Welfare Reform on the Web (August 2007): Social security - UK - New Deal

Joined up for jobs: an employability agreement for Edinburgh

K. Shaw

Local Economy, vol. 22, 2007, p. 188-194

The City of Edinburgh has seen rapid growth in employment in the service sector coupled with a decline in manufacturing. There are many employment opportunities which are closed to local people who lack core skills or who have life issues that impact on their ability to hold down a job. This article describes the City's Joined Up for Jobs employability strategy that brought key agencies together to work in partnership to help the most excluded groups to gain and sustain local employment.

We can work it out

P. Raynes

Public Finance, June 29th - July 5th 2007, p. 15

In Britain three million working-age people are out of the labour market. These people are often excluded from paid work by a range of complex personal problems. Agencies working with this client group need to tailor their services to individual needs. This requires a drastic devolution of welfare-to-work services to local agencies which can work together to provide training, in-work support, advice and help with housing and health issues.