Agenda item
Employment programme update
This report provides an update on the current labour market position in Brent and sets out the challenges faced by the Council in relation to rising unemployment and deprivation that are likely to worsen with the introduction of welfare reforms. The report highlights a number of opportunities to tackle the growing problem not least through the establishment of a new “Employment and Enterprise” team within the Regeneration and Major Projects department. An outline of the initial work to be undertaken by this team is also detailed within the report.
Minutes:
Members received a report which provided an update on the current labour market position in Brent and set out the challenges faced by the Council in relation to rising unemployment and deprivation that were likely to worsen with the introduction of welfare reforms. Andy Donald, Director of Regeneration and Major Projects outlined the context, the extent of deprivation and the responses put in place to tackle those growing problems.
Members heard that a team of 6 navigators had been recruited to start work in January 2013 in close co-operation with housing teams. Their remit was to engage the most excluded individuals and families who were likely to be hardest hit by the benefits cap in April 2013, offer support to them to mitigate the impact. The Director added that the navigators would carry a caseload of about 2,604 households drawn from a group of residents most at risk of homelessness/displacement. The success of the project would be measured by the number of families enabled to stay in their homes, through employment and effectiveness with other services.
He continued that a welfare reform group had been set up that met regularly to consider how best to reach and offer assistance to those who were likely to face shortfalls in benefits. Teams were working very closely with partners at Jobcentre Plus and the Work Programme to agree a process that would better connect the Council’s services to direct support and prevent homelessness. This may involve co-locating employment staff within Housing to provide direct support and a robust performance monitoring process to ensure all partners delivered the right services to the client group. Navigators would also be a key part of this process and the “Working with Families” project.
The Director also informed members that a number of steps were being taken to address the gap between training and employment and with that in mind, the curriculum, structure and delivery of BACES would be reviewed to ensure a fundamental shift in emphasis to vocational objectives. A feasibility/scoping study was also being commissioned into the set up of three vocational training centres. These would be along the lines of Intermediate Labour Markets and would be aligned as closely as possible with major regeneration projects.
Members noted that a bidding framework and brief was being set up to identify a group of voluntary sector providers that would be able to support employment provision in the borough. It was envisaged that experienced providers would be paid on a results basis to support voluntary referrals. Furthermore, the group would investigate ways that small teams of local people could be recruited and trained by the voluntary sector to raise awareness of the benefit changes in local Jobcentre Plus offices and other community meeting points.
Brent in2work had continued to deliver advice and guidance to local residents seeking employment and training opportunities from the Wembley Works office. Over 100 local unemployed residents had found work through Brent in2work since April 2012 which included 59 jobs with the new Hilton Hotel. This was as a result of a successful collaborative working of Brent in2work, Job Centre Plus (JCP), College of North West London (CNWL) and Wembley City.
Work was also continuing with construction contractors such as Skanska and Wilmot Dixon to ensure that training, apprenticeships and employment aspects of S106 agreements were adhered to. Partnership working with Denne contractors continued to create positive outcomes for the local residents in South Kilburn, with further work being developed with Catalyst Housing as Phase 2 of the regeneration project progressed.
In welcoming the report, members enquired from the Director as to how the caseload for the navigation team would be selected, what actions were being taken to encourage small businesses and the possibility of using Section 106 agreements to support people into employment. He was also asked to clarify the review of BACES in the vocational training centres.
The Director responded that the employment team working in close partnership with officers from housing department would focus on residents who could be vulnerable to the benefit changes, unemployment and homelessness. He added that through employer partnership with Park Royal Partnership, the Council would signpost small businesses to organisation that could offer assistance to those businesses. In respect of section 106 agreements, he stated that it was within the Council’s remit to use those agreements to support people into work, citing as an example the agreement with Quintains to notify Brent first of the availability of employment in its construction developments in Wembley.
Members also heard that a team would be set up to oversee the review of BACES, looking into the current success rate from recruitment to employment and how they could engage with the business community to identify which areas of work were expected to grow in employment terms and match them with the skills of those working for BACES. The Director continued that the review was expected to be completed by the end of the financial year. He undertook to report the performance of the Council’s initiatives to the Committee in April 2013.
RESOLVED:
that the progress report on employment programme be noted.
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