018.

Figure 4.8. In the Glasgow City Region, the inactivity rate for people without a qualification was twice as high as the UK average

Inactivity rate by educational attainment, 15–64-year-olds, 2023

Governing the employability system in Scotland – from national to local level

Employment services have traditionally been the responsibility of the UK government, but in recent years, the Scottish Government has gained increasing powers in this field. The Scotland Act of 2016 transferred new powers to the Scottish Government to provide employment support. Since the implementation of the Act in 2017, the Scottish Government has taken significant steps to develop Scotland’s devolved employment services, including the earlier temporary programmes Work First and Work Able Scotland, the first devolved employability programme Fair Start Scotland and the No One Left Behind programme. From the budget year 2022/2023, funding for employability services has been allocated directly to LAs, putting them at the centre of the delivery structure. In the following sections, the employability system in Scotland is analysed with a focus on the No One Left Behind plan.

Following the recent devolution of employability services, the Scottish Government is building up a Scottish approach to support those furthest from the labour market

With the adoption of the Scotland Act of 2016, the Scottish Government took over the responsibility for employability services for two groups: persons with disabilities and those at risk of long-term unemployment. The Scotland Act, based on recommendations given by the report of the Smith Commission in late 2014, sets out amendments to the Scotland Act 1998 and devolves further powers to Scotland (UK GOvernment, 2016[3]). The Act took effect in April 2017, when the first two transitional arrangements for devolved employability support were implemented: Work First Scotland and Work Able Scotland. These services supported over 9 000 people with health conditions and disabilities until April 2018, when Fair Start Scotland (FSS) was launched (Scottish Government, 2019[4]). Fair Start Scotland was Scotland’s first devolved employability programme, providing 12-18 months of voluntary, tailored, and person-centred pre-employment support across nine geographic areas in Scotland. From its launch to March 2023, there had been more than 57 000 starts on the programme and 20 013 job starts (Scottish Government, 2023[5]). The FSS programme was initially commissioned for three years but was extended to March 2024, when it was closed.

In March 2018, the Scottish Government published No One Left Behind: Next Steps for the Integration and Alignment of Employability Support in Scotland, which has since guided reforms of employability services in Scotland. With the No One Left Behind (NOLB) plan, the Scottish Government sets out six objectives for future employability services in Scotland to create a more joined-up employability system. These are: 1) a system that provides flexible and person-centred support, 2) is easier for people to navigate, 3) is better integrated and aligned with other services, 4) provides pathways into sustainable and fair work, 5) is driven by evidence, and 6) that supports more people to move into the right job, at the right time (Scottish Government, 2018[6]).

In November 2020, the Government published the No One Left Behind: Delivery Plan, which sets out the next phases of the work with the NOLB plan. Building on the Partnership Agreement for Employability signed by the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) in December 2018 (Scottish Government & Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, 2018[7]), the delivery plan emphasises the collective leadership of partners at national, regional and local levels to deliver more effective and joined-up employability support across Scotland. Among the critical next steps identified were the transfer of funding from national programmes into local governance, the increasing and sustained shift towards user engagement and service design, the development of a national Shared Measurement Framework, implementation of communication and engagement strategies and steps to integrate employability work with other public services (Scottish Government, 2020[8]).

Introduced in April 2019, the NOLB employability programme reflects a new approach to employability delivery, which moves away from funding and delivering separate and distinct employability programmes to a more flexible and localised approach. The NOLB employability programme is an all-age employability support service designed to help people prepare for employment, training, education or volunteering. The programme covers a broad range of target groups (including youth, persons with disabilities and long-term illness, parents, care leavers, refugees, ethnic minorities, people with convictions or offenders, the elderly and those resident in the most deprived areas). It is delivered locally directly by LAs or through a network of private and third-sector providers overseen by LAs.

Within the programme, Local Authorities are given the freedom and flexibility to target support where needed, based on the demands of the local labour market and the needs and aspirations of clients. All participants will receive support from a Keyworker who will work with them to develop an individual plan to help them achieve their goals (Employability in Scotland, 2024[9]). Clients can access various services, including volunteering, work placements, supported employment, mental health support, skills training, confidence building, CV development and job search support. The programme is voluntary, and individuals can access the programme through several referral routes, including self-referrals (Box 4.1).

Box 4.1. No One Left Behind (NOLB) programme – key features

Target groups: The target groups for NOLB are broad, covering individuals with a disability, people with convictions, care-experienced young people, single parents, minority ethnic people and people living in the most deprived areas in Scotland. It is an all-age employability service.
Referrals: Individuals can access the programme through self-referral or referral through various channels, including education providers, Local Authorities, third-sector organisations, Jobcentre Plus local offices, and other local services.
Participation requirements and success criteria: Individuals sign up for the programme voluntarily. They can access the support they require on an ongoing basis and engage and disengage at times that best suit their needs. The programme builds on a broad understanding of success, ranging from job outcomes to steps towards education or work.
The Keyworker model: Through the programme, individuals receive support from a Keyworker who is responsible for registering clients and guiding them through the system. The Keyworker co-operates with the client to develop an individual plan that includes activities designed to prepare participants for progression.
Providers: The primary providers of the programme are Local Authorities and external providers such as private and third-sector providers. External providers receive funding through commissioning or grant procedures.

Source: (Scottish Government, 2018[6]), No One Left Behind: Next Steps for the Integration and Alignment of Employability Support in Scotland, No One Left Behind: Next Steps for the Integration and Alignment of Employability Support in Scotland (employabilityinscotland.com),

Local Authorities play a vital role in the delivery of the NOLB programme and other employability services for the economically inactive

Both as a plan and an employability service, NOLB puts LAs at the centre of employability support, although providing employment services is not a statutory duty of local governments. The starting point for the NOLB plan is that LAs play a crucial role in developing and delivering employability services to address local labour market needs. This was reiterated in the Partnership Agreement for Employability between Scottish national and local governments, which states that the two parties will “work in partnership to shape employability provision nationally and to deliver it locally” (Scottish Government & Convention of Scottish Local Authorities, 2018[7]). Moreover, the Scottish and Local Government Employability Action Plan sets out a detailed framework for facilitating exchanges between the Scottish Government and local governments (Employability in Scotland, 2024[10]). Nevertheless, providing employability support is not a statutory duty of local government in Scotland (Ministry of Housing, 2018[11]).

Local Employability Partnerships (LEPs) guide the local implementation of the NOLB plan and programme. The LEPs, established in every LA, bring together a range of partners (including Skills Development Scotland (SDS), local representatives from the health sector, colleges, businesses, third sector, Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) (see Chapter 5), and the education sector). The LEPs are responsible for commissioning and providing services in line with local delivery plans. These plans are underpinned by a National Delivery Plan Framework published in 2021, which establishes expectations of what the local delivery plans should cover and supports LEPs in designing and delivering employability support that allows for local flexibility (Employability in Scotland, 2024[12]). The LEPs build on a long-standing tradition of partnership working in LAs. A recent evaluation showed that NOLB has further strengthened partnership working between employability stakeholders at the local level (Employability in Scotland, 2021[13]).

In addition to the LEPs, other measures have been developed at a national level to ensure national coherence in a system with a high degree of local flexibility. Vital elements to provide national coherence and support the design and delivery of local services are the Employability Customer Charter (a charter co-designed with users which sets out commitment and standards for what clients can expect from local employability services) (Scottish Government, 2022[14]), the Scottish Approach to Service Design (a framework to guide the design of user-centred public services) and the supporting Service Design Toolkit (Scottish Government, 2024[15]) and the Shared Measurement Framework (a framework to create a shared understanding of how to measure the impact of employability services; see Box 4.7) (Employability in Scotland, 2022[16]).

Data from the first years of NOLB shows that participants are relatively young compared to the FSS programme and that only a small minority of participants have a disability or are from an ethnic minority. Data on the NOLB programme is collected by LAs through the Shared Measurement Framework and is shared with the Scottish Government every quarter. From April 2019 to March 2023, 44 000 individuals started receiving support through NOLB. Of these, more than half (54%) were unemployed while 25% were economically inactive. Slightly less than two thirds (63%) were under 25, 29% were between 25 and 49, and only 8% were 50 or above. In total, 44% of the participants were female, and 55% were male. Ethnic minority groups accounted for 11% of the participants, and only 22% of participants had a disability (Figure 4.9). 15 941 individuals participated in NOLB in GCR between April 2019 and June 2023, which was 36% of all participants in Scotland. Around a third of these were residents in Glasgow City.

Figure 4.9. Characteristics of people starting on the “No One Left Behind” programme

Starts on programme in Scotland, April 2019 – June 2023

Implementation of the national employability system in the Glasgow City Region

In the Glasgow City Region, employability services are provided through a mix of programmes, providers and funding pots, often delivered through local partnerships. The approach to employability work varies across the eight LAs in GCR, and co-operation across administrative borders is limited. Funding comes mainly from the Scottish Government through the NOLB programme and the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). In most LAs, this is complemented by funding from their own resources and other local stakeholders such as charities. In the following sections, the employability system in GCR is analysed with a focus on 1) the division of work and funding between local and regional stakeholders, 2) co-operation with Jobcentre Plus offices overseen by the UK Government, 3) the use of labour market information (LMI) to target services; 4) measures to support outreach, registrations and referrals and 5) co-operation with the third sector.

The employability system in the Glasgow City Region is highly decentralised, with most funding being channelled directly from national to local governments

In the Glasgow City Region, employability programmes are made up mainly of locally designed programmes delivered by the eight Local Authorities. Following the spirit of the NOLB programme, each LA in GCR designs its own employability services delivered in-house or through partnership working or commissioning with Arms Length External Organisations (ALEOs), third sector organisations, private providers, colleges and Community Learning and Development (CLD) providers. Providers delivering programmes directly through the NOLB programme are called Keyworker Service Providers. These providers must apply the Keyworker model in their interactions with individuals and target a broad group of individuals (see Box 4.1). Most LAs have additional programmes in place targeting more specific sub-groups such as parents, youth (see Chapter 5), or persons with disabilities (Table 4.1).

In all Local Authorities, partnerships are vital for delivering employability services, but the LEPs take various forms, and their ability to guide and align local delivery varies. The primary purpose of the LEPs is to ensure that employability services remain focused on the interests of service users and reflect the principles outlined in the NOLB strategy. Across GCR, most partnerships meet monthly, meetings are led by the Local Authority Employability Lead and the LA acts as secretariat. Consulted stakeholders expressed that partnership meetings are generally well attended and that partners work well together, but the purpose and role of the different stakeholders could be better clarified to guide future work. This corresponds to findings from a recent self-assessment review of LEPs (Employability in Scotland, 2021[13]). Going forward, it could be helpful to map existing employability resources as a basis for partnership working and to follow the example of some LAs to develop sub-working groups that meet more regularly to discuss operational issues. In addition, stronger co-ordination of LEPs at the regional level through the Skills and Employment Portfolio Group or the suggested new Skills Delivery Group (see Chapter 3) could be helpful to facilitate knowledge-sharing and guide local work. LEPs could also take a stronger role in building local Employability Hubs (see below).

Funding for local employability services comes from various sources, with the NOLB programme and the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) as the primary funding pots. For the budget year 2022/2023, funding for employability services has mainly come from two sources: 1) the NOLB funding stream, which allocates funding to LAs directly from the Scottish Government, and 2) the UKSPF overseen by the UK Government and allocated to the LAs through GCR (Box 4.2). In contrast to previous funding distributed via the main European funds (e.g., the European Social Fund), these funding streams go directly to LAs, sidestepping the involvement of, for example, colleges, chambers of commerce, third-sector organisations, and, for the UKSPF, the Scottish Government.

