Presentation: A young person’s perspective

Presentation: Maidstone’s offer to co-ordinate support into employment, Zena Cooke and Ellie Kershaw, Maidstone Borough Council

Presentation: Maidstone Integrated Local Area Workfoce Strategy (InLAWS), Karen Morse, Skills for Care

Overview:

Background: youth offender, peer pressures, resided in an ex-offenders’ hostel, young family/dependents.

Challenges: Value not recognised by adults and peers, lack of positive activities to develop life skills and give options, false aspirations from school, no support from local peers, lack of ‘on the job’ education and training opportunities – academic route is not the only way, Jobcentre Plus too prescriptive – deterrent to work.

Opportunities: Allocation of a key worker providing one to one support, KCC apprenticeship scheme, support by Kent Youth Service, volunteering - building self-esteem, confidence, better understanding of the working world, local/wider, develop long term aspirations and goals.

Discussion:

LC: Young People are a priority for JCP things have improved – see young people every week, training and volunteering should not affect benefits.

GC: Agreed that there needs to be a more joined up approach across agencies and unemployed young people.

COF: VAM working with JCP – developed a volunteering champion with support from KCC to help promote volunteering and a good understanding between agencies/members of the public re. benefits and unemployment. Guidelines need to be made clearer.

JB – agencies need to be involved and engaged in understanding the needs and supporting the aspirations of young people.

MR – young people need to be able to tell agencies what their needs are and agencies need to listen.

MA – 60 volunteers supporting KFRS over next few months – see it adding value and a valuable resource, enables a different level of service and different perspective to the delivery of the service.

MR – How can we support 15 year olds, who are due to leave school and would benefit from volunteering to help support them into the work place, rather than wait until they are 18 years old because of legal barriers.

Actions:

To support actions/dashboard, DE/AJ/EK to;

·  Identify which agencies present issues/ barriers etc. and how these can be addressed.

·  Identify how schools and young people (particularly 14-19 year olds) can be supported with volunteering placements.

Presentation: Maidstone’s offer to co-ordinate support into employment, Zena Cooke and Ellie Kershaw, Maidstone Borough Council

Overview:

Maidstone Borough Council is keen to co-ordinate and map all of the employment support available, linking closely with Kent County Council, ascertaining what makes it difficult for young people to get work and stay in work.

·  Barriers and proposed actions - through consultation with local young people, Youth Forum, schools and local networks, EK has identified a number of barriers to young people entering the job market (from qualifications, experience and skills development, CV writing to travel barriers e.g. costs);
There are five wards in the borough where the unemployment rate/NEETs are higher than the county average. Progress has been made against the four actions agreed at the previous Locality Board meeting;
Jobcentre Plus and Mid Kent College have agreed to support the four actions.

Recommendations:

·  Create a matching website for skills training, volunteer and apprenticeship opportunities;

·  Work with business to create a starter guide to setting up your own business;

·  Identify and prioritise employment, education and training needs with young people and business;

·  Identify and secure external funding for projects that improve access to employment;

·  Investigate issues around transport costs – set up a task and finish group.

Discussion:

Anthony: qualifications can only take you so far. CV development – need to understand what skills you have and can promote if you do not have qualifications or previous employment. Knowing what job opportunities are available is essential – particularly if you volunteer and want to know what work is out there.

PB: Transport issues in rural areas remains a priority, particularly around travel costs.

LC: If a young person is registered with Jobcentre Plus and has secured employment, they can apply for a bridging grant from JCP to pay their travel fares to work until they get their first pay.

PC: KCC Apprenticeships / Kent Jobs for Young People – schools should not just focus on the academic qualifications route, when there are young people who have an appetite to enter the job market. Troubled Families initiative is pivotal – in discussion re. a dispensation from central government. Need to ensure that young people leave school motivated and can stand up in the job market, irrespective of whether they have a Level 2 qualification at key stage 4 or not – this needs to be captured.

GC: Agrees that needs co-ordination is essential, but questioned whether Maidstone Borough Council is the suitable organisation to undertake this role.

ZC: This set of actions has come out from the priority sub-group and will look at what is already happening in the borough to ensure there is better co-ordination and understanding of what services exist and how they can provide a matching service.

GC: Keen to retain existing sub-group, with additional members invited where necessary.

Decision: The Maidstone Locality Board approves the recommendations, incorporating the specific actions agreed at the 25 June meeting and ensuring transport issues are incorporated. The Locality Board supported the need to set and agree clear targets and broker the public subsidy between employers and agencies.

Presentation: Maidstone Integrated Local Area Workforce Strategy, Karen Morse, Skills for Care and Julie Cudmore, Workforce Development Manager, Kent County Council.

Overview:

The project looked at the demographic changes and the impact of social care and health needs in Maidstone. Looking ahead, there will potentially be 7,000 vacancies in the social care sector in Maidstone – skills development and training needs to be addressed. The project highlighted the need to have a local workforce that could support these changes and needs. There are a number of challenges, including workforce skills development to support this localised workforce going forward. Working age and ageing carers (paid and unpaid) continue to grow and play a vital role. The turnover rate in paid social care remains high.

Discussion:

Need to look at how agencies work together both at county and district level. Greater work needs to be done around economic impact, working with employers to support skills and training in the health and social care sector and how this can be developed as an attractive career pathway – employer provision, working arrangements, flexibility with working patterns, transport, skills development etc. – could help support higher retention within social care.

Recommendation:

·  Support hosting a Self Care Event as part of Self Care Week (12-18 November);

·  Support an initiative to inform housing, leisure and other public facing service staff about community support for vulnerable adults;

·  Support a ‘We Care in Maidstone’ initiative to recruit and incentivise young people into social care (apprenticeships, work experience, work with young people’s community services.

Decision:  The Maidstone Locality Board endorsed the recommendations in principle and supports the recommendations being taken forward as a specific Task and Finish Group through the Tackling Worklessness and Poverty priority sub-group.