{"id":18419,"date":"2023-02-06T12:50:54","date_gmt":"2023-02-06T12:50:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/?p=18419"},"modified":"2023-10-26T15:26:13","modified_gmt":"2023-10-26T15:26:13","slug":"the-future-of-employment-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/the-future-of-employment-services\/","title":{"rendered":"The future of employment services"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to our Labour Market Insights Series. In part two, James Neave, Head of Data Science at Adzuna, and Tony Wilson, Director, Institute for Employment Studies, discuss the current problems with the UK labour market, how we compare to other developed economies, and how our public employment services need to be reformed in order to improve the functioning of our labour market. <\/span><\/p>\n

\"\" Read more: <\/strong>Did you miss part one? Read it here<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

James Neave:<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

We previously spoke about the current state of the UK\u2019s labour market. We talked about the issues we faced heading into the Covid-19 pandemic, how the pandemic exacerbated these issues, the three linked crises that we are facing, and how our international counterparts have fared in the face of the same shock. We concluded that we can do better \u2013 how do we go about this?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tony Wilson:<\/b><\/p>\n

As I mentioned, <\/span>high-quality employment support can help meet these challenges and is a key supply-side policy for supporting economic growth, raising productivity and reducing inequalities. Employment support and services \u2013 in the UK and overseas \u2013 typically cover five key roles under three broad areas as follows.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Employment support for people provides (1) <\/span>job preparation, matching and brokerage support<\/b> for the unemployed (2) <\/span>specialist support for those further from work<\/b>, including those who may be economically inactive which as previously mentioned is a key challenge we are currently faced with, and (3) <\/span>administration of social security benefits<\/b> for those of working age.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Employment support for employers provides (4) <\/span>employer-facing support and services<\/b> to fill vacancies, broker people into jobs and (in some cases) provide support and advice for those in work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Employment support with partners (5) <\/span>co-ordinates and collaborates services<\/b> within places and with wider public services and with industry or employer bodies.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pre-pandemic spending on employment support was around \u00a31.5-2 billion a year, split fairly evenly between these three broad categories; but funding had been in decline through the 2010s before increasing in the aftermath of the pandemic.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

James Neave:<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

What does support for people look like in the UK then?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Tony Wilson:<\/b><\/p>\n

Most employment support is focused on those who are claiming benefits and are required to look for work (\u2018claimant unemployed\u2019). This is largely provided through either <\/span>Jobcentre Plus, which primarily supports people who are short-term unemployed (around two million people becoming claimant unemployed every year), or <\/span>contracted-out services, most notably the Restart Scheme for the longer-term unemployed which supported nearly a quarter of a million jobseekers in its first year.<\/span><\/p>\n

Most of those out of work, however, are not unemployed (many are not even on benefits) \u2013 economic inactivity (being out of work and not actively looking for work, not waiting to start a job or not in full-time education) <\/span>has risen sharply since the pandemic<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>support for these people is far less consistent. This support is often delivered through a mix of nationally-commissioned programmes and employment support commissioned through other public services (particularly local government, colleges and training providers and health services).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, <\/span>nationally-commissioned support is limited and support from other services has been affected by general reductions in funding through the 2010s and the winding down of European Social Fund investment without immediate replacement.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Furthermore, while the UK approach has had some success in contributing to low unemployment, it has had significant issues too.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 1) We have amongst the strictest conditionality regimes\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

The UK\u2019s conditionality regimes (Work-related activities a claimant has to do in order to get full entitlement to benefits) are amongst the strictest in the developed world, <\/span>and among the most punitive sanctions rules, which can undermine relationships between work coaches and jobseekers, as well as contributing to poverty and destitution, poorer wellbeing and less secure employment.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 2) T<\/strong>he focus on rapid job entry rather than finding the right job can lead to poor quality job matches, job insecurity and higher turnover in work<\/b><\/p>\n

Rapid job entry, combined with relatively weak alignment with skills and careers support may be contributing to pay inequalities and weaker productivity.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 3) A narrow focus on those on benefits and required to look for work means that many of those who would most benefit from support can miss out<\/b><\/p>\n

This is a particularly acute challenge now, with worklessness rising. This also means that there is virtually no support for those in work who would like to change jobs because they want higher pay, to develop and use higher skills or to work different hours, resulting in underemployment and inefficient resource usage that unnecessarily holds back output and productivity.<\/span><\/p>\n

