The consultation document seeks views on simplifying the post-19 Further Education and Skills funding system and methodology.  For more information, click on the link below.

This paper describes why worklessness is an important issue for social landlords and shows how Unity Housing Association Leeds has addressed it by developing the Tenants into Work (TIW) model partnership working and outreach.

This was an action research project funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) under Objective 3 (national programme) and was targeted at improving the participation of women in the labour market by putting into practice recommendations from previous research, namely – ‘Can mentoring and networking be effective in raising the employability of women?’ Under Policy Field 5 Measure 1 Theme D (Solutions to Gender Discrimination), the project developed, coordinated and delivered a Personal Development Programme to 52 women from six different organisations across the North East of England to help move them closer to employability. The programme was designed specifically as a resource for women – to be delivered in a ‘women only’ space - and was intended to help in raising selfesteem, confidence and aspirations.

The UK Commission for Employment and Skills has just published two major documents: Ambition 2020: World Class Skills and Jobs for the UK is the first of their annual reports on UK progress towards becoming world class in employment and skills by 2020; Their Five Year Strategic Plan 2009-2014 sets out how the UK Commission will contribute towards achieving this goal.

This report looks at the UK as a whole and not specifically the North East of England.

This report looks at unemployment in the UK due to recession and how organisations are looking into changing employment practices in order to tackle recession in all sectors on a national level. The report includes specific figures pertaining to employment practices.

On 15 December 2009, the DWP published its employment White Paper Building Britain’s Recovery: Achieving Full Employment.  This is the first DWP White Paper since Raising expectations and increasing support (December 2008) and follows the Welfare Reform Act, which received Royal Assent in November 2009.  This White Paper focuses on measures to counteract unemployment caused by the current recession, although it proceeds to cover welfare reform more comprehensively in a way reminiscent of previous White Papers.  For more information, click on the link below.

Potential of Recruitment & Employment Agencies to Engage with and Support the Employment and Skills Agenda More Directly

The LSC North East commissioned Wood Holmes to undertake research to identify and scope the scale of the positive contributions that the activities of recruitment and employment agencies can make towards the wider strategies of increasing employability and skills in the North East.

As part of its ongoing drive to improve the impact of services aimed at enhancing employability and skills in the region, Skills North East wants to encourage all partners to ensure that the Regional Employability Framework (REF) lies at the heart of how all services are designed and delivered.

This brief "how to guide" provides advice for organisations and individuals involved in the design and commissioning of evaluations of employment and skills projects, explaining how to design evaluation exercises to ensure that they fully explore REF compliance.  For more information, please see the report below.

This Green Paper builds on the measures in the 2007 Welfare Reform Act to ensure that those with health conditions and disabilities have more effective provision.  This paper is of a general nature and does not address the North East specifically.

This document, produced by Newcastle Futures, is a glossary of terms and acronyms commonly used within the Employability arena.

Providing affordable, carbon efficient homes in safe, prosperous communities is a national priority. It means improving older properties and, crucially, building new homes in well-connected places with a range of facilities such as schools, health centres, shops and parks. The creation and maintenance of such places – what we call ‘sustainable communities’ – depends on the efforts of a wide range of occupations, including architecture, planning, civil engineering, surveying, housing, community development, neighbourhood management, economic development and, increasingly, environmental management.  However, there is growing evidence that many of these professions face acute recruitment shortages and in several activity areas there is a lack of essential generic skills such as visioning and strategy building, project management, leadership, partnership working and communication.

The findings of this report are intended to inform all those involved in meeting this challenge to anticipate labour market conditions, plan for the future and be better equipped to deal with complexity and change as well as stimulating dialogue across this wide-ranging sector and lead to practical solutions. 

This report assesses the gaps in the supply and demand of skills required to deliver the sustainable communities programme. Gaps include (a) technical skills, linked to regeneration and the built environment; and (b) generic skills, such as finance and project management, leadership and communication. The study was commissioned by the Academy for Sustainable Communities (ASC). Its recommendations relate to what the ASC should promote on a national level. It relates to the situation in England rather than focusing on the North East.