Local Authority	Programme name	Target group	Provider name	Provider type
Glasgow City	Multiple programmes	Individuals of working age living in Glasgow City Council seeking employment, education or training	Jobs and Business Glasgow	ALEO
East Dunbartonshire	Employability and Learning Services	Individuals of working age living in East Dunbartonshire	Employability and Learning Services	In-house
East Renfrewshire	Multiple programmes	Individuals of working age living in East Renfrewshire who are seeking employment, education or training	WorkEastRen	In-house
West Dunbartonshire	Multiple programmes	Individuals who are working age living in West Dunbartonshire who are seeking employment, education or training	Working4U	In-house
Inverclyde	Employment Support Service	Individuals aged between 18 and 60 living in Inverclyde who are seeking employment	Inverclyde Community Development Trust	ALEO
	Progress Pathway	Individuals aged between 18 and 60 living in Inverclyde who are seeking employment and have a health, well-being and/or disability which is an additional barrier to gaining employment	Stepwell	Social enterprise (UK-wide providers)
	Inverclyde Advice and Employment Rights Centre	People in work who are experiencing difficulties with their employer	Inverclyde Advice and Employment Rights Centre	Third-sector organisation
	All in Inverclyde (Supported Employment)	Residents in Inverclyde who are 16+ and who have complex barriers to work	Enable Scotland	Third-sector organisation
North Lanarkshire	Routes to Work	Individuals of working age living in North Lanarkshire who are seeking employment or training	Routes to Work	ALEO
	Supported Employment and North Lanarkshire Industries	Individuals in North Lanarkshire facing barriers and requiring support to gain employment.	North Lanarkshire Councils Supported Enterprise	In-house
South Lanarkshire	Gateway to Employment	Individuals of working age living in South Lanarkshire who are seeking employment or training	Routes to Work South	ALEO
	Supported Employment	Adults and young people with additional support needs	SLC	In-house
	Upskilling	In-work upskilling and support for parents	SLC	In-house
	Making it Work	Parental employability support – keyworker, based training	Routes to Work South	ALEO
	Volunteering for employability	People engaging on any of the keyworker-based programmes above	VASLAN	Third-sector organisation
Renfrewshire	Multiple programmes	Individuals of working age living in North Lanarkshire who are seeking employment or training	Invest in Renfrewshire	In-house

Notes: The table presents an overview of selected employability programmes in each of the eight Local Authorities in the Glasgow City Region. It does not include employability programmes that target youth or parents. ALOE: Arms-Length External Organisation.

Box 4.2. The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF)

The UKSPF is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda, which aims to reduce the imbalances between areas and social groups across the United Kingdom. The fund provides GPB 2.6 billion for local investment over three years, from March 2022 to March 2025. It is intended as a “successor” to European funding (e.g. from the European Social Fund), with local governments as lead authorities. All areas of the UK receive an allocation from the Fund via a formula rather than a competition. The fund has three priorities: 1) Community and Place, 2) Supporting Local Businesses, and 3) People and Skills. The Glasgow City Region is the only region in Scotland that has adopted a regional approach to the UKSPF, which means that funding is allocated to the region instead of going directly to the Local Authorities. The region has developed its own formula to allocate funding across the Local Authorities based on various criteria (population density, skill levels, deprivation, degree of rurality, etc.). Over the three years, GCR will receive GBP 27 million. The region does not receive direct funding, but the Local Authorities have agreed that it can play a role in spending potentially unspent funding from Local Authorities, which should be pooled at the regional level over the programme period.

Source: UK Government (2022[17]), UK Shared Prosperity Fund: prospectus, UK Shared Prosperity Fund: prospectus - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

On the ground, LAs struggle with short-term funding streams and comprehensive and inconsistent national requirements for monitoring, reporting and evaluation. Each national funding stream comes with distinct monitoring, reporting and evaluation requirements and specifications for target groups. For LAs, it can be challenging to align these requirements to provide a seamless and integrated service offer based on local needs. Several LAs have chosen to buy support from external partners to provide administrative support for implementing and reporting national funds. In addition, LAs are struggling with the annual budget process, especially for the NOLB programme, which negatively impacts planning, resourcing, and staff turnover. This again negatively impacts service providers who struggle to deliver person-centred services due to the pressure of funding deadlines and clients who often must deal with multiple caseworkers due to high staff turnover.

Moving to multi-year budgeting practices for the NOLB programme (e.g., in a 3-year cycle aligned with the UKSPF) would strengthen delivery stability and help Local Authorities measure the impact of services over extended periods. In addition, simplifying and aligning reporting requirements across the two funding streams could reduce the administrative burden on LAs. Lastly, if all funding is combined into one single pot, this may support LAs to move closer to a “no wrong door approach” where individuals can access one coherent programme instead of finding their way through multiple programmes targeted at different sub-groups and providing access to different support services.

Another challenge with the existing funding model is that funding and, thus, support is restricted to the administrative borders of Local Authorities. One of the consequences of allocating funding directly to LAs is that support for individuals and employers is restricted to the administrative border of each local area. Yet, administrative borders are not always obvious for individuals and employers, especially in highly integrated labour market areas such as GCR (see Chapter 2). Ultimately, this can limit individuals’ access to specialised services and negatively impact the engagement of local organisations, which have to co-ordinate services with staff in each Local Authority, as well as employers who often look for workers beyond administrative borders. For now, only a employability programmes operate across one or more administrative borders and allow citizens or employers to access support in a wider geographical area. This is despite the region's relatively good transportation and commuting options, including through its public transport network. One of the few examples is Project Search, a placement-based programme for people with learning disabilities delivered in partnership between South Lanarkshire, North Lanarkshire and NHS (National Health Service) Lanarkshire.

Despite potential mutual benefits, the role of the Glasgow City Region in the design and delivery of employability services is limited

Until now, the Glasgow City Region has only played a limited role in the region's design and delivery of employability services. At the regional level, the Skills and Employment Portfolio Group facilitates collaboration around skills and employability services, which brings together a wide range of partners (see Chapter 3). Among other things, this group explores the added value from a regional approach to NOLB and seeks to progress collaborative employability models that support economic and business growth and fair work. The group has also overseen the implementation of three regional labour market projects piloted as part of the Glasgow City Region City Deal. The three projects (Working Matters, Youth Gateway and In Work Progression) were managed and co-ordinated at the regional level. The total programme funding of GBP 24.6 million was provided partly by the City Deal and partly by the LAs (Box 4.3).

Box 4.3. The Glasgow City Region’s labour market projects

As part of the Glasgow City Region’s City Deal, three regional labour market projects have been completed to support regional employment challenges.

Working Matters: Working Matter was a programme for residents in GCR receiving health-related benefits and who were far from the labour market. Through the programme, individuals got support to begin their journey back into employment. The programme ran from August 2015 to March 2019 and engaged over 3 000 individuals. Through the programme, individuals received an intensive and integrated package of employability support, including advice and guidance, CV and interview preparation, confidence building, housing support, health and mental-health-specific support and vocational skills training. An evaluation of the programme showed that clients had achieved substantial progress in mental health management, positive health interventions and financial management outcomes. In terms of employment and training outcomes, 28% had achieved training-related outcomes, 22% had attained a new qualification, and 14% had secured an employment-related outcome
Youth Gateway: Youth Gateway was an employment programme for young people (aged 16-24). The programme was led by Renfrewshire Council and delivered locally by each council’s employability team. The programme engaged more than 18 000 youth from the region (25% above the target) and helped more than 8 000 of these into sustained employment (61% above the target). Youth Gateway emphasised early engagement with employers and in-work support to ensure that jobs were sustained. The programme was not evaluated.
In Work Progression: In Work Progression was a pilot programme to support the training and development of staff in the care sector. The pilot supported businesses in improving their operations and, through this, supporting their staff. The pilot was delivered by a team of business advisers in Glasgow City Council but was available across the region. The support included a range of interventions delivered to businesses and employee training to support the progression of low-paid employees. The pilot met the amended target of engaging with 20 businesses, of which 15 remained engaged. Management information was provided by five of the 15 businesses. The information showed that during the project period, turnover increased (+28%), gross profits increased (+39%), employee numbers increased (+24%), the number of full-time employees increased (+44%), and the number of employees receiving training increased (+22%) for these five businesses.

Source: Glasgow City Council (2024[18]), In Work Progression, In Work Progression - Glasgow City Council. Glasgow City Region (2018[19]), Youth Gateway exceeds all targets, Youth Gateway programme exceeds all targets - Glasgow City Region. Murphy, Hanna et al. (2019[20]), Glasgow In-work Progression Pilot Evaluation, Learning and Work Institute, CHttpHandler.ashx (glasgow.gov.uk)

While regional collaboration has several potential benefits, Local Authorities are reluctant to pool funding and responsibilities for employability services at the regional level. Consultations with LAs have shown reluctance in some areas to strengthen the role of GCR in the employability field. Yet, previous experiences with the Glasgow City Region City Deal’s employability strand and experiences from the UK and other OECD countries such as Sweden (Box 4.4) have shown several potential benefits from inter-municipality or regional co-operation around the design and delivery of employability services. These include opportunities to fill gaps in the local provision, test new programmes or upscaling programmes that have proven successful, strengthen employer engagement to facilitate transitions into work, allow individuals to access services in a wider geographical area beyond local administrative boundaries, strengthen evaluation capacities, reduce administrative burdens e.g. related to compliance and monitoring, realise economies of scale and facilitate knowledge-sharing and peer learning across LAs.

Box 4.4. Examples of inter-municipality and regional co-operation on employability services

Greater Manchester Combined Authority (UK): Regional co-operation through devolution

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority is a UK City Region covering ten councils and more than 2.8 million citizens. The ten councils have worked together voluntarily for many years on issues such as transport, regeneration and attracting investments. This history of collaboration and the establishment of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority laid the groundwork for a series of devolution deals agreed upon with the UK Government. This again supported the development of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority Model of Unified Public Services, which aims to provide integrated and place-based services. The model is supported by the pooling of national funding streams through the Greater Manchester Reform Investment Fund, established with the UK Government in 2016. With the fund, the government agreed to combine several funding lines into a single Greater Manchester pot to invest alongside local funding in reforms.

Among the policy areas that have been devolved are employability, health, and skills, which the Greater Manchester Combined Authority has combined into one programme - the Working Well Programme – that seeks to provide an integrated service offer for individuals facing multiple challenges. The programme covers a range of sub-programmes and services, including the Work and Health Programme, the Pioneer Programme and the Specialist Employment Service. All services are designed or co-designed and commissioned by the combined authority on behalf of the ten councils. However, to ensure buy-in from and accountability to councils, the model includes several mechanisms to ensure that programmes are targeted to local needs. First, each council must develop an “Ask and Offer” document, in which they write down their specific asks for the incoming provider commissioned at the regional level. The incoming provider must engage with and respond to the asks of each council when developing their delivery model. Second, Local Integration Boards have been set up in every council to oversee the implementation of regionally commissioned programmes and to track and monitor delivery. The Boards are overseen by Local Leads, which are staff responsible for helping the Working Well programme integrate into the support ecosystem in each of the ten councils). In practice, it is up to each council to make the most out of the provider, and the programme's operation will differ across the region. At the regional level, the programme is overseen by the Programme Office, which provides strategic direction, intelligence on performance and active management to resolve any issues in the programmes, including liaison with Jobcentre Plus offices. They track programme delivery across more than 300 data registration points.

The Gothenburg Region (Sweden): Regional co-operation through the pooling of local resources

In the metropolitan region of Gothenburg in Sweden, 13 municipalities have decided to collaborate on the design and delivery of various services that are the responsibility of municipalities. The municipalities have created the Gothenburg Region, which is a municipal association that acts as an authority on behalf of the municipalities. Gothenburg Region is a sub-part of the administrative region, Region Västra Götaland, which covers 49 municipalities. Through the regional collaboration, the municipalities co-operate at strategic and operational levels around issues such as employment and skills, climate and environment, school and education and social welfare. In the employment field, the Gothenburg Region runs a number of inter-municipal projects, including to support the labour market integration of newly arrived migrants. The member municipalities have also initiated and are funding a knowledge platform for municipal labour market activities, which is a part of the region’s unit for research and development. The Gothenburg Region is funded partly by annual membership fees from municipalities (16%) and partly by external revenues, including from the state, EU and the Region Västra Götaland (84%).

