Welfare Reform:

1

• Welfare Reform
• Integrating Employment and Skills,
• the Challenges for Wales
• Linda Badman
• Customer Services Director,
• Wales

AS141105.1
2
Context

• Rapid economic and technological change
• Create a Competitive Wales
• Improved employability, earnings and progression.

3
Devolved Responsibilities(include)

• Education and Training
• But also
• The Environment
• Health and Health Services
• Economic Development
• Industry
• Transport and Roads
• Housing
• Local Government and Social Services
• Transport and
• The Welsh language

4
The Devolved Administration Cabinet Portfolio

• First Minister
• Deputy First Minister Economy and Transport
• Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and
  Skills
• Sustainability and Housing
• Finance and Public Service Delivery
• Social Justice and Local Government
• Health and Social Services
• Rural Affairs and
• Heritage.

5
The Challenge for Wales

• Employment rates behind UK average
• Decline in employee jobs
• Decline in unskilled jobs
• Basic Skills / Skill levels
• Acute and / or multiples barriers
• Concentrations of worklessness

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The Challenge for Jobcentre Plus (Wales)

• The Welsh Assembly Government has the
  Responsibility for Skills
• Jobcentre Plus has the responsibility for
  employment
• The Challenge
• How do we integrate our approach ?

7
Wales the Current Model

• All age Careers Service
• National Support Project for Basic Skills
• Rapid Response Service
• Regeneration
• Skillbuild
• LEPs

8
Way Forward

• Establish Welsh Minister's Views on tighter
  rights and responsibilities
• Continued working with the Assembly Government on
  arrangements that meet the specific needs of
  Wales
• Development of Integrated Employment and Skills
  Pathfinders in Wales.

9
Integrated Employment and Skills

• Joint Planning ?
• Shared Targets ?
• Enhanced Customer Engagement ?
• Seamless Service for Customers ?
• Single Employer Offer ?
• Shared agenda on IAG, basic skills, soft skills,
  vocational skills etc ?

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Our aspiration an integrated approach to
employment and skills that move us towards 80
employment
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Welfare Reform Integrating Employment and
Skills, the Challenges for Scotland

• Alastair MacDonald
• Customer Service Director, Scotland

12
Context

• Skills development contributes to economic
  development and supports individuals to access
  the labour market.
• For individual Scots, the benefits of being
  better skilled are improved chances of being
  employed and on average, better wages.
• Scotland is the only country in the UK where the
  percentage of people with a Higher Education
  qualification outnumbers the percentage with a
  basic schools leaving qualification

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Devolution in Scotland

• Health and social work
• Education and training
• Local government and housing
• Justice and police
• Agriculture, forestry and fisheries
• The environment
• Tourism, sport and heritage
• Economic development and internal transport

14
The Devolved Administration

• The administration has six Cabinet portfolios
• First Minister
• Finance and Sustainable Growth
• Health and Wellbeing
• Education and Lifelong Learning
• Justice and Communities
• Rural Affairs and Environment

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Challenges for Scotland

• Current and long term growth below UK level
• Issues for employers around softer skills
• Pockets of inequality, poverty and economic
  inactivity especially in post industrial areas
• 16 -19 year olds not in education, employment and
  training
• Productivity

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• Employers need employees with better
  employability skills
• Does under-employment of graduates result in
  fewer employment opportunities for the less
  skilled?
• Is limited geographical mobility of graduates or
  the less skilled impacting economic development?

17
The Challenge

• Challenge for Jobcentre Plus in Scotland
• The Scottish Government has responsibility for
  Skills
• Jobcentre Plus has responsibility for employment
• How do we manage different approaches?

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The Scotland model

• Creation of Skills Development Scotland
• Skills Development Scotland and Careers Scotland
  working more closely with Workforce Plus
• Careers Scotland delivers all-ages careers
  guidance
• More Choices, More Chances tackling 16 19 year
  olds in NEET group

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Way forward

• Discussions needed with Scottish Ministers about
  mandating customers to skills services - they do
  not believe there is any evidence to suggest that
  mandating increases participation.
• Scottish Government are expected to wait until
  the results of mandatory pilots to make a
  decision on delivery in Scotland
• Different approaches to the same objectives
• Sustain partnership working