(The Skills Builder Partnership workshop in Kingston)

The South London Partnership People and Skills programme, launched in July of this year, has supported over 800 economically inactive and unemployed residents by equipping them with the skills, training and support needed to re-enter the workforce.

Funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), the People and Skills programme is a package of wrap-around employment and skills support for South London’s residents who are facing barriers to work. Offering cohesive, locally tailored support and access to basic skills, economically inactive residents across Kingston, Merton, Sutton, Croydon, and Richmond have access to pathways to enhance, improve, or develop their skill sets, preparing them for re-entering the workforce and assuming well-paid jobs.

Six projects, each uniquely delivered by the boroughs and a specially commissioned service, Ingeus, have already had a visible impact across the sub-region.

In the six months since the projects launched, 876 residents have participated in the programme, with 279 of those on course to gain essential qualifications in literacy, numeracy, IT, and specific vocational courses.

A further 131 residents are now in formal employment as a result of the support, and another 34 are engaged in ‘good work’ roles – employment considered a minimum of 16 hours per week and paying basic London Living Wave or above.

What this looks like has differed across the boroughs, with each partner tailoring their offering according to their resident’s needs.

Many of the roles and training opportunities available to residents align with those highlighted in the London Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP). This pan-London strategy identified four cross-cutting themes that should be prioritised to future-proof the capital’s jobs market: digital skills, green skills, transferable skills and labour market inclusion. The People and Skills Programme is hitting the priority sectors identified to secure a stable and well-serviced job market that will remain sustainable for many years to come. 

How boroughs are supporting their residents

Ingeus

Ingeus is a commissioned service that provides specialist employment engagement support across all five of the South London Partnership boroughs. It has partnered with Beam and Belina Consulting to provide additional specialist support, working with outreach venues such as foodbanks, places of worship and sports clubs to find potential beneficiaries.

Beam is primarily supporting SEND individuals aged 18 – 24, and Belina is supporting women, BAME and the over 50s. All participants receive fortnightly appointments with a dedicated caseworker and can also access job seeker support, CV writing and interview guidance, personal development sessions to boost confidence and self-esteem, and additional support for managing finances, housing, childcare and other responsibilities.

This level of wrap-around support is already delivering promising outcomes, with 310 people engaged in active job-searching following support, 112 in a form of employment (full-time/part-time/self-employed), and 260 people with a disability and/or learning difficulty taking up the programme.

 Sutton: Step Ahead

As a result of the funding, Sutton has been able to establish its own employment, skills and career service based out of Sutton College. Here, the Step Ahead initiative offers access to skills and employment coaches, CV-writing support, interview coaching, and referrals to additional training and career development courses to reduce barriers to learning and work.

Since opening its doors in September, more than 70 Sutton residents have accessed support through the programme, with additional appointments and follow-up sessions maintaining engagement beyond initial intervention. To tap into currently under-served parts of the borough, Step Ahead has partnered with Earlybird Ai to pilot its AI-powered chatbot service. This service delivers a triage and onboarding process for residents that allows people to engage in bespoke conversations before leading them either to the Step Ahead team for sign-up and support or signposting them to alternative and more relevant services.

Richmond: Work Match

Working closely with Richmond’s internal council and cost of living teams, the borough’s dedicated WorkMatch service engages in outreach to target the borough’s most marginalised residents in its deprived wards.

Through the service, residents can engage in personalised one-to-one support, brokerage to local job opportunities, Work Match-commissioned training programmes, and e-learning opportunities to remove additional barriers to support.

Merton: Towards Employment

Merton has utilised the funding to expand and build upon its existing Towards Employment service. This programme sources local training, apprenticeship and employment opportunities for those out-of-work, delivering employability projects with real job outcomes to Merton residents and beyond. Recent projects have included construction and rail maintenance, PE coaching and more, all delivered in collaboration with local employers to retain talent within the region.

It is also engaging with local employers to target some of the priority sectors identified in the LSIP, including construction, green industries, retail and hospitality and health and social care.

Merton’s Early Years and Leisure Service has also seen improvements, with parents of young children now able to train for a certificate in first aid, whilst accessing the play training being offered, and progress onto roles within local schools and Early Years settings.

Kingston

In Kingston, the borough is delivering targeted support to various groups facing additional barriers to the workforce. For ex-armed forces members and those with experience of the criminal justice system, career advice and community support have been created to support them in re-entering the workforce. Meanwhile, for the over-45s, mentoring and support initiatives through the Room for Work course have supported older individuals’ transition back into employment, with special attention paid to digital skills and wellbeing.

Kingston has also focused heavily on accessibility and inclusion, providing digital skills training and access to improve uptake of online services and resources and offering interpreting support and translated resources for migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers to aid their employability and access key services.

Croydon: Croydon Works

Croydon Works, Croydon Council’s Job Brokerage Service, is a dedicated hub for jobs, training, and career progression within the vibrant borough. With a team of experienced Brokerage Officers, it is engaging with local businesses to provide Croydon’s residents with priority access to career opportunities across a range of industries including construction, healthcare, hospitality, retail, and the public sector.

Through the UKSPF funding, Croydon Works has been able to broaden its support for the community, launching new initiatives to help residents thrive. Its Successful Mums Programme is a specialised employability programme to help women with young children transition back to work and rebuild their careers. It is also partnered with the NHS, Westfield and Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield (URW), David Lloyd and Pure Gym to offer training, apprenticeships and opportunities across healthcare, retail and health and wellbeing, respectively.

Matthew Hamilton, Director of the South London Partnership, said, “The outcomes already being seen as a result of the People and Skills programmes show the value that simple yet effective employment support can have on the region’s residents. The devolved UKSPF funding has ensured that residents of South London, new or old, receive localised and appropriate support to help them find good jobs.”

Fiona Oakes, People and Skills Programme Lead, South London Partnership, added, “Alongside providing support for the region’s economically inactive residents, the People and Skills programme is helping to bridge gaps in employment, equality and inclusivity. UKSPF funding has created the opportunity to support good quality placement opportunities for residents with multiple and complex barriers to work, and by offering active engagement and support, we’re able to meet local needs for both our residents and our businesses.”

To find out more about the People and Skills Programme, visit the South London Partnership website.