Launching in Greater Manchester
Launch of Flexible New Deal to tackle long-term unemployment:
Serco to help over 65,000 people into sustainable work across Greater Manchester
Serco will today begin delivery of the Government's Flexible New Deal initiative across Greater Manchester, helping 65,000 long-term unemployed people back into work across the region.
The Flexible New Deal, the Department for Work and Pension's initiative to enable long term unemployed people to secure sustainable jobs, launches on 5 October 2009.
Serco, one of the main contractors, has developed a programme which will provide real employment opportunities to people and communities despite the recession. The programme will cover the boroughs of Manchester, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale and Wigan.
With a population of 2.5 million, of which 5.1% are unemployed, Greater Manchester contains some of the most deprived communities in the UK. Like many parts of the North West it has been hit disproportionally by the recession, with unemployment 30% higher than the national average in some areas.
To support jobseekers in light of these challenges, Serco has developed a local network of private, public, community and voluntary organisations which will provide bespoke, individual support to people. This network includes established welfare-to-work providers, such as Remploy, JHP Training, PeopleServe, TNG, Inspire to Independence and Standguide, to more specialist providers, such as Action for Blind People, Armstrong Learning, Autism Plus, Train 2000, Groundwork and Kashmir Youth Project. With a multitude of comprehensive provision available in each borough, Serco will tailor the service for jobseekers by addressing their individual needs. The Flexible New Deal is designed to ensure that jobseekers receive the most effective support they require at local level. Serco, as Prime Contractor, will oversee the delivery of the service, raise performance and improve the job-seeking experience of long-term unemployed people across Greater Manchester.
Serco will work alongside the Regional Development Agency's Workless Strategy and the City Strategy Pathfinder for Greater Manchester to ensure a joined up, strategic approach to resolving long term unemployment in the region. Serco will capture emerging job vacancies in Greater Manchester through the specialist expertise within our network, supported by a team of Employer Relations Managers who will work with companies and employers to find out where and when the new jobs are becoming available.
The Flexible New Deal is set to replace the majority of previous New Deal and Employment Zone programmes. People who have been out of work for 12 months or longer will be referred to a one-year mandatory programme of flexible, supported job preparation and job search. Individuals achieving employment will receive ongoing in-work support.
This first phase of the Flexible New Deal will cover approximately half the UK. The Department for Work and Pensions will launch the second phase of the Flexible New Deal to cover the rest of the country in October 2010. Serco Welfare to Work is delivering the Flexible New Deal in partnership with Jobcentre Plus, across three major areas: Greater Manchester; Coventry, Warwickshire, Staffordshire and the Marches; and the majority of Wales. Serco has established regional offices in Cardiff, Birmingham and Manchester to manage delivery of the programme and has already started accepting referrals.
Jobseekers will be referred from Jobcentre Plus to Serco. Serco will then hand-over to local, expert subcontractors, who will work to address the individual's constraints on employment while helping to develop their skills, confidence and employability.
The strengths of the programme lie in Serco's overarching infrastructure, technology and case management support which, combined with local providers, create individual employment solutions for people who have become excluded from the labour market.
Flexible New Deal is funded through a service fee and performance based payments. This approach will help to drive up efficiency while ensuring value for money.
Gurbux Singh, Serco's Regional Welfare to Work Director, said: "As the recession makes life increasingly tough, we need to give people who've been out of work for a long time every chance to find and retain a job. The Flexible New Deal will make an enormous difference to the lives of individuals, their families and their communities. Rebuilding confidence, from the bottom up, starting with someone who has lost their job but wants to work, will help whole communities weather the recession and prosper in the future.
"We have spent the last year meeting with people across Greater Manchester. The experience and insights of local unemployed people, employers and agencies offering existing help have shaped our response. As a result of what we have heard, we've designed an approach that will reach more local people with the help they need to get back into work. By working closely with local partners across Manchester to coordinate services, we will be best-placed to help resolve long term unemployment in Greater Manchester."