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Manchester Work Clubs Councillor Sue Murphy Deputy Leader Manchester City Council, Lead Member for Employment and Skills VNG Annual Conference June 17 th 2014. Slide 1. The last five years: A rapidly changing demographic. The population has increased ahead of forecasts

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  1. Manchester Work ClubsCouncillor Sue MurphyDeputy Leader Manchester City Council,Lead Member for Employment and SkillsVNG Annual Conference June 17th 2014 Slide 1

  2. The last five years: A rapidly changing demographic • The population has increased ahead of forecasts • It is increasingly ethnically diverse • New residents are having more children • There are more people in work • People are better educated • There are record numbers of graduates many of which are choosing to live in the city centre and fringe • At the same time however; • High levels of worklessness; complex dependency and pockets of deprivation remain • Welfare reforms are changing neighbourhoods • Unprecedented pressure on school places

  3. Background – MCC role in employment support • Leadership around supporting economic growth and reducing dependency/cost but no statutory role • Previously had national funding to plug gaps in nationally managed services e.g. Jobcentre Plus • Long track record of innovation in regeneration areas Now use mainstream budgets. • Public Service Reform – moving towards financial self-sufficiency, connecting communities to growth • Focus on sustainability and flexible community delivery

  4. Work Clubs - Context Introduced by the coalition government 2010/11 as part of a new welfare reform programme. • ‘Get Britain Working’ measures for new benefit claimants including; Work Clubs, volunteering and work experience to add value to the Jobcentre Plus standard support • The Work Programme – mandatory programme for certain categories of mainly longer-term benefit claimants, sub-contracted to large private sector organisations

  5. Work Clubs – Concept and Context • Voluntary participation for unemployed people • A place for unemployed people to meet and exchange skills, experiences, make contacts and get support to move into work • Demand- led, established and driven locally by community groups, delivered in accessible venues • ‘Big Society’ approach - creating a new generation of volunteers to deliver community services • Limited start up funding from government, initially in priority areas

  6. Delivery • No fixed delivery model from Government but minimum expectation of support with job search and CV writing, following referral from Jobcentre Plus • Enhanced offer might include volunteering opportunities within the Work Club or with partners, self-employment support, training and careers Information, Advice and Guidance • Offer has changed over time e.g. Support to access Universal Jobmatch – government tool to: • upload CVs and search for/be matched to jobs • Used by Jobcentre Plus to evidence ‘Claimant Commitment’ – agreement by individual to take measures to find work in return for receiving benefits so some issues around fit with original principles of voluntary participation

  7. Work Clubs in Manchester • 60 local Work Clubs delivered by voluntary and community sector, housing associations, adult education services and other providers • Mainly added to existing provision e.g. learning centres, housing offices. Some supported by established employment support services. • City-wide specialist Work Clubs, e.g. • Manchester Deaf Centre • Booth Centre (homeless), • Back on Track (drugs, alcohol, homelessness, mental health, criminal convictions)

  8. Manchester City Council Support • Raised awareness of work club model in local communities. • Grant funding to establish and develop • Informal network/Facebook group and events to share information, job vacancies and best practice • Developed work club volunteer mentoring course with Manchester Adult Education Service (MAES). Can also place trained mentors into work clubs • Training and license for Work Star tool which measures the ‘journey of change’ for jobseekers (www.staronline.org.uk) • Quality benchmarking tool to identify strengths and weaknesses and put in place support for work clubs • Developing tools to collect data to evidence success for future funding bids • City-wide steering group – MCC, Jobcentre Plus and MAES

  9. Research • 2013 - Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, Sheffield Hallam University evaluation – “Exploring the impact of Work Clubs in Manchester” • Research methodology; in-depth interviews with • 4 stakeholders • 12 Work Club staff across 10 Work Clubs • 14 Work Club participants • Review of strategic and operational docs • Analysis of monitoring data provided by the 10 Work Clubs • Categorised Work Clubs into three groups: • Community based • Specialist • Established

  10. Research findingsOutcomes and achievements Valuable soft outcomes for participants: • Enhanced confidence, well-being and self-esteem • Increased social contact and valuable peer support • Support with a range of non-employment issues

  11. ResearchOutcomes and achievements Clients reported enhanced employability: • Access to accredited training courses • Experience through volunteering or work placements • Enhanced IT skills • Improved job search skills • Additional vocational skills and qualifications 118 clients found paid work across 11 Work Clubs which provided data Good Value For Money: • Estimated financial benefits of: £1,449,866 (income + NHS cost savings) • For every £1 invested, the 11 Work Clubs generated £13.61 of value

  12. Research- What works well... Use of volunteers to support delivery Established expertise and facilities provides more credibility to customers and partners Structured pathway of support crucial to enable progression Local facilities within communities makes service more accessible Partnerships with external agencies are crucial Broad skill sets, knowledge and attributes of Work Club staff Understanding needs of particularly vulnerable clients

  13. ...and not so well Lack of resources e.g. phones and laptops Lack of time to develop networks e.g. with employers Insufficient expertise: 'We're learning ourselves'. Some volunteers who lack expertise and are not always available

  14. Research conclusions Work Clubs operating on 'established' or 'specialist' model better placed to achieve outcomes because of additional time, resources and expertise ‘Community-based' Work Clubs lack this capacity and least able to access support– training for staff, engagement with external agencies and employers Work Clubs deliver valuable economic and socialoutcomes Voluntary, holistic and flexible servicethat complements existing mainstream provision A little funding goes a long way….but long-term sustainability key concern as public funding cuts continue

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