National Framework for the establishment of Regional Invest in Young People Groups

Transcription

1 National Framework for the establishment of Regional Invest in Young People Groups 1 Purpose In its final report, the Commission for Developing Scotland Young Workforce set out the pivotal role that employers should play in developing young people and improving the level of recruitment directly from education. The Commission made a number of recommendations designed to encourage and support greater employer engagement with education and youth recruitment. A primary recommendation is the establishment of regional industry-led groups across Scotland. The recommended focus of the groups is: To encourage and support employers to engage directly with schools and colleges; and To encourage more employers to recruit more young people. The Commission s recommendation is focussed on a flexible approach which supports innovation to meet the priorities of each region. It also focusses on moving from Scottish Government funding for the groups to employer funding by the end of the initial three year period of Government funding. This framework outlines the process to establish Regional Invest in Young People groups across Scotland. 2 The National Invest in Young People Group The Scottish Government has accepted this recommendation and has tasked the National Invest in Young People Group with overseeing the establishment of Regional Invest in Young People Groups over the next year or so and to support their development thereafter. The National Group is chaired by Rob Woodward, chief executive of STV, and membership brings together individuals with a track record of industry, business and education engagement. The membership is drawn from industry, local government, the college sector and the trade union movement. The National Group has been established for a three year period. The terms of reference and membership of the National Group is shown at Annex A. The National Group is supported by a small dedicated executive team based in the Scottish Government s Fair Work, Skills and Training Directorate. The team will work with and on behalf of the National Group to support the development of proposals for regional groups. Additional support will be drawn from other organisations as required. All proposals to establish Regional Invest in Young People Groups will be considered by the National Group and the chair of the National Group will advise Ministers as a result of those considerations.

2 3 Core Principles for the Establishment of Regional Groups Leadership and membership A key element of the recommendation is that the groups should be led by private sector employers. In practice this should mean that the regional groups should be chaired by an influential private sector representative and draw the majority of its membership from private sector/third sector employers. Membership of the group would also be expected to include representation from the relevant education and economic development bodies in the region. It is important to emphasise that the additional posts funded by Scottish Government must be focussed on supporting the work of the regional group. Partnership Proposals to form a Regional Group will demonstrate how the group will build on local strengths and will take full account of current and planned services and provision. The groups will build on any existing structures and require the backing of local authorities, colleges and business community and involve as appropriate key national partners and third sector organisations. Regional Groups will be required to demonstrate an ongoing commitment to a close working relationship with regional colleges, local authorities (education and economic development/employability leads), employer organisations, local civic partners and national agencies as appropriate. Regional groups will set out plans to increase the number of employers involved in activity to support the development of young people including a clear commitment to target micro and small employers. Structure and Alignment The governance structure will build on what is already in place at a local/regional level and will therefore vary depending on the nature of the proposal and existing public services to employers. We do not therefore propose to develop a centrally defined structure for regional groups. However, we expect that all proposals will set out a clear and proportionate control framework that will operate under the board of the Regional Group. 4 Process to establish Regional Invest in Young People Groups Through the National Group, the Scottish Government will consider proposals to support the costs of a small core executive team to support the development and the work of each Regional Invest in Youth Group. Scottish Government funding will be available for a period of up to 3 years with initial proposals expected to set out a clear plan to move the approach to a self-sustaining basis after that initial period. Long term sustainability will be a clearly defined objective of regional invest in young people groups. Regional groups will participate and actively contribute to a programme of work to consider options to place the activity of the groups on a self-sustaining basis. This work will be led by the National Invest in Young People Group. The geography for regions will be based on college regions. However there is scope for flexibility in line with employers recruitment patterns and to take account of regional factors such as rurality.

3 The approach to scoping potential groups will include initial discussions between the National Group executive, employers, employer bodies, local authorities and colleges in each region. These discussion will help to establish if a suitable employer-led group already exists or if a new group needs to be established. Following those discussions we will invite the regional partners to jointly develop a proposal, endorsed by the employers who will sit on the group, to take forward the role. The proposal should include details of: the existing or proposed membership of the Regional Group; regional priorities, expected activities and indicative targets for the region; plans to deliver an improvement in employers engagement with schools and colleges in the region; plans to engage with employers of all sizes within the region, including micro and small employers; plans to encourage and support employers to recruit more young people; plans for the Regional Group and its executive team to draw input and support from the region s education community, local authorities, third sector organisations, national organisations such as Skills Development Scotland, the enterprise agencies, Department of Work and Pensions, Trade Unions and Trade Associations an overview of how the Scottish Government funding will be used; proposals to leverage in-kind funding or secondments from industry and public sector agencies ; commitment and plans to move the Group to a self-sustaining basis by the end of the 3 year funding period; the proposed composition and structure of the Regional Group s executive team and an indicative workplan for the team; the proposed host employer for the executive team and details of who, within the proposed host employer, will liaise with Scottish Government on grant funding; and budget forecasts for the 3 year period. The proposal will be expected to demonstrate: Private sector leadership; High level of buy-in from regional partners; A commitment to engage with a wider range of employers; Capacity by the board to steer the day to day work of the executive. Control and accountability for the use of the Scottish Government resources. The National Group s executive will then work with the regional partners to develop the proposal before it is considered by the National Group at one of its bimonthly meetings. 5 Setting Regional Priorities Once established all Regional Groups will be expected to consider how to:

4 develop activity to encourage and deliver on commitments from a range of employers to: o offer work experience and placements for school and college students; o engage with schools and career advisers to support the delivery of career education; o recruit more young people including Modern Apprentices; engage with employers (including micro and small employers), local authorities, schools and colleges in their region to simplify employer engagement with education and related services; work with local authorities and schools to establish school/industry partnerships across secondary schools in the region; in line with existing approaches in the region promote and support youth employment among small and micro employers in the region; work with education providers and other relevant agencies to improve the link between vocational education provision and the needs of the regional economy; promote the Investors in Young People accolade to employers in the region; promote the national youth employment equality agenda to employers in the region; engage with the National Group and the network of Regional Invest in Young People Groups across Scotland. However the Regional Groups will have flexibility to reflect regional priorities and to reflect local priorities with the region in deciding the focus of their work. 6 Strategic Fit The establishment of Regional Invest in Young People Groups and their development is a key activity within the Developing the Young Workforce Programme plan which has been jointly developed by the Scottish Government and COSLA. This is the implementation plan for the Scottish Government s youth employment strategy, also referred to as Developing Scotland s Young Workforce. This in turn aligns with One Scotland (the Programme for Government), the National Performance Framework and the joint activity taken forward by local authorities, the Scottish Government and the UK Government through the Scottish Employability Forum. Each of Scotland s 32 Community Planning Partnerships is responsible for the delivery of its Single Outcome Agreement. These are also aligned with the National Performance Framework but are based on local priorities. Each of Scotland s 13 college regions operate within the framework of Regional Outcome Agreements. These are developed in partnership with the Scottish Funding Council. They are already aligned with the National Performance Framework and will be developed in the years ahead to take account of the youth employment strategy and its implementation plan. We would expect Regional Invest in Young People Groups to contribute to the national and local outcomes covered by the frameworks outlined above.

5 7 Control The conditions of grant to the host employer, covering the costs of the Regional Group s executive team and other costs, will be set out in a letter from Scottish Government, Fair Work, Skills and Training Directorate. The conditions will vary according to the set-up but the Scottish Government controls will include: A requirement to submit quarterly claims and progress reports; Annual light touch on-site audit of supporting documentation; Submission of an annual progress report to all partners. This will include an update on placing funding for the group on a sustainable footing; and Annual performance review discussion between Chair of Regional Group, National Group Executive Team and, where appropriate, the chair of National Group. In addition to monitoring the performance of individual groups the Scottish Government will evaluate the impact of the Regional Group approach across the country at relevant points over the next three years. This will include an assessment of the performance and potential longer term impact of individual regional groups. 8 Performance Measures This activity is part of the wider joint Scottish Government/COSLA Developing the Young Workforce Programme focussed on reducing the level of youth unemployment by 40% by To support this the Developing the Young Workforce Programme plan includes as a Key Performance Indicator an increase in the proportion of employers recruiting directly from education to 35 per cent by The group in submitting its proposal should articulate their contribution to the indicators which have been identified to support its delivery. These are: Proportion of employers (all employers and small and micro businesses) offering work placements to young people (school, college and other programmes); Proportion of employers (all employers and small and micro businesses) offering work inspiration activities (e.g. school visits, workplace visits, mentoring); Number of secondary schools in partnership with employers; Percentage of employers recruiting Modern Apprentices aged 16-24; Percentage of small and micro businesses recruiting Modern Apprentices aged 16-24; and Number of employers achieving Investors in Young People accreditation. These are key metrics within the Developing the Young Workforce Programme and regional groups will be required to set out how they will monitor their contribution to the KPIs.

6 Upon formation the National Group will work with each Regional Group to develop a baseline and bespoke set of targets for each region, taking account of variations within the region and with a clear focus on adding value to existing arrangements. Although we recognise that the KPIs will be based on increased levels of activity we will also consider the extent to which the group will improve the quality of activity (e.g. work experience and inspiration activity) and to improving the longer term impact of increased activity (e.g. young people moving into sustained high quality employment and reductions in skills shortages among employers).

7 Annex A National Invest in Young People Group Terms of Reference Over the next 3 years the National Invest in Young People will oversee and support the establishment of Regional Invest in Young People Groups across Scotland. This is part of the wider Developing the Young Workforce Programme being taken forward in partnership by Scottish Government and COSLA. The group will comprise around 8 individuals who can provide strong leadership and demonstrate a track record of industry, business and education engagement. The membership will be drawn from industry, employer bodies, local government, the college sector and the trade union movement. Remit The remit of the National Group is to: Advise Scottish Ministers on the establishment of Regional Invest in Young People Groups; Agree and oversee the implementation of a national operating framework for Regional Invest in Young People Groups with clear guidance on the changes they will be involved in implementing; Agree options for the geography of the Regional IIY groups; Agree and oversee the timetable for the establishment of Regional IIY groups; Identify and work with key individuals and business organisations in each region to establish the Regional Invest in Young People group; Support the development of the Invest in Young People communication plan within the wider Developing the Young Workforce communication plan; Engage with key stakeholders and build relationships with national employers and business and public sector organisations to support their contribution to the establishment of the network of Regional Groups; Co-ordinate and facilitate the sharing of good practice across the Regional Groups; Monitor progress across the country. Support for the Group The Scottish Government has established a small team to support the Group. The team will be heavily involved in directly working with and on behalf of the group. The Government officials who formed the Secretariat to the Commission for Developing Scotland s Young Workforce will be core members of the team. Additional support will be drawn in from other organisations as required. The team will work closely with colleagues in local government, particularly SLAED.

8 Annex B National Invest in Young People Group Members Rob Woodward (chair) Colin Borland Liz Cameron Heather Dunk Sue Bruce Sylvia Halkerston Grahame Smith John Stewart Graeme Waddell

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