Source: Greater Manchester Combined Authority (2024[21]), Working Well, Working Well - Greater Manchester Combined Authority (greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk). Greater Manchester Combined Authority (2019[22]), The Greater Manchester Model, gtr_mcr_model1_web.pdf (greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk). Götenborgregionen (2024[23]), 13 kommuner I samverkan, Göteborgsregionen (GR) | 13 kommuner i samverkan (goteborgsregionen.se)

Building on these examples, the region and its eight Local Authorities could seek to identify areas where a regional approach to the design and/or delivery of employability support could add value. This work could be anchored in the Skills and Employability Portfolio Group or the suggested new Skills Delivery Group and linked to the work on the development of a new Regional Skills Investment Plan and Regional Skills Board (see Chapter 3). For example, a regional framework could be developed to procure specialist support services (e.g. specialised mental health services or services for persons with disabilities) that could help overcome issues in LAs with small target groups, limited resources and gaps in the provider landscape. A regional approach could also be relevant in areas where there is a need to test new programmes, e.g. through piloting or scaling up successful programmes, and where the pooling of local budgets could allow for efficiency gains, e.g. by reducing spending on administrative procedures and allowing for individuals to access services across all LAs. A regional approach could combine regional design and management with local flexibility (e.g. choice of provider). The development of the regional approach could be based on regional and local intelligence (e.g. through the Intelligence Hub and local management information systems) to identify areas where the potential benefits from co-operation are the highest.

Scottish Local Authorities operate in parallel with the Jobcentre Plus offices overseen by the UK Government

The Scottish employability system operates in parallel with the Jobcentre Plus offices overseen by the UK Government through the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Jobcentre Plus is a UK Government-funded national agency that helps people find jobs and provides income replacement benefits to those who are eligible (e.g. Universal Credit). Individuals looking for a job or needing to claim benefits can access the offices and get support from a work coach, e.g. for searching, finding or accessing training opportunities and gaining access to financial support by claiming benefits. Much of the services provided by Jobcentre Plus offices are delivered online or by phone, but there are also options for physical meetings or support through the local offices (UK Government, 2024[24]).

Jobcentre Plus offices take a “work first” approach to employment support, requiring individuals who receive income benefits to actively search for employment opportunities and be available for work. The conditions for receiving the main UK income replacement benefit – Universal Credit – are set out in a claimant commitment that most individuals will have to accept at the beginning of their claim. The conditions fall into four groups: 1) No work-related requirements; 2) Work-focused interview requirements; 3) Work preparation requirements; and 4) All work-related requirements. Individuals in group one include, for example, those with limited capability for work-related activity because of health or disability, lone parents with a child under one and carers with regular and substantial caring responsibilities. Except for this group, all benefits claimants are subject to some activation requirements and possible sanctions in case of non-compliance (Entitled To, 2024[25]). This is fundamentally different from the voluntary NOLB service.

There is an overlap in target groups between the two systems, meaning that individuals often are followed and supported by multiple systems in parallel, and cross-referrals, especially from Jobcentre Plus offices to LAs, are common. LAs focus on persons with disabilities and those furthest from the labour market. A significant number of those individuals, however, receive UK government income benefits administered by DWP through the Jobcentre Plus system. While data on benefit claimants is not yet publicly available for the NOLB, data from the FSS programme shows that a majority of people (78%) joining the programme have been benefit claimants (Scottish Government, 2023[5]). Assuming this is also the case for the NOLB programme, many individuals receiving support from LAs will be registered in a Jobcentre Plus office and subject to claimant commitments. In practice, however, most Jobcentre Plus clients furthest from the labour market are referred to the NOLB programme and other locally provided services to receive employment support. According to the consulted LAs, most referrals to their employability programmes have come from Jobcentre Plus offices. The costs of support services offered to individuals who are referred from a Jobcentre Plus office to an LA are covered by the LA.

On the ground, Local Authorities and Jobcentre Plus offices have found ways to co-operate at strategic and, to some extent, operational levels. At the strategic level, Jobcentre Plus representatives are members of the LEPs in each LA. This allows for ongoing dialogue on the overall strategy, target groups and organisation of services. Collaboration is more ad hoc at the operational level and varies across LAs. Some LAs have taken the step to “embed” Keyworkers in their local Jobcentre Plus office to ease transitions between the two systems. However, in other LAs, operational collaboration is limited, which can negatively impact and complicate individual jobseeker pathways. Steps could be taken to strengthen collaboration between LAs and local Jobcentre Plus offices at the operational level, for example, through joint training sessions for work coaches and Keyworkers, the embedding of LA Keyworkers in Jobcentre Plus offices and the development of joint assessment systems and individual action plans to ensure alignment between goals and activities. Such initiatives can take inspiration from programmes in other countries, including the Comprehensive Support Programme (Accompagnement Global) in France and the Act on One Individual Action Plan in Denmark (Box 4.5).

Box 4.5. Joint working methods to support service integration (France and Denmark)

The Comprehensive Support Programme, France

In France, the Comprehensive Support Programme (Accompagnement Global) is a programme provided by the national PES (France Travail) in co-operation with the County Council (Conseil departmental). The programme targets the most vulnerable jobseekers who are not only unemployed but also struggle with other social challenges such as homelessness, health issues or financial issues. Participants receive support from an employment counsellor and a social counsellor within the programme, who regularly exchange information about the client's progress. The PES and social counsellor decide to place individuals in the programme in co-operation and, in most cases, is based on several bilateral interviews with the jobseeker undertaken by the PES and the County Council in parallel. The co-operation across employment and social services builds on a national partnership agreement signed by the Assembly of French County Councils and France Travail.

One individual action plan, Denmark

In Denmark, the Act on One Individual Action Plan was adopted in 2018 to give individuals with complex and multiple challenges one coordinating action plan that cuts across multiple public service areas and providers. With the Act, case workers in municipalities can develop one coherent and co-ordinated individual action plan that covers various services such as employment, social, housing, education and health services provided by different parts of the municipality or external providers. The development of the plan builds on co-operation between several departments within the municipality as well as representatives from external organisations. Citizens are given the choice to get one individual action plan or to continue with multiple plans. The Act was developed based on a pilot project which ran from 2016-2020 in nine municipalities, and which showed that most citizens with one plan experienced a more coherent and co-ordinated service and higher changes of getting into work or education, and reported higher well-being and health.

Source: OECD (2023[26]), “Integrating local services for individuals in vulnerable situations”, OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Papers, No.2023/08, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/1596644b-en.

The use of different registration systems hampers the communication between LAs and Jobcentre Plus offices. Different Management Information Systems (MISs) are used across LAs and Jobcentre Plus offices. These systems are not linked, making the exchange of information on individual clients challenging. Better co-operation and information sharing between DWP and LAs might help increase labour market participation. Building on the experiences from the SDS 16+ Data Hub, it could be considered to establish an equivalent portal for adult employability work. The Data Hub is an online portal which allows a range of partners, including SDS, LAs, colleges, and DWP, to input and access a combined database of information on individuals as outlined in the legislation requirements (Skills Development Scotland, 2024[27]) (see Chapter 5). Building up such a system would require the development of data-sharing agreements following existing legislation and possibly also a stronger alignment of IT systems across the organisations. A recent example from the Restart Programme in England and Wales shows the potential of building such systems (Box 4.6).

Box 4.6. Data-exchange systems to strengthen employment support: The Restart Programme in England and Wales

The Restart scheme is a programme for contracted provision of employment services introduced in July 2021 in England and Wales. The programme will run for three years, targeting long-term unemployed (12 to 18 months) recipients of means-tested unemployment benefits (Universal Credit). To address challenges with data exchange inherent in contracted-out employment services, the programme includes mechanisms for automated data exchange between the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) and the external providers. Among other things, DWP gives employment service providers rich information on the client upon referral. Information received by providers includes an individual’s contact information, information on formal qualifications and basic skills, employment histories, disability status, agreed restriction on job search or training activities, career goals and job preferences. In addition to the data shared at the outset, upon a client’s referral, there is a “warm” handover during which a counsellor from DWP, a counsellor from the private provider, and the jobseeker meet. This can facilitate additional information exchange between DWP and the outside providers. DWP notifies providers of important client developments that are relevant to providing services to their clients. The system used by DWP enables case tracking between DWP and the outside providers. This includes information on whether an individual has a new claim for income support, changes affecting the client’s work-related requirements (e.g. jury service, civic duties, domestic emergency, easements for domestic abuse or violence), or other relevant changes to their situation.

Source: OECD (2023[28]), Addressing the legal and IT challenges of data exchangeto support contracted-out employtment services in Sweden, Sweden_Challenges_Data_Exchange.pdf (oecd.org).

An alternative to strengthened partnership working between Local Authorities and Jobcentre Plus offices could be a more fundamental change in the structure of the Scottish and UK employment system. Despite efforts to co-ordinate activities between LAs and Jobcentre Plus offices, institutional barriers remain to streamline jobseeker pathways, especially for those furthest from the labour market. For these individuals, the client journey might involve multiple registrations, sharing of the same information with numerous caseworkers and the development of various actions plans across the two parallel systems. In addition, they might experience tension between the activation requirements posed by the work coach in the Jobcentre Plus office and the support proposed by the Keyworker in the NOLB programme. Ultimately, the long-term employability efforts by the LA to support these individuals might be interrupted or overruled by the Jobcentre Plus office (e.g. with job search requirements). To overcome these tensions in the system, an option could be to work towards a new institutional arrangement that supports an integrated approach to employment services. In particular, it could be considered to fully devolve the responsibility of employment services to the Scottish national level and develop a Scottish Active Labour Market Policy programme for jobseekers closer to the labour market.

Labour market information is available at regional and local levels, but more could be done to make use of the data to guide service design and target provision

Labour market information (LMI) is available at Scotland's national, regional and local levels to inform employability provision. As described in Chapter 3, SDS produces labour market and skills intelligence at the national and regional levels, and the GCR Intelligence Hub provides additional regional analysis focusing on regional economic and labour market developments. The Scottish Government’s Improvement Service also hosts a NOLB Data Toolkit developed with the GCR Intelligence Hub. The toolkit gives an insight into various poverty indicators, locally, regionally and nationally and can be used in delivery planning (Improvement Service, 2024[29]). At the local level, most LAs have implemented Management Information Systems (MISs) (e.g. Hanlon and Advice Pro) to gather administrative data on client registrations, interventions and progression.

Local data collection through Management Information Systems is guided by the Shared Measurement Framework introduced by the Scottish Government as part of the NOLB plan. Collecting the right individual-level data is crucial to measuring services' input, output, and impact, guiding service design, and adjusting provision. The Scottish Shared Measurement Framework aims to guide and standardise data collection from local MISs and other data sources to build a shared understanding of how to measure the impact of service for individuals and communities (e.g. through standard definitions and measures to quantify outcomes). In GCR, data collection is aligned across the NOLB and UKSPF to simplify reporting processes and allow for comparing activities and outcomes across funding sources. Data returns are submitted to the Scottish Government every quarter (Employability in Scotland, 2022[16]).

Box 4.7. The Shared Measurement Framework

The Shared Measurement Framework was established as part of implementing the No One Left Behind Plan to support the development of an employability system driven by evidence and the experience of users. The framework sets out to create a shared understanding of measuring the impact of employability services, focusing on support delivered under the NOLB approach. The framework covers five themes:

Reach, e.g. who needs support, who are services reaching/not reaching
Progression, e.g. are people progressing and in what ways
Skills alignment, e.g. what relevant skills, knowledge and experience are people developing
Experience of services, e.g. are clients treated with dignity and respect and do individuals find it easy to access services
Value of services, e.g. how do employability services contribute to national and local priorities

Within each theme a set of Key Questions have been developed to guide future data collection. To answer the questions, a mixture of quantitative and qualitative information will be collected, including through management information systems, independent evaluations, and other nationally available statistics. The framework is intended to be open source, allowing anyone delivering or considering the delivery of employability interventions to access and use it. The framework is still under implementation, with some definitions and data sources still to be developed (e.g. methods to measure disengagement in support and individuals’ achievement of goals within expected timeframes).