These trends have led to the <\/span>use of Jobcentre Plus by the unemployed falling by two-thirds in the last two decades. Even among the long-term unemployed, Jobcentre Plus usage has halved in the last two decades. Public polling shows that <\/span>people are also generally positive about their treatment by Jobcentre Plus, but negative about the support to find work, with older people generally the least positive about their support.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

James Neave:<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

So support for employment in the UK fails to reach everyone that could benefit from it (including the economically inactive), what support services there are generally limited and have suffered from funding reductions and are designed in a way that can damage the relationships between work coaches and job seekers and leads to poor quality job matches? How about support for employers, what does that look like?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Tony Wilson:<\/b><\/p>\n

Employment services\u2019 support for employers in Britain is relatively limited. Jobcentre Plus offers a free recruitment support service via Employer Advisers, a vacancy advertising service and a national telephone support line. Employers are also supported through contracted-out services, but <\/span>the complexity of this picture for employers can make it hard for employers to know where to go or how to access help. Providers are now working to address this, through cross-programme partnerships to support employers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Employers do not feel that Jobcentre Plus can meet their needs (employers have net negative views on Jobcentre Plus\u2019s ability to find the right candidates or provide a high quality service), with just one in six using it in the last two years, <\/span>although those that have used it are far more positive (net agreeing that Jobcentre Plus met their needs).<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

James Neave:<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

Doesn\u2019t this suggest then that there are strengths in the Jobcentre Plus offer that could be built upon with higher take-up?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Tony Wilson:<\/b><\/p>\n

Yes absolutely.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

James Neave:<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

And how well do we implement partnership working in the UK?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Tony Wilson:<\/b><\/p>\n

DWP and Jobcentre Plus showed during the pandemic that they can play an important role in local partnerships to support employment and participation, including through the delivery of the Kickstart scheme.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

However, <\/span>partnership work is often relatively light touch and can be inconsistent, especially when compared with approaches overseas, where there is stronger local governance across economic development, employment and skills.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There is also poor alignment and coordination of employment support with skills and careers services, which is in turn likely contributing to issues around how effectively services can meet labour demand and respond to changing needs. <\/span>A complicated landscape of programmes, funding rules, boundaries, reporting lines and eligibility criteria is also to navigate and leads to risks around fragmentation, duplication and gaps in provision.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The devolved nations (and to some extent in combined authorities in England) often have greater scope to commission services and align support \u2013 the <\/span>No-One Left Behind<\/span><\/a> approach in Scotland and the new local <\/span>Labour Market Partnerships<\/span><\/a> in Northern Ireland highlight this. Each of these approaches could be a blueprint for partnership working and devolution in England too.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

James Neave:<\/b><\/em><\/p>\n

So what can be done?<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Tony Wilson:<\/b><\/p>\n

The approaches taken in other countries can provide a range of lessons for how the UK could improve in the design and delivery of its employment services. Most notably, many countries make much more effective use of partnership working, often alongside a higher degree of devolution and decentralisation of service delivery to more local levels of government.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Commission on the Future of Employment Support has been set up to develop evidence-led proposals for reform of our system of employment support and services, so that it can better meet the needs of individuals, employers and our economy, and help to deliver full employment in decent, secure and rewarding work.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The work of the Commission is being overseen by ten commissioners bringing a range of perspectives, expertise and experience in employment support, public services, business and civil society. The Institute for Employment Studies is providing the secretariat for the Commission, with funding and support from abrdn Financial Fairness Trust. More information about the Commission, as well as details of how to support the Call for Evidence, can be found at <\/span>https:\/\/www.employment-studies.co.uk\/commission<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\" Read more: <\/strong>Are you looking to make better decisions, faster? Speak to one of our team about Adzuna Intelligence<\/a>; your trusted source for labour market insights with granular location-level data across key facets such as industry, salary, occupations and more\u2026\u2019

<\/p>\n

\n

In collaboration with Daniel Muir, a Research Economist (Fellow) at IES.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

IES is an independent, apolitical, international centre of research and consultancy in public employment policy and HR management. It works closely with employers in all sectors, government departments, agencies, professional bodies and associations. IES is a focus of knowledge and practical experience in employment and training policy, the operation of labour markets, and HR planning and development. IES is a not-for-profit organisation.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n



<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome back to our Labour Market Insights Series. In part two, James Neave, Head of Data Science at Adzuna, and Tony Wilson, Director, Institute for Employment Studies, discuss the current problems with the UK labour market, how we compare to other developed economies, and how our public employment services need to be reformed in order Continued \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":51,"featured_media":18426,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1168],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-adzuna-intelligence"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/51"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18419"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20228,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18419\/revisions\/20228"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18426"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adzuna.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}