Chamber and committees

Learning and evaluation continue to be a key aspect of our approach to employability services in Scotland.

The Implementation evaluation of the development and early delivery of No One Left Behind and the Young Person’s Guarantee was commissioned by the Scottish Government and published on 10 August 2023.

We will consider the recommendations from the evaluation alongside the outputs from our recent national stakeholder discussion events and actions will be reviewed to identify how we can improve.

The Scottish Government works in partnership with Local Government and Local Employability Partners to offer key worker led, person-centred holistic support. At a local level they work in communities and with partners to deliver employability services to those who are experiencing or are at risk of becoming long term unemployed and this includes people with disabilities or long-term health conditions.

Supported employment including Individual Placement and Support can offer assistance to those requiring intensive and specific help especially those with severe and enduring mental ill health.

These evidence-based models of delivery help people find or re-enter sustainable employment that fits their needs and interests. It offers intensive, individual support, rapid job search followed by placement in paid employment in the open labour market, and time-unlimited in-work support for both the employee and the employer.

We are working with a range of partners, to inform options on development of the Supported Employment offer which is currently delivered through Fair Start Scotland. From 2024 this type of support will be made available through our No One Left Behind approach with the Local Employability Partnerships.

The most recent data from the Scottish Health Survey on sports participation by children aged between 11 and 15 in each of the last five years is detailed in the following table.

The Scottish Government works in partnership with Local Government and Local Employability Partners to offer key worker led, person-centred holistic support. At a local level they work in communities and with partners to deliver employability services to those who are experiencing or are at risk of becoming long term unemployed. This includes people with disabilities or long-term health conditions. We engaged with all Scottish Local Authorities when we undertook reviews in the delivery of Supported Employment and Individual Placement and Support (IPS) to consider the most appropriate approach for improved outcomes.

Supported employment including IPS can offer assistance to those requiring intensive and specific help. Officials are working with a range of partners to develop and expand our Supported Employment offer which is currently delivered through Fair Start Scotland. From 2024 this type of support will be made available through our No One Left Behind approach with local partners.

In addition, we are considering the recommendations from the implementation evaluation of No One Left Behind and the Young Person’s Guarantee, alongside the outputs from our recent national stakeholder discussion events and actions will be reviewed to identify improvement measures.

Awareness and promotion of the Young Person’s Guarantee among employability staff was achieved using existing networks and communication channels.

Support for young people now forms part of our all-age employability support delivered through No One Left Behind. Employability support is designed and delivered at a local level by Local Employability Partnerships.

Local Authorities have the responsibility of developing approaches with partners, including engaging with employers, to meet local needs. Local Employability Leads will be able to provide local information on employer engagement.

Employability contacts for each local authority can be found on the Employability in Scotland website which can be accessed here: https://www.employabilityinscotland.com/local-employability-services/

The Young Person’s Guarantee was introduced in response to the Covid-19 pandemic as a measure to prevent long-term adverse impacts for young people in the labour market. It contained a number of aspects, covering skills, education, and employability. Employability support for young people is now delivered through No One Left Behind, as part of the long-term ambition to simplify the employability landscape for service users.

In recognition of the importance of the employability aspect of the Young Person’s Guarantee, we commissioned a joint Implementation evaluation of No One Left Behind and the Young Person’s Guarantee to inform future direction of devolved employability support. This was published on 10 August 2023.

We will consider the recommendations from the evaluation alongside the outputs from our recent national stakeholder discussion events and actions will be reviewed to identify how we can improve.

The Scottish Government continues to work closely with local government partners in each local authority to promote and drive an increase in the reach of our services across all of Scotland.

The Scottish Government set out the policy approach to Employability within the No One Left Behind: review of employability services report which was published on 5 December 2018. Support and Guidance has been provided through the development of national products, including the Customer Charter, Shared Measurement Framework, Service Standards and other materials which are designed to support development and implementation of services at a local level whilst maintaining national coherence.

We continue to work in partnership with local government, key stakeholders, and service users to build capacity for promoting and delivering the Scottish Approach to Service Design in Employability and inter-related national products. This creates the optimum conditions and framework for quality services and how to evaluate them.

Design and delivery of employability services that meet the needs of users and local labour markets is the responsibility of the local employability partnership. To support this, and ensure national coherence, we co-designed employability service standards with partners and users. Local Employability Partnerships (LEP) are required to uphold the expectations set out in the service standards, including ensuring their services are accessible and take account of the experience of users.

Third sector partners have a key role to play in the design and delivery of services at LEP level and adherence to the service standards whilst actively engaged in delivery supports them in ensuring services are accessible for disabled people.

Third Sector organisations based in Scotland were invited to apply to the Workplace Equality Fund 2022-2024 which is a source of financial support for Scottish businesses and organisations striving to address longstanding barriers in the labour market that particular priority groups, including disabled people, face. Workplace Equality Fund investment is just over £590k across 10 projects this year, four of which focus specifically on disability, totalling over £3m to 71 projects since 2018.

We recognise the important role the third sector can play in supporting people to access support they are entitled to and are committed to working in partnership to develop our devolved approach to employability.