Case studies

Central London Forward provides support, coordination and partnership working across councils in central London, leading on key programmes such as ‘Central London Works’. This case study examines the strengths, impact and challenges of the current skills and employment system, and what is needed to increase positive outcomes for local residents.

Derbyshire County Council's holistic approach to supporting communities means that support for harder to reach young people is embedded within several wider schemes or programmes of support. This includes through the Thriving Communities programme.

Staffordshire has taken a partnership approach with the eight district councils to identify gaps in government support and local needs and priorities.

HBC has been able to build on their longstanding partnerships with employers including housing associations and major corporations to continue to offer joint job training and employability programmes during the pandemic.

Durham County Council delivers a cross-county programme called DurhamWorks which supports unemployed 16-24 year olds to progress into employment, education or training (EET). To date, DurhamWorks has supported 8750 young people with 78 per cent progressing into EET or gaining a qualification. This provides the framework within which the Sessional Employment Programme (SEP) sits.

Education Partnership North East provide a range of T Levels and have successfully worked with Sunderland Council and local businesses to produce successful outcomes.

Essex County Council secured £100,000 from the first round of the UK Community Renewal Fund to establish a new electric vehicle centre at Harlow College.

The council is working closely with anchor institutions to identify the plans of large employers, mapping the asset base and developing a ‘Skills Engine’. This will support local recruitment and a drive to increase higher skilled and knowledge-intensive employment.

The combined authority believes that devolution has increased its influencing power and that it is more involved in decisions at an earlier stage. As a result, other national bodies, such as the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC), are now in discussions with the combined authority about how to devolve funding to meet its specific skills needs.