In their latest briefing ‘Devolved Employability Programmes: A Third Sector Critique’, published on 25 May 2017, the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) expresses doubts over the Scottish government’s new work programme, and offers some recommendations to facilitate a better access to the job market for all. 

With the Scottish Government having taken responsibility for assisting the long-term unemployed in finding a job, SCVO fears that the devolved employability programme will not be sufficient to guarantee their access to employment. The SCVO’s briefing states that: 

• The decision to adopt a single contract with each CPA has minimised the involvement of small and medium-sized third sector organizations.
• The time afforded to the procurement process is not sufficient for the formation of consortia and actively militates in favour of large organisations and current sub-contractors.
• The commissioning process has been overly complex and entirely inaccessible for many organisations.
• The continued emphasis on job outcomes is not conducive to a focus on disadvantaged groups and those furthest from the labour market. Payment by results will also continue to cause problems for small providers at the front of the pipeline.
• The commissioning process for Fair Start Scotland has missed an important opportunity to explore the concept of person-centered services.

You can find the briefing in full here. 

Source: SCVO. Photo: Rilee Yandt.