Download as PDF: bridge2work: tackling long-term unemployment

The bridge2work project is an example of two local authorities working together to tackle worklessness. The project’s objective is to engage with long-term unemployed, people on benefits or those dependent on drugs or alcohol and help them towards sustainable employment. What makes this project unique is that it is funded through Poole and Bournemouth’s local area agreements (LAAs) with a shared target to get local people into jobs.

The issue

bridge2work was set up to help people who are long-term unemployed and on benefits into sustainable employment. The project area covers the boroughs of Bournemouth and Poole.

There are pockets of deprivation across the sub-region of Dorset, Bournemouth and Poole and 31 of its 445 Super Output Areas (very small geographic areas) are within the most deprived twenty per cent nationally. More than half of these Super Output Areas are in Bournemouth and four are in Poole. Bournemouth also has the highest unemployment rate in the area and its12-month average claimant count rate is higher than the South West’s.

The project works with some of the hardest to place groups in the two boroughs including:

• Lone parents claiming income support
• Incapacity benefit recipients
• Parents in receipt of job seekers allowance for at least six months
• People who are drug or alcohol dependent

bridge2work is a three-year pilot project funded through each of the boroughs’ local area agreements (LAAs) with a shared target to get local unemployed people into sustainable employment.

What they did

Who is involved?

bridge2work represents a partnership between The Borough of Poole, Bournemouth Borough Council and Jobcentre Plus. The adult learning departments of the two boroughs are the project providers. Day-to-day management is provided by Poole adult learning with Poole’s economic development team providing strategic management. Jobcentre Plus is the main point of contact for the target groups and makes referrals to the project.

The project is delivered by a full-time project coordinator, supported by a part-time administration worker

How it works

bridge2work is a free service designed to meet the individual needs of clients to help them prepare for work. It also aims to identify and support clients in overcoming any barriers to employment.

The project is divided between Bournemouth and Poole adult learning departments. Some of the work, such as interviewing potential recruits, is done on an outreach basis.

In addition to Jobcentre Plus, clients are referred by a number of other agencies including:

• doctors’ surgeries
• health visitors
• children’s centres
• the probation service
• drug and alcohol teams
• community mental health teams
• adult social services

The project coordinator delivers a range of services aimed at supporting clients into employment. These include:

• providing advice, guidance and one-to-one job coaching
• helping with CVs, job applications, job search, letter writing and interview techniques
• running courses to support people returning to work
• providing on-going help for 13 weeks to clients who have secured a job
• signposting and referring clients to other agencies and programmes

Client centred approach

There is a strong emphasis on consulting with local groups and communities to design courses that are tailored to individual needs. For example, a customised programme was developed for women from black and minority ethnic (BME) groups using tutors with specialist language skills. The women have since applied for jobs in childminding, care, translation, administration and driving. Special courses have also been designed for people with mental health problems.

Developing links

The project has developed good working relationships with local employers in both the public and private sectors to secure jobs and placements for client groups. These include supermarket chains, the NHS and Citizens Advice.

Through the bridge2work project, links have been made into a number of other initiatives including local employment partnership and the Skills4Jobs programme, which helps unemployed people gain free qualifications and arranges work trials for them.

The impact

Joint working through LAAs

Bournemouth Borough Council and The Borough of Poole have a history of working together, through their local strategic partnerships (LSPs), to tackle common concerns.

The introduction of LAAs provided a practical opportunity for the two councils to collaborate on helping and supporting unemployed people into work. bridge2work is believed to be one of the first joint local authority initiatives to tackle worklessness through their LAAs.

LAA to MAA

By working together and sharing joint targets on skills and worklessness, Bournemouth and Poole have raised the profile of cross-borough working. According to Jonathan Burke of Poole Partnership, this in turn helped to create the climate for the introduction of a sub-regional multi area agreement (MAA).

As one of seven pilot MAAs in the country, the MAA represents a formal agreement between the local authorities, public sector partners and government to improve the economic performance of the sub-region.

Funding

bridge2work is one of a number of pump priming projects funded through the first Poole and Bournemouth LAAs. The project received the highest level of grant with approximately £166,000 being allocated over a three year period ending in March 2010. Of this, £86,000 is being funded through the Poole LAA and £80,000 through the Bournemouth LAA.

If the project reaches its target, the total ‘reward’ is estimated at £682,000 which will be split across the two boroughs. Both boroughs have pledged to reinvest 25 percent of any reward back into the project.

Meeting the target

The target for the project is that it should increase the number of people into sustainable employment. The outcome set out in the LAAs is that 120 people from the target groups should be in employment for 16 hours a week for 13 consecutive weeks or more.

To-date, the project has engaged with and supported over 220 people across Bournemouth and Poole of whom 27 have secured jobs. Others are on voluntary placements or attending courses which should enhance their employment projects in the future.