Source: Employability in Scotland (2022[16]), Employability Shared Measurement Framework, Edingbourgh, for-publication-shared-measurement-framework-updated-december-2022.pdf (employabilityinscotland.com) (accessed on 28/05/24).

There is a need for Local Authorities to take a more data-driven approach to the design and targeting of local employability programmes. Although it is not a formal responsibility of LAs, improving local employability provision by continuously using local administrative data and analysis collected and provided by SDS and the GCR Intelligence Hub is essential to maximise available resources. While key data sources are available, consultations with stakeholders have revealed that many LAs, and not least the smaller ones, make limited use of data to inform programme design, target interventions to specific groups, and guide outreach and identification activities. LAs should strengthen their use of existing data, including the NOLB Data Toolkit, to understand needs and support matching. In addition, for any future region-wide programmes, a central MIS could be set up to allow for resource-efficient data collection and analysis at regional and local levels. Moreover, to enhance the quality of the data, LAs should continue working with the Scottish Government to ensure a streamlined interpretation of reporting requirements through the Shared Measurement Framework. Lastly, within LAs, there are options to strengthen data-sharing mechanisms between different services or departments.

The growing responsibility of Local Authorities in designing and implementing employability programmes requires a systematic evaluation of the different programmes and instruments. In the context of tight public budgets and high economic inactivity, policies must be evaluated to ensure that resources are used efficiently and that individuals are supported in the best possible ways. At the national level, both the NOLB programme and the UKSPF require LAs to use a set of common indicators to ensure that similar interventions can be compared across different places and to synthesise evaluation activities. In addition, both funding streams include national-level evaluations, e.g. a fund-level process evaluation of the UKSPF (UK Government, 2024[30]) and the evaluation of the Young Person’s Guarantee as part of the NOLB programme (see Chapter 5). Nevertheless, locally-led processes or causal impact evaluations of individual programmes are not a requirement to receive funding from either of the national funds, leaving it to LAs to decide if and when to conduct evaluations of locally run programmes.

Programmes to evaluate employability programmes at local and regional levels could be developed to strengthen knowledge of what works and to guide future investments across the region. Consultations with stakeholders show a lack of coherent strategy for evaluating and categorising policies and programmes in GCR at the national or regional level. Especially for the smaller LAs, investment in (impact) evaluations is often not proportionate to their allocations and investment plans. This could call for a stronger role of the City Region – e.g. through the Intelligence Hub – to support evaluation work across the eight LAs, particularly of any future regional employability programmes. In the future, the region could look to places like the Brussels-Capital Region (Belgium), Denmark and Germany for examples of how to integrate evaluation practices into employability work (Box 4.8). As suggested by the Glasgow Centre for Civic Innovation, this could be complemented by efforts to embed lived client experiences in evaluations, e.g. through online or in-person methods, and to co-design services together with clients (Centre for Civic Innovation, 2024[31]).

Box 4.8. National strategies for evaluation of Active Labour Market Policies (ALMPs)

Brussels-Capital Region

In Brussels, the Brussels Institute for Statistics and Analysis (Institut Bruxellois de Statistique et d’Analyse) collects, produces and disseminates statistics on the Brussels Region. It also carries out socio-economic analyses and evaluates public policies. The institute covers various themes: population, finances, income support, health, education, employment, and general economic questions. A recent example of an evaluation of employment policies is the impact of the integration contract, a supported employment programme implemented by the Public Employment Service in the Brussels-Capital Region. In the evaluation, the institute matched participants in the programme with similar non-participants based on observable characteristics (e.g. education, age and work experience), and they checked if the people who participated were more likely to be employed a year later. While the evaluation only focused on short-term employment outcomes, it remains an interesting example of regional-level evaluations of employment programmes.

Denmark

In Denmark, the Danish Agency for Labour Market and Recruitment (Styrelsen for Abejdsmarked og Rekruttering, STAR) has a well-established practice for evaluating the effects of active labour market programmes building on three pillars. First, STAR gathers existing knowledge on labour market programmes that have already been implemented and evaluated in Denmark or other countries. Second, the agency provides new evidence on “what works” by carrying out randomised control trials, where the effects of ALMPs are measured by assigning a treatment group with a new ALMP. In contrast, a comparable control group is assigned the “standard” labour market policy. The effects of the latest initiatives are measured by comparing exit to employment rates between the treatment and non-treatment groups. Third, STAR actively seeks to disseminate its results to municipalities that carry out the day-to-day implementation of ALMPs through local job centres. Municipalities also play a central role in STAR’s evaluation practices by providing feedback and insights on the outcomes and impacts observed from new labour market policies.

Germany

In Germany, the national programme for evaluation of ALMPS, Treatment, Effects and Prediction has been in place since 2008. The Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur fur Arbeit) and the affiliated Institute of Employment Research developed the programme. Similarly to the approach of STAR in Denmark, the German programme builds on randomised control trials where labour market outcomes of participants and non-participants in ALMPs are compared. The two groups, the treated and the control group, will comprise individuals who share several characteristics and be compared to persons in the “treated” group who will be subject to the labour market programme. The individuals share the local labour market district, the legal sphere of unemployment status, age group, gender and benefit status. They can, therefore, work as statistical twins, which allows for comparisons of the effect of programmes by socioeconomic background and geographical area. The evaluations are carried out on all unemployed people except youth and disabled people since administrative data on these groups is more limited. Standardised reports are made available to the local PES offices so that they can use them to assess the value of different ALMPs to different target groups.

Source: OECD (2023[32]), Unleashing Talent in Brussels, Belgium, OECD Reviews on Local Job Creation , OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/7a495020-en.STAR (2024[33]), Hvad virker I beskæftigelsesindsatsen?, Hvad virker i beskæftigelsesindsatsen? (star. dk). European Commission (2017[34]), TrEffeR (Treatment Effects and Prediction, https://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=18219&langId=en).

Registration and referral procedures have been simplified with the Keyworker Model, but outreach mechanisms could be strengthened, and the client journey could be further simplified

Outreach strategies are essential, especially for the economically inactive who are far from the labour market and may face multiple barriers to labour market participation. The first step in the labour market integration pathway is identifying the people who need support and contacting or engaging them in the available services. Individuals who most need support can be challenging to locate, mainly as they may not be in contact with the benefits system or employment and skills support services. Thus, employment services must try to reach out to these individuals proactively. Identification can be done, for example, through data exchange and tracking systems, partnership agreements with local organisations, and outreach workers who operate through local communities. Contact and engagement often entail information, counselling, and guidance services and rely on partnerships working with the organisations or individuals responsible for local service delivery (Corbanese and Rosas, 2017[35]).

Local Authorities invest limited resources in identification and outreach to the economically inactive across the regions. Data from 2014 show that only 6% of employability resources were allocated by LAs to outreach activities (Cambridge Policy Consultants, 2014[36]). Consultations with LAs confirm that this also remains the picture today. While outreach measures are well-developed for youth (see Chapter 5), there is room to strengthen mechanisms to identify and reach out to adults out of work. As a starting point, LAs could seek to strategically use administrative data from the MISs to understand who needs support in local communities and who the current system is/is not reaching. Combined with solid partnership working, e.g. through the LEPs and the Community Learning and Development (CLD) Partnerships (see below), this could guide targeted outreach activities such as marketing campaigns and strategies for physical presence in local communities (e.g. through community centres, libraries or Employability Hubs (see below)). Efforts to strengthen outreach strategies could be co-ordinated with initiatives to develop an adult career guidance service in the region (see Chapter 3). Inspiration to build outreach measures can be found in countries such as Estonia (data-driven outreach strategy for youth), Latvia (outreach workers), Detroit (partnership working) and Germany (communication strategies) (Box 4.9). While some of these measures focus on reaching youth not in education or training, they provide insights that can be transferred to the adult population.

Box 4.9. Outreach strategies

The Youth Guarantee Support System, Estonia

The Youth Guarantee Support System (Noortegarantii tugisüsteem) supports young people aged 16-29 to return to education and enter the labour market. The Estonian Ministry of Social Affairs developed the tool from 2018 to 2020, building on a pilot project in two cities (Tartu and Võru) in 2016. The tool is implemented at the local level. The tool is an IT system that enables local governments to request data from different national registers to get information on young people in their areas who are not in education, employment or training (NEETs) and are not registered as unemployed. Building on this information, local governments reach out directly to the young persons identified and provide them with information on their possibilities to receive support. From here, the young persons have the right to access the Youth Guarantee support system in the country, which includes personalised support from a case manager. Yet, the young person also has the right to ask not to be contacted again. Until now, 76 out of 79 Estonian municipalities have joined the system.

Community partner approach to outreach in Detroit, United States

Since 2023, the City of Detroit in the United States have taken a new approach to reaching out and re-engaging its unemployed residents and filling the increasing number of unfilled vacancies in the city. Through the new approach, the city is looking to engage with community organisations that have a history of helping the long-term unemployed back into work and are better connected to the Detroiters who are further from the labour market and may have given up on the more formal support system. These organisations are invited to submit applications to work with the City as “In Detroit Organisations”. These organisations will be tasked with identifying long-term unemployed residents from the neighbourhoods they are already working in and enrolling them in an official employability or training programme. They will also coach and mentor each participant and monitor their progress. While many of these community-based organisations have been doing this work for years, through the programme, they are allowed to be paid based on the success of their clients. A third-party administrator will pay the organisations monthly as programme participants reach milestones. The performance-based cash incentives go up to USD 2 200 per participant.

The Prospects for re-entering the workforce Programme, Germany

The programme Prospects for re-entering the workforce (Perspektive Wiedereinstieg), which was implemented between 2008 and 2021, seeks to strengthen female labour market inclusion in Germany through intensified and targeted counselling for individuals after a longer, family-related leave from the labour market. The programme was managed by the Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth and the Public Employment Service and implemented through 22 executing agencies at the regional level. A central outreach tool in the programme was an information webpage, which provided a checklist for labour market re-entry and a calculator showing the feasibility of the re-entry for the household. The webpage also provided practical information ranging from the address of the closest client centre, skills assessment, and career guidance. Information flyers, brochures, and different information campaigns supported the webpage. An evaluation of the programme showed that participants mostly learned about the programme from the media (Newspapers, Internet, Radio and TV). This was followed by recommendations from friends and families and information from flyers, posters, booklets and information for the regional PES offices: the successor programme, Equality in the Labour Market. Creating Perspectives Gleichstellung am Arbeitsmarkt. Perspektiven Schaffen), have seen the continuation of the webpage and critical elements of the outreach campaign.

Source: Estonia Social Insurance Board (2024[37]), Youth Guarantee Support System, Youth Guarantee Support System | Social Insurance Board (sotsiaalkindlustusamet. ee). City of Detroit (2022[38]), City seeks community partners to help long-term unemployed reenter work-force; offers performance-based cash incentives, City seeks community partners to help long-term unemployed reenter work force; offers performance-based cash incentives | City of Detroit (detroitmi.gov). BMFSJF (2024[39]), Aktionsprogramm “Gleichstellung amArbeitsmarkt. Perspektiven schaffen”, BMFSFJ - Perspektive Wiedereinstieg.

Once identified, individuals can access the employability system in the Glasgow City Region through many different routes, including self-referrals and cross-referrals. The most common referral routes into employment support services provided by LAs are through the Jobcentre Plus offices (for those aged 25 and above) and SDS career advisors (for those under 25). However, depending on how the LAs have structured their services, individuals can enter the system directly through LAs, their ALEOs, or the network of external providers such as third-sector organisations. In some councils, the registration process is centralised, meaning that individuals are required to first register with the council (e.g. through an online form or by phone), whereafter they can schedule an appointment with a Keyworker (face-to-face, online or phone) and get referred to relevant services. In other councils, the registration process is less stringent, and individuals can also make appointments directly with the ALEOs or external providers.

