Agenda item

(i)              Joint Report of the Director of Transformation and Partnerships and the Interim Corporate Director of Children and Young People’s Services.

(ii)             Presentation by the Strategic Manager – Progression and Learning, Children and Young People’s Services.

The Chairman introduced the Strategic Manager – Progression and Learning, Children and Young People’s Services who was in attendance to give an update presentation as regards the DurhamWorks Programme (for copy see file of minutes).

The Strategic Manager – Progression and Learning reminded Members that the DurhamWorks Programme was the branding for the Council’s Youth Employment Initiative (YEI), having funding of £17.04 million, comprising of £6.39 million YEI allocation, £6.39 million European Social Fund (ESF) allocation and £4.26 million of match funding.  It was added that DurhamWorks would support over 5,800 young people in County Durham, aged 16 to 24 who were Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET) or unemployed and resident in County Durham.  Members were reminded of the delays on the part of the Department for Works and Pensions (DWP) in receiving the funding and that the programme was compressed into the period April 2016 to July 2018.  Councillors were reminded of the 16 delivery partners involved and that there would be more delivery to come as the programme progresses.

The Committee noted that the delivery model meant that each young person received one-to-one support and access to employment advisors, peer mentors, transition advisers, volunteer mentors and apprenticeship mentors.  It was noted that one of the main differences of the DurhamWorks Programme to others was that the support stayed with the young person up until July 2018.  It was added that there was focus on helping vulnerable groups including: care leavers; those in contact with the Youth Offending Service; and teenage parents.

Members were referred to a slide showing the outputs from the DurhamWorks programme, with targets of 5,830 unemployed people having participated; 3,777 participants having gained a qualification or employment upon leaving; 1,982 being still participating in employment 6 months after leaving; and 875 still having continued in education or training programmes 6 months after leaving. 

Councillors noted that the timeframes involved were very ambitious and there had been a tendering exercise in terms of partners and the sub-contractor framework for more specialist provision, for example for those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND). 

Members noted that in addition to the delivery partners and sub-contractor framework being in place, there was an Employer Engagement Strategy and also a comprehensive Marketing and Communications Plan, together with extensive performance management and quality assurance systems.

The Strategic Manager – Progression and Learning referred Members to the list of delivery partners so far and highlighted the work of Citizens’ Advice County Durham in terms of offering opportunities for young people to join their advice line team, helping those young people gain valuable customer services skills and benefit the CAB in addition.

Members were informed that current performance showed 1,268 participants, with 56% being 16-18 year olds, and 44% being 19-25 year olds.  It was added that the gender split was 62% male and 44% female and that 100 participants supported by Regeneration and Economic Development (RED) had progressed into employment, of which 46 were DurhamWorks generated opportunities.

The Committee noted that marketing activities had been scheduled for October in order to try and capture any young people that had not gone to college or sixth form, with several different channels being utilised such as radio, bus stop advertising, a website, social media.  Councillors noted a case study, highlighting how DurhamWorks had helped a young person into an apprenticeship and was delivering ongoing support to her.  An example of the feedback from employers was also given, with Dunlop BTL, a manufacturer of bearings, transmissions and linkages explaining how “DurhamWorks was very helpful in helping to find the right people for the job”. 

The Strategic Manager – Progression and Learning noted that Members could help in a number of ways, including: to encourage unemployed young people to contact DurhamWorks for support; to encourage employers to contact DurhamWorks to discuss recruiting a young person and the financial incentives that may be available to them; and to share information about DurhamWorks within local networks.

It was added that there was a national issue in terms of changing the requirements for evidence of eligibility of participants.  It was also noted that, as yet, DWP had not progressed any payments for the programme.

The Chairman thanked the Strategic Manager – Progression and Learning and asked Members of the Committee for their questions.

Councillor O Temple noted the information that had been given at the recent Skills Development Working Group and the opportunity Members had then to input as regards this.  It was added that during those Working Group meetings it had been highlighted as regards the excellent work the Area Action Partnerships (AAPs) were undertaking, in areas such as Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) apprenticeships, for example via the Derwentside STEM Hub and asked whether there was scope for partnerships between the AAPs and DurhamWorks.

The Strategic Manager – Progression and Learning noted there would be opportunities, through the 16 delivery partners and three sub-contracts, and would ask a member of the DurhamWorks Team to attend the next Derwent Valley AAP meeting in this respect.  The Chairman added that it was an issue highlighted at the Skills Development meetings and that it was important to help to spread the word in terms of DurhamWorks.

Councillor A Batey asked whether all the employers involved were within County Durham or if some were cross-border.  The Strategic Manager – Progression and Learning noted while most were within the County, some were outside of the County.

Councillor E Adam noted it was fantastic to see the large number of partners and the work involved and asked whether the 1,268 young people mentioned were people that had already been picked up from other referrals or were they totally new via DurhamWorks.  The Strategic Manager – Progression and Learning noted it was a bit of both, a combination of those already having contact with Advisors, 16-18 year olds, with there being added value in terms of those aged 19-24 being picked up.  Members noted that in the past there had been 10 Advisors, now 30, with specialists in terms of areas such as SEND and Care Leavers and this was helping with the increase in workload.  It was reiterated that one of the differences in term of DurhamWorks in comparison to support in the past was that the support continued after a young person got a placement or job, working with them and the employer to help sustain their position.  Councillor E Adam noted that the figure that Overview and Scrutiny would be interested in would be that of the number of young people into apprenticeships and jobs for longer periods, demonstrating that sustainability.  The Strategic Manager – Progression and Learning added that the evaluation process would help to show how successful the programme had been. The specification for the evaluation is currently being developed in conjunction with Durham University.  The Chairman wondered if it was possible to be able to highlight the GVA/productivity added by the programme to help demonstrate the effectiveness.  The Strategic Manager – Progression and Learning noted there were proxies in terms of where jobs are created and in turn how this relates to GVA and therefore would speak to colleagues in this area as regards what information may be possible to share with members at a future meeting of the Committee.

Councillor A Patterson noted she had visited DurhamWorks and had been struck by the robustness of the quality assurance and the level of detail was very good.  Councillor A Batey added she would like to thank all the staff for their hard work, especially in terms of the tight timescales given Government delays in terms of funding.  Members agreed.

Resolved:   

(i)              That the presentation be noted.

(ii)             That the Economy and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny Committee receive a

further update report on the delivery of the DurhamWorks Programme at a future meeting of the Committee.

(iii)           That the Members of the Children and Young People’s Overview and Scrutiny

          Committee be invited to future meetings of the Committee when an update on the           DurhamWorks Programme is included on the agenda.