No One Left Behind: review of employability services

Introduction

Scotland’s new National Performance Framework sets out our purpose and vision for a more inclusive society. We want Scotland to be a successful country with opportunities that enable everyone to fulfil their potential through increased wellbeing, and sustainable and inclusive economic growth. At the heart of our purpose lies our values for a society that treats all our people with kindness, dignity, compassion and respect.

A critical aspect of inclusive growth is ensuring that as many people as possible have the opportunity to access and sustain fair work. We want all people, especially those further from the labour market or facing complex and challenging circumstances, to have the right support so that they can take advantage of the opportunities within the labour market - today and in the future.

As the world of work changes, we want to ensure we have the right support in place for people making their first steps into the labour market, for disabled people and those experiencing disadvantage in the labour market, and for workers who need a second chance to find and sustain work. We believe that delivering this agenda is vital for Scotland’s future social and economic prosperity, and to deliver a more diverse and inclusive workforce.

To ensure we can deliver on these ambitions, we need to develop an employability system that is more flexible, joined-up and responsive to the needs of people using services. These were the ambitions that lay at the heart of No One Left Behind and to launch a review of the employability programmes directly funded by the Scottish Government. Alongside the review, No One Left Behind set out actions which are being taken forward with a range of local and regional partners. Our shared ambition is to design – together with the communities we serve – an employability system in Scotland that:

• provides flexible and person-centred support including aligning the Activity Agreements and SERI programmes to begin to establish a new local employability delivery model from April 2019;
• is more straightforward for people to navigate;
• is better integrated and aligned with other services, particularly with health, justice and housing provision;
• provides pathways into sustainable and fair work;
• is driven by evidence, including data and the experience of users; and
• supports more people – particularly those facing multiple barriers – to move into the right job, at the right time.