Entry points and registrations are not entirely streamlined, and some individuals risk falling between the cracks of the systems. The Keyworker Model ensures that all individuals are supported by one case worker who “guides” them through the system and into employment. However, the distinction between Keyworker Providers and other external providers is still under development, especially in the local areas with multiple entry points. Some individuals continue to enter these systems without being officially registered and assigned to a Keyworker. Continued rollout of the Keyworker Model and precise identification of Keyworker Providers as the first point of contact is essential to simplify client journeys and avoid gaps in registration. Going a step further, LAs could consider further streamlining entry points/registration procedures to ensure that all individuals are registered in the same place (e.g. with the council on one single Keyworker Provider), which will be responsible for referrals and progress tracking.

The complexity of the registration system, combined with the diverse provider landscape, makes it difficult for individuals, providers and employers to get an overview of existing services and cross-referral options. In a voluntary system with multiple entry/registration points, individuals need information on available services and job offers to guide their choice of provider and connect them to job opportunities. At the same time, providers need this information to guide cross-referrals and to connect individuals with employers. As suggested by the Glasgow Centre for Civic Innovation in their review of employability services in Glasgow City, LAs could consider creating such online platforms to provide “easy to access” information on employability services and job opportunities for individuals, providers and employers (Centre for Civic Innovation, 2024[31]).

Local Authorities use various Management Information Systems (e.g. Hanlon and Advice Pro) to register data on clients, but these remain fragmented and are not geared to monitor client progress. In GCR, the data registration process for NOLB and UKSPF-funded activities is aligned, which means that the same information is captured across all services provided by LAs. The systems allow for differentiation between clients by the funding stream to support reporting back to the Scottish and UK Governments, but otherwise, register data on individual clients is the same. In the LAs that operate a centralised registration model, data on all clients is entered directly into the MIS. In the LAs, where there are multiple entry points, councils require Keyworker Providers to share client data by entering it directly into their systems or through other channels. However, some local areas are still developing data-sharing systems with providers. In addition, the data systems remain characterised by comprehensive documentation processes, paper rather than digital recording, and duplication of data collection across providers. Some data remain stored in various places in the system without being shared. This impedes tracking participant progress and referring participants to relevant services.

Building on existing MISs, LAs could consider options to strengthen automatic data-sharing between providers and use the data collected to guide client referrals and track client progress. LAs could explore options to enhance data collection and sharing between multiple providers in the employability field. In addition, they could consider using the once-only data collection principle at the local level, meaning that any data relevant to public sector organisations should be collected only once and consequently shared with others securely if needed for service provision. Building on more robust data collection and sharing, LAs could consider the development of an online needs assessment tool to support Keyworkers’ efforts to match individuals with relevant services and job opportunities. Ideally, this tool should build on data collected through the MISs, be developed at the national or regional level and be made available to all Keyworker Providers across LAs. To make the tool useful, staff in councils or Keyworker Providers should receive training to develop their skills in using such a system, and best practice examples should be shared across LAs.

There are many examples of online tools that support the matching and referral of PES clients across OECD countries. Needs assessment or profiling tools can help PES place clients in different groups and match them with the right support services to meet their needs. Depending on the model for service delivery, these tools are either made available for individuals to make independent choices of providers or by caseworkers to guide referrals to services. In France, the Emploi Store is an online platform provided by the French PES (France Travail) to give PES clients a better overview of existing online services for job search, training and skills development. The system uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to process information and guide and match clients with relevant services. The system works parallel with counsellor-led support, especially targeting those further from the labour market. In Belgium (Brussels), the PES (Actiris) support jobseekers through the MyActiris job matching platform, where they can register and self-manage their job search. This is combined with counsellor-led guidance and matching. More recently, some OECD countries such as Belgium, Estonia, Lithuania and Luxembourg have started using machine learning to develop profiling and referral tools for counsellors (Box 4.10).

Box 4.10. PES online tools to support data collection, matching, and referrals

Combined online and in-person matching and guidance services – Emploi Store, France and MyActiris, Brussels (Belgium)

The Emploi Store is an online platform provided by the French PES (France Travail) to help the unemployed get a better overview of the existing ecosystem of online services for job search, training and skills development. The system provides a single online point of access for jobseekers and counsellors to a range of internal and external digital employment support services offered by the PES and a range of employment training professionals, public institutions, and private firms. The system uses AI, including access to a deep learning tool, to process information and identify the top services that most reflect client needs. These are selected from various job search, training, application assistance, and self-employment options. The Emploi Store aims to take advantage of the benefits of increasing customer choice and efficiently use existing resources by moving guidance to an online portal. By encouraging individuals to use online services/applications from a service catalogue, the system frees up counsellors’ time to support individuals requiring more intensive support. The digital MyActiris tool is the primary interface for jobseekers with caseworkers from the Brussel PES (Actiris) during job search. Once jobseeker information, skills, and preferences are listed, MyActiris connects individuals with available job listings. Individuals also have options to register for training online.

Data-driven profiling and referral tools across the OECD

In identifying the needs of jobseekers, many countries are enhancing their digital jobseeker profiling tools, often assisted by Artificial Intelligence (AI). In Wallonia (Belgium), a new profiling service was implemented in early 2022 using machine learning approaches to generate a predictive job proximity model. Similarly, Luxembourg is engaging in a project using AI to assess a jobseeker’s odds of returning to a job based on their profile and identify the best-suited services to provide accordingly. The award-winning AI-powered profiling tool adopted by the Estonian PES at the end of 2020 and further enhanced in 2022 segments jobseekers into different service streams by their probability to (re-integrate into the labour market soon with an accuracy of 95%, as well as assesses their main factors for entering into employment and returning into unemployment. A similar profiling tool using machine learning and administrative data was adopted in the Lithuanian PES at the end of 2021, replacing a tool segmenting jobseekers based on survey data only.

Source: European Network of Public Employment Services (2023[40]), New Forms of PES Service Delivery, Luxembourg, Publications Office of the European Union. OECD (2023[32]), Unleashing Talent in Brussels, Belgium, OECD Reviews on LocalJobCreation, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/7a495020-en.

The third sector continues to play a central role in the system, although they are challenged by changes in funding mechanisms and complex commissioning procedures.

The third sector is vital in providing employability and skills policies in the Glasgow City Region. The third sector (also known as the voluntary sector) includes voluntary and community organisations, charities, social enterprises, trusts, and cooperatives. The industry provides various support and services across ages, groups and communities. The third sector in Scotland comprises over 46 000 voluntary sector organisations, 6 000 social enterprises and 25 000 registered charities. In 2021, voluntary sector turnover in Scotland was over GBP 8.5 billion, had more than 135 000 paid staff, and 89% of the organisations were local (TSI Scotland Network, 2023[41]). In Glasgow City alone, more than 4 000 third-sector organisations are active in a range of areas, including employability support (GCVS, 2024[42]).

Third-sector organisations are represented through partnerships and member organisations in Scotland and the Glasgow City Region. Third-sector organisations are represented in the LEPs and CLD partnerships (as well as other local partnerships), including through membership organisations such as the Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector and Third Sector Interfaces1. They are also represented through national structures such as the Third Sector Employability Forum and the Scottish Council of Voluntary Organisations (Box 4.11).

There is broad recognition across Local Authorities of the many potential benefits of working together with the third sector to deliver employability services. Third-sector organisations are often closer to communities, especially those considered hard to reach, and they tend to have skills and experiences working with the most disadvantaged groups in society. Often, they are flexible and responsive to changing needs in the labour market, and they can be a means of harnessing community energy and ideas to develop new and innovative solutions to local challenges (OECD, 2023[43]).

Box 4.11. Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector

The Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector is an organisation that supports community groups, voluntary organisations, and social enterprises in Glasgow by providing them with various types of assistance, help and training necessary for them to succeed. Amongst their services is providing advice on topics that are essential for voluntary organisations such as funding, governance, management of assets and demonstration of the organisation’s impact. They provide the organisations with training for the development of their staff and offer them a variety of SVQ (Scottish Vocational Qualifications) awards that range from social services and healthcare to business administration, management, and community development. Since voluntary organisations often lack the financial means to hire HR personnel, the Council also makes HR specialists available to the organisations e.g. to support staff management and recruitment. The council also provides venues making it possible for organisations to host meetings, events, and conferences.

Source: GCVS (2024[42]), Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector, Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector (gcvs.org.uk)

The relationship with Local Authorities determines how the third sector organisations can deliver their support. With all national funding going directly to LAs, third-sector organisations have become more directly dependent on LAs for access to funding. The transition to the new funding regime has caused short-term problems (e.g. gaps in grant aid and commissioning in the transition period) and long-term problems (e.g. some LAs deciding to provide more services in-house, thus leaving a smaller part of the market to third-sector organisations). In this context, many third-sector organisations advocate for a more robust and structured partnership approach in the design, delivery, and implementation of employability services. While the third sector is already a part of the local dialogue through the LEPs, they are seeking more opportunities to effectively engage in decisions on what and how to deliver specific services locally. LAs could welcome this initiative and seek early and meaningful engagement of third-sector organisations throughout the design and delivery process.

Across the OECD, several PES offer support for long-term unemployed through structured co-operation with social enterprises, including work integration social enterprises. Social enterprises are one type of social economy organisation whose main objective is to have a social impact rather than make a profit for their owners or shareholders, and that operates by providing goods and services for the market in an entrepreneurial and innovative fashion and uses its profits primarily to achieve social objectives (OECD, 2022[44]). Work integration social enterprises focus on reintegrating vulnerable groups either to the primary labour market or by enabling individuals to pursue economically sustainable jobs within social enterprises. There are several examples from OECD countries on ways to co-operate in a structured way with social enterprises to support the long-term unemployed or economically inactive. Interesting examples are the Support for NEET (Accompagnement de jenues NEET) programme in Belgium and the Territories with zero long-term Unemployment (Territoires zéro chômeur de longue durée, programme, which is an ongoing programme in France and Belgium (Box 4.12).

Box 4.12. Co-operation with social enterprises in Belgium and France

Accompagnement de jenues NEET in Belgium

The Brussels Public Employment Service (PES), Actiris, the Flemish ESF (European Social Fund) agency, and the Brussels Dutch-speaking public training agency (VDAB Brussel) have initiated a partnership-based call for projects (Accompagnement de jeunes NEET). The project aims to reach youth not in employment, education or training (NEETs) between 18 and 30 living in the Brussels-Capital Region by activating and supporting co-operation between relevant partners. The call for projects started in 2018 and resulted in partnership contracts with various partners (e.g. NGOs, youth organisations, social economy organisations, coaching and career development agencies, sports clubs and ethnic-cultural associations, etc.) officially beginning in 2019. In 2020, a reinforcement of the initiative led to further investments to broaden the scope of partners involved to cover the whole of the Brussels-Capital Region and even more diverse partner backgrounds. The “in-the-field” partners now also include youth centres and street educators who have first-hand insights into the needs of young people. The project partners are responsible for identifying the NEETs in the region. Partners can develop solutions based on their expertise to reach disengaged young people. Strategies across partners vary, and alternative destinations for the young people are considered “positive results”, such as agreeing to commit to an action plan with Actiris, assessing their skills or following short training intervals on IT. In 2023, Actiris initiated a new call for projects and partner co-operation. These new projects will run from the 1^st of January 2024 until 2027.

