Regional Employability Framework
In order to achieve its ambitions, North East England needs to significantly raise the participation rate of its workforce. The new Regional Economic Strategy (RES) addresses this through measures to reduce the barriers that prevent people from participating in economic activity. This priority encompasses three main areas of work;
- promoting employability
- addressing the needs of deprived areas
- promoting equality and diversity
The Agency’s role is focused on providing clear leadership and policy direction, thereby adding value to the core activity of partners including JobCentre Plus, the LSC, Local Authorities and the private and voluntary sectors. Employability Action North East, the Regional Employability Framework sets out how we will do this.
An example of our work in this area is the development of three worklessness pilots in Easington, Middlesbrough and Sunderland as part of the Northern Way Growth Strategy, designed to test enhancements to the JobCentre Plus Pathways to Work programme. They aim to find efficient and effective ways to increase the rate at which long-term Incapacity Benefit claimants are supported into employment. The learning from these pilots will be used to influence the roll-out of Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) policy.
The Agency and its partners, the Learning and Skills Council, Jobcentre Plus, Government Office North East, Employers Coalition, commissioned Rocket Science to develop a Regional Employability Framework (REF) for North East England. The REF aims to:
- Significantly improve the focus and impact of current resources for employability (people and money)
- Produce a more coordinated and coherent service for employers and individuals alike
Employability Action North East was launched on 9 March 2007 and is available to download below. Background information is also available as a series of downloads below.
Worklessness - Ramside Hall Conference feedback [pdf]
(78 KB)