The latest round of European Union Structural Fund programmes is for the period 2007-13. Operating within the parameters set out in the England Operational Programme, this Regional ESF Framework sets out the direction for the use of European Social Fund (ESF) in the North East.

This report presents the reform programme by DIUS/DWP.  It assesses the principles of welfare and skills reform; the challenge of integrating employment and skills; increasing support relating to skills to increase employability and sustainable employment; skills progression and life-long skills development. The report is of a general nature and does not address the North East specifically.

A study of experience and use of the job preparation premium

This report evaluates the job preparation premium element of the Pathways to Work programme. The job preparation premium is a weekly payment of £20 for a maximum of 26 weeks for people who do some form of activity towards paid employment. The report considers the experiences of benefit administrators and recipients.

The document sets out the North East regional response and offer to businesses and individuals affected by the recession in relation to employment and skills.  For more information click on the document below.

This report discusses a vision for personalised conditions regarding the entitlement of jobseekers seeking and claiming benefits. It makes recommendations in light of challenging times for the global economy and the UK labour market. The vision is of a welfare system more resilient to the ebbs and flows of the economy, so that no-one is left behind. The report is of a general nature and does not specifically address the North East.

This report focuses on understanding the impact of the recession and practical ways in which UK city leaders can respond. Twelve UK case studies are discussed, including Newcastle.

This report makes a series of recommendations to reduce the number of the most socially disadvantaged people in the country. It does not specifically address the North East.

The REF progress paper summarises developments from January to March 2010.

This summary reports key findings of research conducted by the Employment Research Institute at Edinburgh Napier University for ONE NorthEast (ONE) evaluating the North East’s Regional Employability Framework (REF). The REF seeks to provide a single accessible network of employability support to meet the needs of both employers and individuals.

The North East economy is made up of a broad range of employers operating across a number of sectors.  To help people understand the opportunities that will be available, a range of fact sheets have been developed which describe the sector and outline the skills required to move into jobs in these industries.

The rise in redundancies and unemployment over the end of 2008 and early 2009 has led to an unprecedented level of response from Government and its agencies, local government and other partners nationally and within the North East.  Much of this response has addressed the wider economic causes of the recession, through actions to increase liquidity in the financial markets, stimulate consumer demand, improve access to credit for businesses, and increase take up of business advice and support through Business Link.  This Action Plan describes the additional activity underway within the North East to address the employment and skills impacts and challenges of the recession, within the context of this wider holistic response.  For more information, please click on the attached Action Plan.

This document reviews progress since the previous Skills Action Plan Report from 2005-2006. The Skills Action Plan addresses the employment and skill needs of the North East region. Strategic indicators to benchmark and measure the progress of partnership between employers and the skills action plan are discussed.

This interim report assesses how local authorities and their partners are using the Working Neighbourhoods Fund (WNF).

This report generally emphasises the urgency to find simple and straightforward ways to deliver more support for workless people. It is not specific to the North East.

The North East's multi-agency approach to integrating employment and skills.

This paper looks at the unemployment crisis facing the UK in light of the recent economic crisis and the role of the Third Sector. The characteristics of the current recession are analysed along with past and present responses to the crises. Further, moves toward greater knowledge intensiveness and greening of the economy are discussed along with related practical challenges and opportunities for the Third Sector. The paper is of general nature and does not address the North East specifically.

This document contains the next steps of the government adopting the recommendations of the Leitch Review to provide everyone with the opportunity and encouragement to develop their skills to the maximum. It describes how to create integrated employment and skills services that are more responsive to the needs of individuals and employers. It also shows how to ensure that delivery systems work more closely together, and are driven by those who know best how to shape services to meet local needs. The document does not specifically address the North East.

Dame Carol Black’s review focuses on the health of people of working age, whose health has consequences often far beyond themselves – touching their families and children, workplaces and wider communities. It emphasises the importance of considering the hidden human costs of ill-health alongside the measurable economic costs. The aim of the review is to identify the factors that stand in the way of good health and to elicit interventions, including changes in attitudes, behaviours and practices – as well as services – that can help overcome them. The review is of general nature and does not directly address the North East.