Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps his Department is taking to improve collaboration between Jobcentre Plus, local employers and community organisations in supporting young people into sustained employment.

The Department is strengthening collaboration between Jobcentre Plus, local employers and community organisations to support young people into sustained employment.

Through the development of the new Jobs and Careers Service, we are embedding a more locally responsive model of employment support. This includes working in partnership with Mayoral Combined Authorities, Local Authorities, employers and the voluntary and community sector to design and test different elements of the service that reflect local labour markets.

We are also undertaking a structured programme of engagement with 8,000 employers to better meet their recruitment needs, ensuring that support is tailored to local employers and local labour markets. This includes growing the Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) in priority sectors, where Jobcentres are working with local training providers to deliver employer-led placements combining sector-focused employability training, a work experience placement and guaranteed job interview.

We are also exploring how we can bring our services into the heart of communities to reach more people, including through our mobile Jobcentre services, where support is being provided in local community settings such as leisure centres and supermarkets.

In addition, for young people the government’s Youth Guarantee aims to ensure every young person has the opportunity to earn or learn, including those outside of the benefits system. As part of this we are expanding our network of Youth Hubs to over 360 locations across Great Britain, so that all young people can access high-quality, holistic support in their local area. Youth Hubs strengthen collaboration between Jobcentre Plus, local employers and community organisations by bringing partners together in local areas to deliver joined up support. Hubs align employment support with mental health, housing, skills provision and local employer links to help young people access co-ordinated support into sustained employment.

We have also launched eight Youth Guarantee Trailblazers, backed by £90 million of funding, to test innovative, locally led approaches to supporting young people, particularly those outside of the benefits system. The Trailblazers are bringing together national entitlements with locally tailored provision, strengthening local leadership and coordination, and working with partners including the voluntary sector, employers and colleges to reach and support young people who need additional help. Learning from these Trailblazers will inform the future design and development of the Youth Guarantee as it rolls out across the rest of Great Britain.

Taken together, these steps are improving collaboration at local level by aligning employment support more closely with employers and community partners, and by delivering joined‑up, place‑based support to help young people move into sustained employment.