Employment and skills are of central importance to policies addressing the twin challenges facing the United Kingdom economy today: recovery and rebalancing. The links between skills, worklessness and poverty are well understood, yet liberal democracies around the world have found effective policy solutions to be elusive. In the United Kingdom (UK), rising unemployment and persistent economic inactivity are adding pressure to a complex welfare benefits system which is long overdue for an overhaul. Tackling long-term unemployment sits alongside emergent priorities, such as meeting the needs of the recently unemployed, enabling young people to enter the labour market, and ensuring the delivery of workforce skills needed for recovery and rebalancing. Through a major reform programme, the Government is trying to make the benefits system fairer and more affordable whilst also tackling welfare dependency without removing support needed by the vulnerable.
The further education (FE) and skills sector is also facing major reforms aimed at reducing public funding whilst increasing investment by employers and learners in more responsive and flexible provision leading to demonstrable economic outcomes (e.g. employment, earnings, productivity). All areas of public funding for skills, from safeguarded adult literacy and numeracy training to apprenticeships targeted at key sectors and levels, need to demonstrate value for money by these measures. Crucially, the role of skills providers is changing too. Colleges and training organizations are expected to become much more than suppliers of centrally-driven and target-bearing programmes. They need to become even more enterprising, working through partnerships and with local labour market intelligence to understand employers’ skills needs and supply cost-effective and innovative training which delivers in positive outcomes for learners, businesses and local economies.
SQW helps policy makers and front-line professionals tackling local employment and skills challenges to design effective strategies for addressing those needs and evaluate the effectiveness of their services. We deliver evaluations of public policy interventions, sector and sub-regional assessments of employment opportunities, skills needs and training supply, and local employment and skills strategies and action plans. Our clients include central government departments and national funding councils, national improvement and development agencies, local authorities, regional agencies and sector skills councils, further and higher education institutions, charities and private sector organisations.
Examples of SQW projects
Rebalancing the Economy
SQW is leading a consortium (with Warwick Institute for Employment Research, Cambridge Econometrics and Centre for Urban and Regional Development Studies at Newcastle University) reviewing evidence regarding the rebalancing of the economy spatially and sectorally. The project includes a review of literature on the nature and scale of the rebalancing challenge in the UK, the rationale for government intervention in rebalancing, the effectiveness of government intervention to date (drawing on international experience) and the contribution of policy interventions to meet the rebalancing challenge.
Making the most of the Employment Opportunities Associated with the Offshore Wind Energy Sector and its Supply Chain
SQW was commissioned to undertake research to investigate the potential scale, timing, location and skills mix of employment opportunities in the offshore wind sector and its supply chain. The study involved a literature review, modeling the nature of employment opportunities, consultations with employers and education and training providers and calibration workshops. The study sought to determine the nature of any barriers and market and other failures that might prevent opportunities coming on stream, and so whether there is a case for Government intervention
Evaluation of the London Employer Accord
The London Employer Accord was established as part London Employment and Skills Taskforce for 2012. The generic Accord aimed to support workless people into employment, and to have a strategic input through better understanding employer needs and encouraging suppliers to respond more effectively. Similar Accords were developed for the construction sector and for Transport for London. SQW was appointed to evaluate the impact of the Accords up to 2010. The study also identified a series of lessons learned which are being used to refine service delivery.
Economic Strategy for North West Bicester Eco Town
We were appointed by P3Eco, the promoters of the North West Bicester eco-development, to prepare an economic strategy for North West Bicester. A key requirement of the eco town designation is that it supports the growth of at least as many jobs as new homes. We therefore considered jobs growth around a number of ‘opportunity areas’ and how far the local population had the necessary skills to take up these jobs supported by local training providers.
Testing the Learning for Living and Work Framework
East Sussex County Council wished to pilot the Learning for Living and Work Framework, which had been developed by the Young Peoples Learning Agency. SQW was commissioned to design and oversee the pilot. This involved working alongside Connexions to identify a suitable sample of young people and gathering views from families and schools about the young people in the context of the questions asked by the framework. The findings were used to feedback to a national consultation process and to inform developments in the Council around the personalization of services for young people.
2012 Games Legacy Impact Evaluation
SQW was appointed by the London Development Agency (LDA), as part of a consortium led by PricewaterhouseCoopers, to undertake Stages 1 and 2 of an impact evaluation the LDA’s 2012 Games Legacy activities. The LDA’s investments to maximise the legacy impact of the 2012 Olympics have been varied and complex, and our approach ensured that the evaluation of these investments was consistent and robust. SQW led the evaluation work on the employment and skills workstream, which included longitudinal surveys.
Development of an Employment and Skills Strategy
SQW was commissioned by Blackpool Council on behalf of the Fylde Coast partners to research and develop an employment and skills strategy for the area. The initial research included development of a baseline against key employment and skills indicators and mapping of current delivery to support employment and skills. A survey of Fylde Coast businesses was also undertaken to explore their short and longer-term skills and employment needs, which were compare against the mapping of delivery. The strategy was developed based on a set of agreed priorities, and action planning (including a series of workshops) was undertaken with delivery partners.
Skills Utilisation Research
The Scottish Government, Scottish Enterprise and Skills Development Scotland had identified a need to improve the use of skills in the Government’s priority sectors. SQW was appointed to review existing good practice in this area to inform the development of tools and to provide examples for use in a wider communication plan. Our approach focused on a wide ranging consultation process to identify businesses which had taken action to improve their skills utilisation, followed by a series of case studies of individual firms which explored their motivations, the actions taken and the results achieved.