Terriotoires zero chômeur de longue durée in France

In France, the association Terriotoires zero chômeur de longue durée has implemented a pilot project to address the challenge of long-term unemployment in the country. The project runs in two phases: 2016-2021 and 2021-2026. It aims to provide job opportunities for long-term unemployed by bringing together stakeholders in the local economy. This is done through local employment committees (comité local pour l’emploi) that are responsible for mapping individuals who have been unemployed for more than a year and matching their skills with the needs of the local labour market. Each local employment committee operates in a territory that covers between 5 000 and 10 000 inhabitants and no more than 400 long-term unemployed. Participants in the project are offered permanent, open-ended contracts. The project has led to the creation of EBEs (Enterprise à but d’emploi). These are non-profit, social and solidarity economy enterprises. Their purpose is to provide the additional jobs needed in the territory adapted to the qualifications of the unemployed. The enterprises find their employees based on suggestions from the local employment committee. The objective is that the additional jobs created by the EBEs will not compete with existing public or private jobs in the territory. As of March 2024, the program has employed 2 765 individuals through 71 EBEs in 60 territories in France. In addition, it is underway to be deployed in Belgium, in 17 pilot territories in four provinces in the Wallonia Region, with support from the ESF+ (European Social Fund).

Source: OECD (2023[32]), Unleashing Talent in Brussels, Belgium, OECD Reviews on Local Job Creation, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/7a495020-en. European Commission (2024[45]), Towards zero long-term unemployment, Zero long-term unemployment (europa.eu). OECD (2023[46]), "Participation of the social economy in the provision of Sweden’s public employment services", OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Papers, No. 2023/04, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/4949e828-en.

In the Glasgow City Region, only a few third-sector organisations have the resources to participate in national or local commissioning processes and, therefore, rely on direct grants from Local Authorities or charities. Depending on the funding source, LAs can use commissioning or grant aid processes to channel resources to external providers to deliver employability services. Participation in commissioning processes can be a significant challenge for smaller third-sector organisations with limited staff and resources. Thus, only a few third-sector organisations participate in commissioning processes independently or in partnership constellations. In some cases, the size of contracts can be a disadvantage for smaller, local organisations. In addition, the financial risks involved in managing contracts can be more significant than organisations can manage. To overcome this challenge, LAs could consider implementing the principle of full cost recovery, i.e., including all the costs involved in running a project (e.g., expenses related to preparing a bid, evaluation, and reporting).

Consulted third-sector organisations also reported variations and challenges with the administration and eligibility criteria required by different employability programmes across Local Authorities. Among key challenges are a lack of guidance on the requirements for funding applications and bids, very detailed requirements for funding applications or proposals, including for smaller funding awards, little time between the opening and closing dates, unclarity about the decision-making procedure, and a lack of guidance on evaluation and reporting requirements. In addition, some commissioning processes remain very restrictive and include rigid eligibility criteria for delivery, thus restricting providers from delivering the most appropriate service to their users. There are also considerable differences in the approach across LAs, which only intensifies the resource requirements. In addition, organisations operating in several LAs need staff to engage with all LAs separately. This requires significant resources that could otherwise have been used to provide client services.

Local Authorities could take a more strategic and outcome-driven approach to commissioning across funding streams and possibly administrative borders. While providers must be held accountable for the funding they receive, administration requirements must be proportionate and structured to lessen the administrative burden on providers and their users. LAs could seek to streamline commissioning processes and administrative requirements attached to the different programmes across funding streams and local areas. A standard, lighter touch model could be beneficial. LAs could also consider using more outcome-driven commissioning to allow more flexibility in adjusting services to local needs. Cross-border commissioning could allow third-sector organisations to operate across borders and take a more joined-up approach to service delivery.

Through new funding criteria, the No One Left Behind programme has opened possibilities for providers to co-operate on service delivery, but this has not yet resulted in changes on the ground. Previous funding sources have fostered a highly competitive environment where providers were largely hindered from working together. The NOLB programme seeks to change this through new funding criteria that allow for and award collaboration rather than competition (Scottish Government, 2020[8]). While many voluntary organisations perceive this as a positive change, changing the culture of LAs and providers takes time. Thus, many providers remain reluctant to share participants and best practices and build provider networks to facilitate collaborative working. LAs could take the lead in supporting voluntary organisations and other providers in taking these steps (e.g. using the LEPs to establish provider networks within or across LAs), thus moving the system away from competition and towards collaboration. Such initiatives will likely also support efforts in LAs to simplify cross-referrals and client journeys, as discussed in the previous section.

Linking employability services with basic skills and other support services for those furthest from the labour market

For inactive and long-term unemployed who receive support from the employability system, job-related education and training can be crucial in supporting individuals back into work. Individuals far from the labour market experience multiple challenges, including lower skill levels. Providing individuals with basic skills can help them increase their employability and social inclusion. However, in many systems, the link between employability support and the adult learning system is weak, thus limiting the options for the unemployed to receive relevant training. In addition, the inclusion pathway often requires a step-by-step approach that co-ordinates various services (social, health, education, childcare, housing and beyond). The following sections analyse the link between employability services, Community Learning and Development and health and mental health services in GCR.

Community Learning and Development – basic skills provision in Scotland

Adult education for those furthest from the labour market primarily comes through Community Learning and Development programmes delivered by LAs, colleges and third-sector organisations. Community Learning and Development (CLD) in Scotland includes youth work, community-based adult learning, family learning, and community development. The aim is to enable people of all ages to identify their goals, engage in learning and take action to bring about change for themselves and their communities. The Requirements for Community Learning and Development (Scotland) Regulations place statutory duties on LAs to work with partners and communities to co-produce and secure the delivery of CLD in their area and publish a three-year CLD Plan (Scottish Government, 2013[47]). Funding for CLD activities primarily comes from council budgets, channelled to external providers (e.g. ALEOs, third-sector organisations and colleges) through grants aid or commissioning. At the national strategic level, the CLD sector is guided by the Scottish Government’s National Adult Learning Strategy 2022-27 (Scottish Government, 2022[48]).

CLD is a vital element of the adult education sector in Scotland, targeting especially some of the country's most vulnerable groups and communities. Community-based adult learning is a part of CLD practices, often including adult literacy, ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages), family learning, employability, citizenship, and Gaelic. Community-based adult learning is frequently the first step back into education for many adult learners and offers pathways to Scotland’s further and higher education system. Usually, it is not determined through a curriculum but instead, set up to respond to learners’ goals and aspirations. CLD plays a critical role in skills development, often working with people excluded from work and everyday life.

Across the eight Local Authorities in the Glasgow City Region, digital skills and ESOL for migrants are becoming increasingly crucial in community-based adult learning provision. Lack of digital and language skills remains a barrier to labour market integration for economically inactive people. Especially in Glasgow City, where most migrants reside, the waiting list to access ESOL courses is long, and individuals risk waiting many months before they can access training courses. Continued efforts to develop these programmes through strong partnerships with employers and third-sector organisations could be inspired by examples from other metropolitan areas in the OECD (Box 4.13).

Box 4.13. Examples of digital skills provision in metropolitan areas in the OECD

ParisCode, Paris (France)

In 2016, the City of Paris launched ParisCode – a training program designed to address labour shortages in the digital sector, help meet digital companies’ skills needs, and facilitate the return to the workforce for individuals furthest from the labour market. The project targets disadvantaged youth, people undergoing vocational retraining residing in working-class areas of Paris and women. To deliver the program, the City of Paris co-operates with the French Public Employment Service (France Travail), the Grande Ecole du Numérique, GEN (a public interest group created by the French government in 2015 as well as large international tech companies (e.g. Google, Microsoft, Orange, CISCO, Accenture). A partner pact has been signed with the partnering companies to 1) fund or facilitate training, 2) recruit interns or apprentices from the program’s training courses, 3) offer visits to the companies and discover digital professions, 4) offer student sponsorship and mentoring, and 5) promoting the ParisCode program in their network of partners and customers. The City of Paris is then, in turn, committed to offering assistance in the recruitment and organising of events by facilitating contact with ParisCode schools. The city also partners with schools certified by the City of Paris to offer participants free digital training programs and courses. Since its launch in 2016, over 1 000 Parisians have participated in the program every year.

Teaching migrants coding and programming: The ReDI School of Digital Integration, Berlin (Germany)

Since 2016, the ReDI School of Digital Integration has provided refugees with free technological education in coding and fundamental computer training at no cost and by experts. ReDI School’s core objective is to help students become independent by teaching them digital skills. A network of tech leaders, students, and alumni assists in creating labour market opportunities for graduates of its programmes. The ReDI School teaches refugees cutting-edge IT skills to enter the technology sector. The state-of-the-art knowledge is taught by a network of more than 500 IT and start-up volunteers from over 180 companies. Next to standard daytime offers, courses are also offered in the evenings and on weekends, adding flexibility for teachers and potential students. The experts involved in the project also act as "door openers" by creating links between the students and the companies. Their role as teachers allows them to get to know the students and understand their motivations, interests and learning curves. Based on their industry knowledge, teachers act as intermediaries by recommending students to companies matching their respective profiles. As of 2021, the number of applications is more than double the number of places available. Around 70% of the students who attend ReDI School’s courses were recommended by friends or relatives, exemplifying the ReDI School's strong standing in Berlin’s migrant communities. Following its success in Berlin, the ReDI School has set up schools in Munich and North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany and Copenhagen and Aarhus in Denmark. It also offers remote studying options.

Source: OECD (2022[49]), Future-Proofing Adult Learning in Berlin, Germany, OECD Reviews on Local Job Creation, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/fdf38f60-en. City of Paris (2024[50]), Se former aux métiers du numérique avec ParisCode, Se former aux métiers du numérique avec ParisCode - Ville de Paris.

CLD provision is even more fragmented and localised than employability services and partnership working is vital in bringing it all together. LAs have different delivery models, ranging from in-house provision over ALEOs (e.g. Glasgow Life in Glasgow City) to commissioning or grant aids to external providers (e.g. colleges and third-sector organisations). In addition, many voluntary organisations and colleges deliver CLD services funded by other sources such as charities or the college’s core budgets (see Chapter 3). Individuals can access learning offers through many entry points, including community centres and libraries. In most LAs, there is no centralised tracking of registration and learner journeys across funding streams and providers. In this context, partnership working and the willingness of stakeholders to engage with each other and share information is critical.

Integration of employability and community adult learning services could be stronger in many local areas. Historically, CLD provision has been a part of the education or sports and culture work in LAs, with limited links to employability work. Recently, some LAs have gone far in integrating employability and community-based adult learning services locally. This has included merging different departments, creating shared management and financing structures, and refocusing community-based adult learning to make it more about employability and progression. Yet, in other LAs, the two work strands operate in parallel with limited co-ordination. LAs across the region should continue the integration of employability and community-based adult learning programmes to create positive pathways for learners who face significant barriers to work. This could be done through a stronger connection between LEPs and CLD partnerships, changing organisation and financial structures within LAs, finding ways to include CLD learners in local MISs, and developing individual action plans that cover both employability and adult skills needs and opportunities. Given the high share of persons with disabilities in the group of economically inactive and the disability skills gap in many OECD countries, considerations should also be given to how basic skills provision could be made more accessible for persons with disabilities (OECD, 2022[51]).

The use of CLD to provide job-related or skills-based training that can support the economically inactive or unemployed into work varies across Local Authorities in the Glasgow City Region. 53% of the inactive in GCR have no recognised education. This can impede their chances of getting a job in the future, especially in more traditional job markets where matching and hiring practices rely primarily on educational attainment. However, through job-related training that is aligned to local business needs, and which provides qualifications or credentials that employers recognise, these groups can potentially gain and progress in their employment without having to complete a degree. In Scotland, the Scottish Credit and Qualifications Framework (SCQF) provides a framework for recognising skills developed through more traditional degrees, apprenticeships and programmes developed by companies or other organisations for their staff (see Chapter 3). CLD provision can include Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA) certified courses. Yet, the extent to which LAs make use of this option varies. While some Community Learning and Development Plans include multiple examples of training courses that provide certified qualifications for learners and measure the number of learners that have achieved qualifications, others barely mention learner qualifications or the SCQF.

