The Strategic Director (Children’s Services) will submit a report in respect of the Get Bradford Working programme (Document “AB”), which aims to tackle the issues and barriers facing Bradford residents in the labour market.

It gives details of the achievements of the programme to date and future plans.

Recommended –

(1)       That Document “AB” be noted and the continued success of the Get Bradford Working Programme in providing access to employment opportunities for those living in the Bradford district be welcomed.

(2)       That the work of the Council’s partners in delivering the Get Bradford Working programme be commended.

(3)       That Members of the Committee give a commitment to the promotion of the Get Bradford Working and Skills Training and Employment (STEP) programmes within their networks.

                                                                        (Matt Findull – 01274 439572)

The Strategic Director (Children’s Services) submitted a report in respect of the Get Bradford Working (GBW) Programme (Document “AB”), which aimed to tackle the issues and barriers facing Bradford residents in the labour market. The report gave details of the achievements of the programme to date and future plans.

The Strategic Director showed Members a video from the Local Government Association’s (LGA) website promoting the benefits of the GBW initiative and said that:

·         It was considered that the GBW Programme had been a great success with 3104 individuals supported into employment as at today’s date. Almost 3000 young people were taking part in the Industrial Centres of Learning (ICE) initiative which opened up different learning opportunities for them and had a proven impact on retention.

·         SkillsHouse had resulted in the City Centre attaining ‘World Host’ status, the first city to have done so, and there were plans to extend this to Saltaire.

·         SkillsHouse had also diversified from it’s initial remit and, further to work with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, was working on upskilling underemployed and low paid people in the local workforce.

·         GBW worked with major employers on upskilling their employees and supporting the attainment of qualifications up to degree level.

·         There had been an increase in apprenticeship take-up  through the Apprenticeship Hub.

·         The ‘Step up to Business’ Project had supported 23 young people in starting their own business and had trained 101 youth practitioners to support young people with basic business skills.

·         £4 million of European Structural and Investment Fund (ESIF) funding had been secured, in partnership with Leeds City Council, for the Skills Training and Employment Pathways (STEP) Programme.

He answered Members’ questions:

·         Following the expansion of the ‘World Host’ status to Saltaire it was intended to roll out this initiative to Keighley and Ilkley, although this was not something that could be achieved within a short timescale.

·         The STEP Programme dealt predominantly with referrals from the Job Centre although targeted recruitment in particular communities was being considered. Participation was voluntary.

·         A commitment had been given by the Treasury in respect of secured funding until the end of the existing programme.

·         The ‘World Host’ initiative was about offering outstanding service but also ensured that companies continued to invest in staff training.

·         The potential for commercial opportunities and partnership investment into SkillsHouse was being investigated.

·         A breakdown of how the money had been spent could be provided to Members.

·         Historically data had not been collected in respect of retention of employment or the progression of participants. Some European funded contracts required tracking for 6 months whilst others required demonstration of progression. It should be noted that there were costs associated with undertaking tracking.

·         The Government was clear that careers education and technical learning was the responsibility of schools.

·         The ICE initiative was a partnership with local businesses to enhance learning opportunities and focus on relevant skills. It also increased connections between young people and the labour market/business. The Council maintained a brokerage role in terms of the relationship between education and business.

·         In addition to assisting over 3,000 people into employment, GBW had supported 5000 young people through the ICE programme, 5000 apprenticeships and provided support to local business.

·         It was considered that the Council had been bold in pursuing this initiative and this had been recognised by the LGA picking it up as a case study.

·         Parts of the programme had been costly but this had to be weighed against the cost of a person being unemployed; it was considered that it was good value for the tax payer. It also targeted those people with multiple or significant barriers to achieving employment and assisted those at a low level to gain skills and then qualifications to help them to sustain employment moving forward and then to develop a career. An external evaluation in 2015 had calculated the social value of the work being undertaken.

·         It was recognised that a number of people would travel to Leeds to work, having been trained in Bradford, but the ultimate aim was to support Bradford people to have a better quality of life whether this was within the district or outside.

Members made the following comments:

·         The ‘World Host’ scheme was very positive and the roll-out to other areas was welcomed.

·         Six months tracking was not considered to be sufficient in terms of assessing the benefit of such schemes.

·         Someone who had been assisted to gain skills could then use these to work outside the district but they would then be contributing to society, paying taxes and spending money within the local economy; in addition to which they would gain self worth from having a job. In terms of the greater economy and issues such as mental health this was a worthwhile investment.

The Strategic Director said that he was unable to say if it would be possible to track past activity but the programme had helped a lot of people into work and enabled them to make a contribution to society.

Resolved –

(1)       That Document “AB” be noted and the continued success of the Get Bradford Working Programme in providing access to employment opportunities for those living in the Bradford district be welcomed.

(2)       That the work of the Council’s partners in delivering the Get Bradford Working programme be commended.

(3)       That Members of the Committee give a commitment to the promotion of the Get Bradford Working and Skills Training and Employment Pathways (STEP) programmes within their networks.

(4)       That a combined report to update Members on the Get Bradford Working and Skills for Work programmes be presented to the Committee in twelve months time; to include the tracking of outcomes for at least twelve months of those people who gain employment as a result of the Get Bradford Working initiative.

ACTION:       Strategic Director, Children’s Services

                        Scrutiny Lead