The project is funded until March 2010 and, in the present economic climate, it seems unlikely that the LAA target can be met. In particular, the recession has meant that bridge2work clients, who are already disadvantaged in the labour market, are now competing for jobs with graduates and more highly skilled applicants.

Soft outcomes

While the original LAA target may not be achievable within the project’s life, bridge2work has had other positive impacts and, according to the project coordinator it has provided clients with ‘life changing experiences’ and ‘raised their aspirations’.

In one case, a lone parent on the Bridge2Work course lacked confidence because he could not read or write very well. With support from the project, he attended literacy classes and was offered one-to-one guidance to help him look for jobs and complete applications. He now has a job as a full time driver and will continue with literacy and numeracy courses to support himself and his family in the future.

Another client, who was long term unemployed, bi-polar and claiming incapacity benefit, was referred by a housing association. He attended the bridge2work course and received a certificate for his achievement. This gave him the confidence to enrol on various maths courses. He has since been signed off by a Jobcentre Plus doctor and can work 16 hours a week provided he earns less than £88 per week. He is now working as a volunteer and hoping to find a permanent job in the future.

Lessons

One of the greatest initial challenges has been engaging and working with the project’s target groups. These are people who, for various reasons lack the confidence, skills and experience to secure the type of jobs that would enable them to come off benefits and enter sustainable employment.

This has been addressed by making the project client-centred and giving support, often on a one-to-one basis, to people as they prepare for work and after they have secured a job.

One of the more intractable and unanticipated obstacles has been the recession and the effect this has had on the job market. The difficulties of getting people into sustainable employment, as noted earlier, has meant that it is unlikely that the LAA target will be met and, in particular, that the project can secure any of the reward grant, thereby ensuring its continuation after April 2010.

In response to this, attempts are being made to re-negotiate the original LAA target. At the same time, campaigns are being launched to persuade the top 40 employers in the local area to recruit from the project. bridge2work, in the meantime, is putting more emphasis on voluntary placements and Skills for Life qualifications designed to help people develop the skills they use in everyday life, such as reading, writing or maths.

The success of a project like bridge2work will depend on a number of factors. For example:

• Ideally, your coordinator and others involved in delivering the project should have prior experience of working with the target groups and an understanding of their needs, particularly clients who are drug or alcohol dependent.
• Because of the difficulties of finding suitable jobs and placements for clients, particularly during a recession, you should have an employment broker with existing links to local employers in both the public and private sectors.
• Many of your clients may need other forms of support or skills to enhance their prospects of securing sustainable employment, such as literacy, numeracy and work experience. For this reason you need to have good local knowledge of what is available and where to refer clients.
• You may need to take a pragmatic approach when setting targets for your project. Focusing on too much on job targets obscures other significant outcomes such as new skills and work experience which, in the longer term, will help clients into employment.
• If using job targets, you should try to make these as flexible as possible. Bridge2work’s targets are quite restrictive and require that clients achieve more than 13 weeks in sustainable employment for 18.5 hours per week.
• Any risk assessments for a project like Bridge2Work should take account of the impact of an economic downturn on the employment prospects of your target groups and help in planning longer term strategies to support them into work.

Data / evidence

Unemployment data

The latest working age employment rates in Dorset, Poole and Bournemouth are above the England rate. The latter is the only rate of the three below the regional rate and is fourth lowest among SW county and unitary authorities.

% of working age population	Jul 06 – Jun 07	Jul 07–Jun 08	% point change
Dorset	76.8	78.8	+2.0
Bournemouth	75.6	74.1	-1.5
Poole	77.2	78.5	+1.3
South West	78.2	78.5	+0.3
England	74.4	74.5	+0.1

The highest unemployment rate in the area is in Bournemouth (4.7per cent of the economically active 16+ population in July 07 – June 08). Poole (3.3 per cent) and Dorset (3.0 per cent) have rates below that of the region as a whole (south west: 3.8 per cent, England: 5.3 per cent).

Bournemouth’s 12-month average claimant count rate is higher than the South West’s, while rates for Dorset and Poole are below. All are less than the England rate.

ONS Annual Population Survey / Model-based unemployment rates Jun 08 / ONS Claimant count 12-month average March 09

Monitoring outputs

Bridge2Work Programme Activity to June 2009

	Bournemouth	Poole
B2W Clients Total	92	107
Clients on programme only	18	22
Clients attending B2W course	69	69
Clients just referred or one-to-one	5	12
Employed claiming benefits (under 13 weeks)	1	3
Employed claiming benefits (sustained 13 weeks +)	0	7
Employed – no benefits	13	2
Referred from JCP	13	44

Further information

Bournemouth Borough Council’s website – PDF on the project available to download

Contact

Karen Reid, Bridge2Work Coordinator

Telephone: 01202 451994 (Bournemouth) 01202 262317 (Poole)

email: Karen.reid@bournemouth.gov.uk

email: k.reid@poole.gov.uk