Welcome to the August 2016 edition of the Employability in Scotland e-bulletin

Summer has passed swiftly and, with Parliament returning from recess on 5 September, we are looking forward to an even busier autumn.

This month has seen the Employability Team reach a key point in the development of the 1 year transitional services from April 2017. In late July, we published the invitation to negotiate with existing Work Choice providers to provide ongoing support to disabled unemployed people in Scotland.  At the same time, work has been on-going with Skills Development Scotland to develop a devolved 12 month service for clients with a health condition and at risk of long term unemployment who want to enter work. 

The team are also continuing to work on the approach to 2018 fully devolved services and have been engaging with our stakeholder network as this develops. The Scottish Devolved Employability Services Advisory Group held their 8th meeting on 17 August – the minutes will be posted here, so watch this space!

You might recall that last month’s E-bulletin mentioned the ongoing engagement and consultation being undertaken to develop these services. We expect to be able to share the outcome of this work with potential delivery organisations towards the end of the calendar year and provide a further opportunity for broader engagement as we finalise plans for delivery. This will in turn inform the formal procurement process which we anticipate will begin in the first quarter of 2017.

Meanwhile, the Partnership Team have been delighted to receive a broad range of expressions of interest by organisations offering to facilitate focus groups designed to gather person-centred insight to inform the development of the 2018 service. These workshops are now underway and the data gathered will help to inform the development of the Scottish approach to employment services.

In July, the Scottish Government launched a consultation on social security which is open until 28 October. The consultation marks an important stage in the journey to the delivery of a new social security system in Scotland. It will focus on some of the policy, delivery and cross cutting policy issues that will inform the first Scottish social security Bill that will go forward before the end of the parliamentary term.

There are a number of ways to help you complete the consultation that can be found on the Scottish Government website.

Finally, don’t forget to keep in touch. We are always happy to receive your case studies, examples of good practice and your contributions for the Employability in Scotland website and e-bulletin.

Best wishes

Joanne

The Strategy sets out how the Scottish Government will put fairness at the heart of its drive to develop a skilled workforce capable of meeting future economic demand.

The Scottish Government and Scottish Consortium for Learning Disabilities (SCLD) commissioned TERU and Cambridge Policy Consultants to carry out an in-depth assessment of employability provision for people with learning disabilities in Scotland.

The SUSE Diversity Badge is given to employers that have an exceptional approach to recruiting and supporting disabled employees.

New research has found that 1 in 10 business people do not feel confident that their organisation would be able to support an employee with a disability or living with a long-term health condition.

This year the Scottish Apprenticeship Awards will for the first time have an award for the 'Promoting Diversity Employer of the Year'.  

The House of Common Women and Equalities Committee launched the inquiry because out of all religious and ethnic groups, Muslims experience the highest levels of disadvantage in the labour market.

See Potential is a new information pack developed by the UK Government aimed at helping employers tap into the wealth of skills available amongst people from disadvantaged groups, such as homeless people and ex-offenders.

The ALLIANCE employability campaign offers practical advice about how employer and employee can work together to help manage long-term conditions in the workplace.

A fund aimed at encouraging more disabled people to participate in politics and stand as local councillors next year has been opened.

Remember to follow us on @employinscot

You can view all current consultations from the Scottish Government online.