Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 6
6
It is not clear how the Department uses Kickstart in tandem with its other employment...
Recommendation
It is not clear how the Department uses Kickstart in tandem with its other employment support to best sustain young people in work. The Department aims to provide tailored help based on work coach’s understanding of the claimants they work with. However, it is not clear that there is a managed “pathway” or sequence of interventions for each young person, such as somebody who needs to build confidence before they are ready to apply for an open market or Kickstart job, or what engagement there is with employers to sustain employment after Kickstart. It is hard to see how the Department is using Kickstart in concert with its other employment schemes, though the Department reassured us that Kickstart participants could go on to take part in apprenticeships. We were disappointed however, at the lack of clarity on whether anyone in the Department, or the Department for Education, is responsible for making sure that a conversation with a Kickstart employer about apprenticeships actually happens. Recommendation: The Department should work out the best blend of all the support it offers to help Universal Credit claimants be confident to apply for a job, give each individual the best chance of getting that job, and work with employers to sustain jobs. It should set out the criteria by which it will determine which form of employment support it offers will be most appropriate for different Universal Credit claimants, given their age, needs, skills, and employment history. In addition, it should make sure that either itself, or the Department for Education, talk to all Kickstart employers to make sure they know what other employment schemes they could get involved in, including apprenticeships. DWP Employment Support: Kickstart Scheme 9 1 Administering Kickstart and future employment support schemes
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
6.1 The government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Recommendation implemented 6.2 Work coach discretion is fundamental to the department’s approach to supporting people into employment. Using a tailored approach, work coaches are empowered to identify the right support for the customer. Young people aged 16-24, receiving Universal Credit and in the intensive work search regime can access the department’s Youth Offer. This offers wrap- around support through the 13-week Youth Employment Programme, complemented by joined-up local delivery through the department’s Youth Hubs and specialist Youth Employability Coaches. 6.3 Work coaches offer support throughout the Kickstart job, including through voluntary month one and four interventions. At the four-month stage, support is focused on whether the young person will remain with the Kickstart employer, or whether they will be looking for other work. Advice focuses on the most suitable options for the young person following Kickstart job completion, including apprenticeships. 6.4 Through the Way to Work campaign, the department has built on the experience of Kickstart and the many new relationships developed with employers. Many of these employers may have never considered recruiting from Jobcentres before the delivery of the Kickstart Scheme and some are now retaining former Kickstart participants as apprentices or in other full-time roles. The department actively works with employers, both nationally and locally, to understand their recruitment and skills needs across sectors to better tailor support and promote employment schemes and apprenticeships. 6.5 Comprehensive guidance for DWP colleagues assists them in supporting those young people who return to claiming Universal Credit following a Kickstart job. The guidance covers an extensive range of resources available to young people with the aim of moving them into work, building on the experience from their Kickstart job.