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New research commissioned by the Local Government Association (LGA) has estimated that over 1 million workers who left employment during the pandemic could be returned to the jobs market if local authorities could run employment and skills schemes.
Analysis undertaken by the Learning and Work Institute on behalf of the LGA found that 15% more people could access further training or find work if local government had the powers to coordinate employment and skills provision in their communities. Results of the analysis were published in a report, Work Local: The LGA’s ambitious, practical vision for devolved and integrated employment and skills provision.
The LGA suggest that the prospects of people and businesses, as well as the overall wellbeing of communities could be improved by seeing the 49 national employment and skills schemes in England managed at a local level, instead of from Whitehall.
Programmes such as the Levelling Up Fund, Towns Fund and Help to Grow, as well as support to get people into work and training including Restart, Bootcamps and the National Careers Service currently cost the public purse approximately £20 billion; however, the fragmented nature of schemes makes it difficult to target and join up provision for learners, unemployment people, career changers and small businesses.
The LGA, which represents the UK’s local authorities, has called on government in its report to replace the numerous currently schemes with a single place-based fund for local leaders that can be spent flexibly in light of the varied needs of different parts of the country.
Mayor Marvin Rees, Chair of the LGA’s City Regions Board, said:
“Empowering local leaders will get the best value for money from the billions currently spent by government on various national schemes to create jobs and encourage people into work or training.
“Every area has its own unique labour market including a mix of jobs, qualification levels, unemployment and vacancies. Councils and combined authorities want to unlock this potential talent, using their unrivalled local insight and knowledge to bring employers, training providers and jobseekers together with their proven track record in delivering more for less.
“They are making the best of the national system, but the Government now needs to do its bit by joining up the system and working with us to plan and deliver more effective support to residents and businesses.
“Communities across the country, who are experiencing an unprecedented cost of living crisis, need a clear and locally relevant jobs and skills offer, coordinated by councils and their partners on the ground, to get the results we need.
“Given the right resources, our research shows that councils can create new jobs, offer new training and spread opportunities to more people, in our shared endeavour to level up the country.”
The LGA praised how devolution of post-19 education in Greater Manchester had been successful in delivering skills, employment and health initiatives in a joined up way. Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s (GMCA) ‘Working Well’ suite of devolved and test-and-learn employment and health related programmes, take a whole-population approach to health, skills and employment. To date, these programmes have supported more than 60,000 people, helping more than 15,500 into work – a success rate of 26 per cent.