Taking inspiration from other OECD countries, Local Authorities could consider a stronger use of CLD to provide job-related or skills-based training for individuals out of work. In a context of rapidly changing labour markets (e.g. due to the digital and green transition) and labour and skills shortages, many local, regional and national authorities in many OECD countries are increasingly developing and making use of tools such as digital skills assessments, skills-based profiling and matching, and skills-based training, including through micro-credential (European Network of Public Employment Services, 2014[52]; 2023[53]). Together, these measures have the potential to strengthen the job-matching process and provide avenues to socioeconomic mobility and labour market inclusion of marginalised groups. However, to be successful, they should also be combined with solid buy-in from employers, including through the use of skills-based hiring – a concept that is slowly gaining additional ground among employers in countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States (BCG, 2023[54]; Sigelman, Fuller and Martin, 2024[55]). In addition to the potential benefits of skills-based matching and training, skills-based hiring may increase equity in the hiring process and improve productivity by ensuring the right match between workers and businesses. Recently, governors across several states in the US have pledged their commitment to skills-based hiring for state positions. At the same time, workforce development officers are developing training courses and skills-based matching strategies that can provide low-skilled individuals with the skills and support needed to enter into available positions (Box 4.14).

Box 4.14. Recent trends in the United States to use skills-based training and hiring to move low-skilled individuals in and up in their work career

The FastForward training programme in Virginia’s Community Colleges

First implemented in 2016, FastForward is a short-term training programme for high-demand industries like healthcare, information technology and skilled trades infrastructure. The programme helps individuals in Virginia gain employment, advance their careers or earn higher wages to support themselves and their families. All the Community Colleges in Virginia run the training, meaning training is available in local communities throughout the state. Provision is adjusted to local needs through partnerships between the Community Colleges and local businesses. Through the programme, individuals can receive short-term, in-person and online workforce training in the selected industries. The average programme length is 6-12 weeks, and programmes are a mix of work and hands-on skills demonstrations and are built so students can continue working while they earn credentials. Some programmes may offer a short internship or externship before graduating. Through the programmes, individuals earn industry-recognised credentials (i.e. an officially documented credit that verifies an individual’s qualification or competency in a specific skill) that they can stack to advance in their careers. To support this, the Community Colleges have developed visualisations of career pathways in different industries that students can use to guide their career choices. In addition, FastForward expert coaches support students throughout the programme, including on which credentials to develop and how to secure a job following programme completion. Programme costs are split between students, Community Colleges and the Commonwealth of Virginia. The average out-of-pocket training cost for students is around USD 800, and financial assistance is often available to cut costs further. FastForward targets jobseekers or individuals in work who are less likely to hold formal credentials or have participated in higher education. The average age of students is 34; over 43% are minorities, and over 60% have dependents. The completion rate of the programme is above 95%.

The CareerConneCT programme in Connecticut

Career ConneCT is a training and education programme developed during the COVID-19 pandemic to support residents in Connecticut in getting back to (high-quality) work in fast-growing industries. Through the programme, individuals can access short-term training programmes (typically from 5 to 20 weeks) to earn industry-recognised credentials and find entry-level employment in a high-quality career pathway. The programmes are free of charge, and individuals may also receive a skills inventory, case management and job placement support, as well as supportive services such as transportation, childcare, housing, food, technology, benefits counselling, stipends, and other services needed to attend job training and care for their family during training. The training is offered in person in local communities or online, both during the daytime and evening. Regional workforce development boards and community-based organisations operate the programmes. Many of the short-term credentials individuals can earn through the programme can help them qualify for credit towards a degree.

Source: Virginiás Community Colleges (2024[56]), Fast Forward, Job Training Programs | VA | FastForward (fastforwardva.org). CT.gov (2022[57]), What is the Career ConneCT program?, What is the CareerConneCT program.

Integrated service delivery – health and mental health

Tackling the challenges of long-term unemployment or economic inactivity often means doing far more than developing employability skills. It requires working across services and policy boundaries and joining up employability provisions with other services such as health (including mental health), social services, and housing. Across the OECD, many countries are experiencing an increase in clients with intersecting and complex needs. The level and types of services required for this group may often be very demanding. In this context, national and local governments are experiencing with new ways to integrate employment services with other related services to support the labour market integration of groups in vulnerable situations (OECD, 2023[26]).

Having a more joined-up employability system is one of the critical objectives of the NOLB plan, which includes several initiatives to push forward integration with health/disability, housing and justice services. Among the initiatives is the Single Health and Work Gateway programme, piloted in Fife and Dundee to help more disabled people and people with health conditions access early support to help them sustain or return quickly to work. The Single Gateway should act as the primary entrance of referral point for a range of currently funded, NHS-led health and in-work support services. In addition, links are made to mental health and employability support so that disabled people or people with health conditions who face more severe barriers to work are referred to the right place to get support (Scottish Government, 2018[6]).

Integration of employment services with health and mental health services is particularly relevant in the Glasgow City Region, where a high proportion of the economically inactive are struggling with long-term sickness and disabilities. Long-term sickness is the main reason for economic inactivity in GCR, and this seems to be primarily driven by a relatively high proportion of persons with disabilities who are economically inactive (see above). To this group, some LAs invest in supported employment programmes (in-house or through contracting), and most LAs have strong relationships with private or voluntary sector providers specialising in support for individuals with different types of disabilities. Yet, as a recent study at the national level has shown, there is high variability in funding and access rates to supported employment programmes provided by LAs, and clients struggle to find available support (Scottish Government, 2022[58]).

In the Glasgow City Region, models for co-operation with NHS and other health partners and co-location of employability and health services are under development, including through local Employability Hubs. The importance of co-operation with the UK National Health Service (NHS) is recognised across LAs, and the NHS is represented in some LEPs. There are several examples in GCR of co-location models that offer visible and accessible sources of multiple forms of support to citizens. The main objective of these hubs is to enable individuals to access the services they want or need to get closer to the labour market. One example is two facilities (East Kilbride and Lanark) that provide shared office space for critical partners (employability providers, SDS, DWP, etc.) and where people can walk in and seek support. Another example is the Russel Institute in Paisley in Renfrewshire, where the Invest in Renfrewshire employability service and SDS local office are based and where DWP also deliver services. The space also has a range of training rooms from which local partners can deliver. People can pop into the hub to get general advice and support and learn more about the services offered. According to the consulted stakeholders, the success of these hubs lies in building provision around what is immediately important to the client and in facilitating the client's journey by providing access to a range of relevant services. Yet, Employability Hubs are only in their early phase and have not been introduced across all LAs in the region. In addition, not all Employability Hubs include co-locating case workers and services but remain reliant on cross referrals.

Building on international evidence and aligned with the NOLB approach, LAs should continue their efforts to build up and further develop the Employability Hubs. LAs could look to experiences from other City Regions and internationally to get inspiration on better linking employment and (mental) health services for those furthest from the labour market. In Manchester, the Combined Authority has implemented the Working Well: Work and Health Programme, which started in 2018 and seeks to invest in good health as a driver of sustainable economic growth. A vital element of the programme is an in-house health team that is physically co-located with the employment Keyworkers and provides clients access to various health and mental health services in close co-operation with the Key-Worker. A similar model has been tested in Ireland through the Integrated Employment and Mental Health Programme, where the Public Employment Service for persons with disabilities, EmployAbility, have been collocated in four local Multidisciplinary Mental Health Teams across the country (Box 4.15).

Box 4.15. Integrating employment and (mental) health services at the local level

Working Well: Work and Health Programme in Greater Manchester (United Kingdom)

The Greater Manchester Combined Authority launched its Working Well: Work and Health Programme in January 2018. The programme aims to support the long-term unemployed and people with health conditions or disabilities into sustainable employment across the region. The programme is built on a “no wrong door” approach, where the main objective is to get the proper support to the right people at the right time by linking various local services (e.g. employment service, health and mental health provision, housing support etc.) through a combined delivery model. The linking of services is supported by Local Integration Boards in each of the ten councils in the Greater Manchester area, which facilitate local connections between policy areas and service providers. Members of the boards include housing associations, public health providers, employment service providers, etc. For the individuals, the “no wrong door” approach means that they are followed and supported by a Keyworker throughout their client journey. The Keyworker supports the client through regular appointments and referring to support services, including over 200 health interventions. An in-house health team facilitates referrals to health services, an integrated part of the Working Well programme. The support available through the health team is a light touch version of a range of services, including those related to depression, anxiety, physiotherapy, exercise and healthy eating. The combined authority is currently considering establishing strategic joint work and health units in each council to facilitate continued co-operation across employment and health services. By the end of March 2023, nearly 24 000 people had started on the programme, of out which 52% reported a health condition or disability, 31% of clients had a physical health condition, and 32% had a mental health condition. Over 10 000 of the 24 000 clients had achieved a job start by the end of March 2023.

Integrating Employment and Mental Health Support Pilot Project (Ireland)

From 2015-2017, Ireland piloted the Integrating Employment and Mental Health Support project with the main aim of improving integration between public mental health and supported employment services at national and local levels. These two services are the responsibility of two different government departments in Ireland (the Department of Health and the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection) and involve different public agencies (the Health Service Executive, a national agency, and EmployAbility services, which are organised at the local level). The two services have different funding streams, regulations, management structures and governance systems, making integrating services across the two areas difficult. Through the project, employment experts from the EmployAbility service were placed into four local Multidisciplinary Mental Health Teams across Ireland to provide comprehensive and co-ordinated support for adults with severe and enduring mental health difficulties who were not in paid competitive employment. The work of the experts followed the Individual Placement and Support model, which is a variant of Supported Employment that provides long-term support for individuals with mental health difficulties to get them into competitive employment. At the end of the project, 36% of the participants had had at least one job placement (with an average of 21 hours worked per week), while 60% were job searching. In addition, 19% of participants had moved on to further training and 5% moved to independent living. Following the completion of the pilot project, the approach was scaled up as a national programme across the Irish mental health services as part of a larger reform programme named the Service Reform Fund.

Source: Mental Health Reform (2018[59]), Steps into work: Integrating employment and health supports project final report, Steps into Work: Integrating Employment and Mental Health Supports Project Final Report (mentalhealthreform.ie). SQW (2023[60]), Working Well: Work and Health Programme & Job Entry: Targeted Support (JETS) Evaluation 2023 Annual Report, Manchester, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, working-well-whp-plus-jets-annual-report-2023.pdf (greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk)

References

[54] BCG (2023), Competence over Credentials: The Rise of Skills-Based Hiring, https://www.bcg.com/publications/2023/rise-of-skills-based-hiring (accessed on 6 May 2024).

[39] BMFSJF (2024), “Aktionsprogramm “Gleichstellung am Arbeitsmarkt. Perspektiven schaffen””, https://www.bmfsfj.de/bmfsfj/themen/gleichstellung/frauen-und-arbeitswelt/aktionsprogramm-perspektive-wiedereinstieg (accessed on 6 May 2024).

[36] Cambridge Policy Consultants (2014), “Review of the Allocation of Employability Resources in Scotland: Final Report”, http://www.employabilityinscotland.com/media/473005/sef_-_employability_research_-_cambridge_policy_consultants_-_final_report_-_november_2014.pdf.

[31] Centre for Civic Innovation (2024), “Employability Re-Design”, https://cciglasgow.org/reports/employability-redesign.pdf (accessed on 24 April 2024).

[38] City of Detroit (2022), City seeks community partners to help long-term unemployed reenter work force; offers performance-based cash incentives, https://detroitmi.gov/news/city-seeks-community-partners-help-long-term-unemployed-reenter-work-force-offers-performance-based (accessed on 6 May 2024).

[50] City of Paris (2024), Se former aux métiers du numérique avec ParisCode, https://www.paris.fr/pages/se-former-aux-metiers-du-numerique-avec-pariscode-5831 (accessed on 6 May 2024).

[35] Corbanese, V. and G. Rosas (2017), Guide for developing national outreach strategies for inactive young people, ILO, Geneva, https://webapps.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/documents/publication/wcms_613351.pdf (accessed on 3 May 2024).

[57] CT.gov (2022), What is the Career ConneCT program?, https://portal.ct.gov/careerconnect/knowledge-base/articles/careerconnect-program-faqs/what-is-careerconnect?language=en_US (accessed on 6 May 2024).

