Case studies

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.

Key to being able to leverage the power of partnerships is to have the ability to jointly influence funding, commissioning and resource.

The key learning from the Reading work has been the power and potential of locally relevant data (as opposed to broad UK data) to create a shared understanding of the challenge and stimulate joint action.

Although the existing Surrey survey data was a useful tool, the arguments benefited from being broadened out to encompass evidence and examples from beyond Surrey to demonstrate to new partners the economic benefits of employing hidden talent and that this is not just a local agenda but part of a larger set of issues being recognised and championed globally by both small and large employers.

The collaborative working of the South Ribble partnership and the Lancashire Mental Health to Businesses (MH2B) Building Blocks Partnership has allowed South Ribble to be a representative sample of the wider Lancashire area, meaning that the focus on the development can be on a much smaller area, with recommendations able to be rolled out over a larger area.

"At the end of the programme, participants were guaranteed an interview for work at the hospital. This resulted in some excellent employment outcomes for local residents."

Work Local is the Local Government Association (LGA)’s positive vision for an integrated and devolved employment and skills service – bringing together information, advice and guidance alongside the delivery of employment, skills, apprenticeships and wider support for individuals and employers. This case study highlights how Portsmouth City Council and Southampton City Council worked together to implement a similar approach.

Launched three years ago, the ESB has become a lead strategic partner in the skills agenda across Greater Essex and brings together employers, primary and secondary education, further and higher education and employer bodies.

To date, SkillsHouse has supported more than 1,000 unemployed people to find work, while the wider Get Bradford Working programme has helped over 3,000 people into employment.