The impact of strategies in Workstep on increasing progressions to unsupported employment

1
The impact of strategies in Workstep on
increasing progressions to unsupportedemployment

• Presenters
• Pat Higginbottom ADM
• June Cramman HMI

2
Background

• DWP commissioned review
• 2 full-time HMI and 3 additional inspectors
• Fieldwork from December 2008-March 2009
• Inspection data used to identify relevant
  providers
• 21 Workstep providers visited
• 49 employers interviewed
• 80 participants interviewed
• Interviews also held with DWP staff and BASE

3
Providers

• Range of providers to broadly represent the
  sector
• 4 large national organisations
• 12 local authorities/councils
• The remainder charities or companies limited by
  guarantee
• Sample taken from across the country

4
Methodolgy

• Inspection reports used to identify successful
  providers or those who had identified strengths
  in increasing progressions/or with good
  management strategies
• Team identified potential areas for investigation
  using CIF as basis
• Hypothesis pro-forma created
• Inspectors allocated case load mainly based on
  location
• Inspectors contacted providers and followed up
  this phone call with a letter and a copy of the
  pro-forma
• Providers completed the pro-forma prior to each
  one day visit

5
What worked a change in emphasis

• Those providers with successful strategies had
  usually changed their management focus
  significantly to reflect the nature of Workstep
  as opposed to the original supported employment
  scheme
• Most providers had formal contract agreements
  with participants. They set out their
  expectations of participants with clear and
  timely routes onto and out of the Workstep
  programme
• They used very effective vocational profiling to
  develop specific, job-related goals recorded in
  development plans with regular, negotiated visits
  to encourage progress

6
What worked employer engagement

• Providers had very good relationships with
  employers enabling them to match the needs of the
  employer to that of the participants
• Some providers used very good research to
  understand the demographics of the area and how
  best to attract employers
• Some larger companies have contracts with
  national employers and have become the preferred
  recruitment agency

7
What worked employer engagement

• Advisers were skilled at matching participants to
  employers. They identified participants
  individual preferences and requirements very
  effectively, placed them with supportive
  employers and made regular visits
• Work placements were well managed with time bound
  lengths of stay and good monitoring of progress.
  In the more successful providers, placements with
  voluntary organisations or charities were managed
  well to increase the confidence of the
  individuals. However, some providers placed too
  much emphasis on maintaining placement activity,
  rather that challenging participants to take up
  paid work.

8
What worked training and development

• Personalised and genuinely individualised
  training, coaching and learning approaches
  developed personal, social and employability
  skills the most
• Most training or coaching was given individually,
  but where some group work was used this worked
  very well
• Detailed progress reviews were crucial in
  maintaining focus on progression into unsupported
  employment. Short term targets were used well to
  motivate and enthuse participants while ensuring
  that the long term aim of moving to unsupported
  employment was the main focus

9
What worked management measures

• Good partnerships with both training providers
  and wider support agencies
• Good recruitment of teams with a range of
  backgrounds and abilities who support each other
  well
• High emphasis on information, advice and guidance
  with most either having or working towards MATRIX

10
What worked management measures

• Good use of resources both own and in
  partnership (Access to Work)
• Very good partnerships with employers
• Good quality improvement measures, including
  sharing of practice, peer review and improvement
  planning

11
What worked longer term strategies

• Providers are developing strategies to overcome
  historic barriers to unsupported employment, like
  the advantageous work and pension conditions of
  some inherited workshop schemes
• Some now have good partnerships with unions and
  employers to make unsupported employment more
  attractive, while protecting the participants
  rights
• They offer alternatives like job-carving or are
  developing social firms
• One large provider has changed its focus
  completely, with attractive shop-front premises
  in accessible locations

12
What worked longer term strategies

• Where factories/workshops remain, providers are
  generally more focussed on giving good quality
  training to participants
• Training is more job-related and increasingly
  challenging eg. Team leader training or project
  management
• There is more emphasis on job rotation or on the
  possibility of promotion to challenge participants

13
What worked longer term strategies

• Key workers are encouraged to train in
  information, advice and guidance and are active
  in getting participants in the workshops to think
  more widely about their career aspirations
• In the current economic climate many workshops
  have been forced to diversify which has led many
  workers to change their roles or take on new
  responsibilities

14
What is still not working

• Providers are still not using data well
  particularly in monitoring participant progress
  or in using data to set staff meaningful targets,
  however in some providers this was used well and
  these providers had a clear management view on
  both progress of individuals and of progressions
  to unsupported employment on an ongoing basis.
  They were also able to begin looking at trends in
  their provision as a result and use this
  information for planning
• The development of literacy, numeracy and
  language skills by providers is mostly less
  effective. Vocationally relevant skills for life
  training is offered in only a few providers and,
  at best, this is satisfactory provision.

15
What is still not working

• Some providers do not celebrate success well
  enough. Participants small steps to unsupported
  employment are not sufficiently recognised and in
  some cases, employers are not sufficiently aware
  of the potential and capability of Workstep
  clients
• In most local authorities, developing the
  awareness of Workstep across the breadth of the
  councils departments has been insufficiently
  developed
• The providers interviewed also felt that the
  funding model itself limited the success of
  working with particularly vulnerable groups such
  as school leavers or those coming out of the
  forces

16
Summary

• The survey found that Workstep is slowly becoming
  more successful in progressing participants to
  unsupported employment
• Many providers have re-organised and re-focussed
  themselves to have a clear management focus on
  getting people into unsupported employment
• Staff are focussed on progressions as their
  targets and conduct rigorous assessments with
  participants to match them well to jobs.
• Reviews are frequent and highly concentrated on
  genuine progress

17
Summary

• Links with employers are used well to gain
  sustainable jobs for participants
• Good long term strategies are being put in place
  to challenge clients in factory or workshop
  provision to move to unsupported employment
• Provision in factories and workshops is improving
  with increased training and challenge for those
  in employment there
• There are still issues to address, particularly
  in tackling job-related literacy, numeracy or
  language problems

18
Contact details

• Pat.Higginbottom_at_ofsted.gov.uk
• June.cramman_at_ofsted.gov.uk