[12] Employability in Scotland (2024), “Framework for Local Employability Partnerships”, https://www.employabilityinscotland.com/media/xjomgila/framework-for-local-employability-partnerships-new-links.pdf (accessed on 23 April 2024).

[9] Employability in Scotland (2024), No One Left Behind, https://www.employabilityinscotland.com/employability-services/no-one-left-behind/ (accessed on 22 April 2024).

[10] Employability in Scotland (2024), “Scottish and Local Government - Employability Action Plan”, https://www.employabilityinscotland.com/media/k3kjt4ym/scottish_and_local_government_employability_action_plan__-_february_2020.pdf (accessed on 29 April 2024).

[16] Employability in Scotland (2022), “Employability Shared Measurement Framework”, https://www.employabilityinscotland.com/media/pgujxbke/for-publication-shared-measurement-framework-updated-december-2022.pdf (accessed on 23 April 2024).

[13] Employability in Scotland (2021), “Local Employability Partnership Self-Assessment: National Overview”, https://www.employabilityinscotland.com/media/logpjqyo/local_employability_partnership_-_self_assessment_national_overview.pdf (accessed on 24 April 2024).

[25] Entitled To (2024), Claimant commitment, https://www.entitledto.co.uk/help/Claimant-commitment-Universal-Credit (accessed on 24 April 2024).

[37] Estonia Social Insurance Board (2024), Youth Guarantee support system, https://sotsiaalkindlustusamet.ee/ngts (accessed on 6 May 2024).

[45] European Commission (2024), Towards zero long-term unemployment, https://social-economy-gateway.ec.europa.eu/topics-focus/towards-zero-long-term-unemployment_en (accessed on 6 May 2024).

[34] European Commission (2017), TrEffeR (Treatment Effects and Prediction), https://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=18219&langId=en.

[40] European Network of Public Employment Services (2023), New Forms of PES Service Delivery, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, https://doi.org/10.2767/346726.

[53] European Network of Public Employment Services (2023), New Forms of skills assessment and validation – impact on PES services and counselling, European Commission , Luxembourg, https://doi.org/10.2767/5829.

[52] European Network of Public Employment Services (2014), Skills-based profiling and matching in PES, European Commission , Luxembourg, https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwinyOu78uSGAxVJTKQEHTXNA6kQFnoECBUQAQ&url=https%3A%2F%2Fec.europa.eu%2Fsocial%2FBlobServlet%3FdocId%3D14108%26langId%3Den&usg=AOvVaw1LjgCLF_9JzHjEPO9jgCi4&opi=89978449.

[1] Eurostat (n.d.), Activity rates by level of disability (activity limitation) and educational attainment level, https://doi.org/10.2908/LFSA_ARGAEDDL.

[42] GCVS (2024), Glasgow Council for the Voluntary Sector, https://gcvs.org.uk/ (accessed on 3 May 2024).

[18] Glasgow City Council (2024), In Work Progression, https://glasgow.gov.uk/article/25221/In-Work-Progression.

[19] Glasgow City Region (2018), Youth Gateway programme exceeds all targets, https://glasgowcityregion.co.uk/youth-gateway-programme-exceeds-all-targets/ (accessed on 6 May 2024).

[23] Göteborgsregionen (2024), 13 kommuner i samverkan, https://goteborgsregionen.se/ (accessed on 6 May 2024).

[21] Greater Manchester Combined Authority (2024), Working Well, https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/what-we-do/work-and-skills/working-well/ (accessed on 6 May 2024).

[22] Greater Manchester Combined Authority (2019), The Greater Manchester Model, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Manchester, https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/media/2302/gtr_mcr_model1_web.pdf (accessed on 6 May 2024).

[29] Improvement Service (2024), No One Left Behind (NOLB) Data Toolkit, https://www.improvementservice.org.uk/products-and-services/consultancy-and-support/employability-partnership-manager/no-one-left-behind-nolb-data-toolkit (accessed on 24 April 2024).

[59] Mental Health Reform (2018), Steps into work: Integrating Employment and health supports project final report, https://mentalhealthreform.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Steps-into-work-FINAL.pdf (accessed on 6 May 2024).

[11] Ministry of Housing, C. (2018), Statutory duties placed on local government, https://www.data.gov.uk/dataset/01171494-e40b-463f-9967-56d158412321/statutory-duties-placed-on-local-government (accessed on 29 April 2024).

[20] Murphy, H. et al. (2019), Glasgow In-work Progression Pilot Evaluation, Learning and Work Institute, https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=47195&p=0 (accessed on 6 May 2024).

[26] OECD (2023), “Integrating local services for individuals in vulnerable situations”, OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Papers, No. 2023/08, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/1596644b-en.

[28] OECD (2023), Output 2: Addressing the legal and IT challenges of data exchange to support contracted-out employment services in Sweden, https://www.oecd.org/els/emp/Sweden_Challenges_Data_Exchange.pdf (accessed on 6 May 2024).

[46] OECD (2023), “Participation of the social economy in the provision of Sweden’s public employment services”, OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Papers, No. 2023/04, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/4949e828-en.

[32] OECD (2023), Unleashing Talent in Brussels, Belgium, OECD Reviews on Local Job Creation, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/7a495020-en.

[43] OECD (2023), “What is the social and solidarity economy? A review of concepts”, OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Papers, No. 2023/13, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/dbc7878d-en.

[44] OECD (2022), Designing Legal Frameworks for Social Enterprises: Practical Guidance for Policy Makers, Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED), OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/172b60b2-en.

[51] OECD (2022), Disability, Work and Inclusion: Mainstreaming in All Policies and Practices, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/1eaa5e9c-en.

[49] OECD (2022), Future-Proofing Adult Learning in Berlin, Germany, OECD Reviews on Local Job Creation, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/fdf38f60-en.

[2] ONS (n.d.), Annual Population Survey - economic activity by disability level.

[15] Scottish Government (2024), Digital Scotland Service Manual, https://servicemanual.gov.scot/ (accessed on 23 April 2024).

[5] Scottish Government (2023), “Scotland’s Devolved Employment Services: Statistical Summary”, https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/statistics/2023/07/scotlands-devolved-employment-services-statistical-summary-july-2023/documents/scotlands-devolved-employment-services-statistical-summary-july-2023/scotlands-devolved-.

[48] Scottish Government (2022), “Adult learning strategy 2022 to 2027”, https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/strategy-plan/2022/05/adult-learning-strategy-scotland-2022-27/documents/adult-learning-strategy-scotland-2022-2027/adult-learning-strategy-scotland-2022-2027/govscot%3Adocument/adult-learning-strategy-scotland-2022-2027.pdf (accessed on 25 April 2024).

[14] Scottish Government (2022), Employment support services: customer charter, https://www.gov.scot/publications/employment-support-services-customer-charter/ (accessed on 23 April 2024).

[58] Scottish Government (2022), “Review of Supported Employment within Scotland: Findings and Recommendations”, https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/independent-report/2022/09/review-supported-employment-scotland/documents/review-supported-employment-within-scotland-findings-recommendations/review-supported-employment-within-scotland-findings-recommendations/govscot%3Adocument/review-supported-employment-within-scotland-findings-recommendations.pdf (accessed on 25 April 2024).

[8] Scottish Government (2020), “No One Left Behind: Delivery Plan”, https://www.employabilityinscotland.com/media/ktmdiord/no-one-left-behind-delivery-plan.pdf (accessed on 22 April 2024).

[4] Scottish Government (2019), “Scotland’s Devolved Employment Services: statistical summary”, https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/statistics/2019/05/scotlands-devolved-employment-services-statistical-summary-2/documents/scotlands-devolved-employment-services-statistical-summary-29-2019/scotlands-devolved-employment-services-statistical-summary-29-2019/govscot%3Adocument/scotlands-devolved-employment-services-statistical-summary-29-2019.pdf (accessed on 22 April 2024).

[6] Scottish Government (2018), “No One Left Behind: Next Steps for the Integration and Alignment of Employability Support in Scotland”, https://www.employabilityinscotland.com/media/bidji54o/no_one_left_behind_-_next_steps_for_employability_support.pdf (accessed on 10 April 2024).

[47] Scottish Government (2013), The Requirements for Community Learning and Development (Scotland) Regulations 2013, Scottish Statutory Instruments, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2013/175/introduction/made (accessed on 6 May 2024).

[7] Scottish Government & Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (2018), “Partnership Working Agreement for Employability”, https://www.employabilityinscotland.com/media/la5lkwt2/scottish_and_local_government_partnership_working_agreement_for_employability.pdf (accessed on 22 April 2024).

[55] Sigelman, M., J. Fuller and A. Martin (2024), Skills-Based Hiring: The Long Road from Pronouncements to Practice, Burning Glass Institute, https://static1.squarespace.com/static/6197797102be715f55c0e0a1/t/65cc355c4935cb001349a4cd/1707881822922/Skills-Based+Hiring+02122024+vF.pdf (accessed on 6 May 2024).

[27] Skills Development Scotland (2024), 16+ Data Hub, https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/what-we-do/scotlands-careers-services/16plus-data-hub (accessed on 24 April 2024).

[60] SQW (2023), Working Well: Work and Health Programme & Job Entry: Targeted Support (JETS) Evaluation 2023 Annual Report, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Manchester, https://www.greatermanchester-ca.gov.uk/media/9083/working-well-whp-plus-jets-annual-report-2023.pdf (accessed on 6 May 2024).

[33] STAR (2024), Hvad virker i beskæftigelsespolitikken?, https://star.dk/viden-og-tal/hvad-virker-i-beskaeftigelsesindsatsen/ (accessed on 6 May 2024).

[61] TSI Scotland Network (2024), What is the TSI Scotland Network?, https://tsi.scot/ (accessed on 6 May 2024).

[41] TSI Scotland Network (2023), “Introducing Scotland’s Voluntary Sector”, https://tsi.scot/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/TSI-Guide-for-Councillors-Oct23.pdf (accessed on 24 April 2024).

[3] UK GOvernment (2016), Scotland Act 2016, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2016/11/introduction/enacted (accessed on 6 May 2024).

[24] UK Government (2024), Contact Jobcentre Plus, https://www.gov.uk/contact-jobcentre-plus (accessed on 24 April 2024).

[30] UK Government (2024), Guidance UKSPF: evaluation strategy, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-evaluation/ukspf-evaluation-strategy (accessed on 24 April 2024).

[17] UK Government (2022), UK Shared Prosperity Fund: prospectus, https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus#introduction (accessed on 6 May 2024).

[56] Virginia’s Community Colleges (2024), Fast Forward, https://fastforwardva.org/ (accessed on 6 May 2024).

Note

← 1. Third Sector Interfaces are charities which provide access to advice, information and practical support for charities and community groups, social enterprises and volunteering organisations. They are based in each Local Authority in Scotland (TSI Scotland Network, 2024[61]).

Featured topics

Agriculture and fisheries

Climate change

Development

Digital

Economy

Education and skills

Employment

Environment

Finance and investment

Governance

Health

Industry, business and entrepreneurship

Regional, rural and urban development

Science, technology and innovation

Society

Taxation

Trade

Energy

Nuclear energy

Transport

Featured topics

Agriculture and fisheries

Climate change

Development

Digital

Economy

Education and skills

Employment

Environment

Finance and investment

Governance

Health

Industry, business and entrepreneurship

Regional, rural and urban development

Science, technology and innovation

Society

Taxation

Trade

Energy

Nuclear energy

Transport

Countries A - C

Countries D - I

Countries J - M

Countries N - R

Countries S - T

Countries U - Z

Regional and global engagement

Countries

Countries A - C

Countries D - I

Countries J - M

Countries N - R

Countries S - T

Countries U - Z

Regional and global engagement

Publications

Publications

Featured publications

Data

Data

Featured data

News & Events

News & Events

Featured Events

About OECD

About

Engage with us

Work with us

Featured topics

Agriculture and fisheries

Climate change

Development

Digital

Economy

Education and skills

Employment

Environment

Finance and investment