KENT EQUAL EMPLOYABILITY PARTNERSHIP KEEP

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KENT EQUAL EMPLOYABILITY PARTNERSHIP (KEEP)
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KENT EQUAL EMPLOYABILITY PARTNERSHIP (KEEP)

• Large partnership of 15 Organisations
  representing, private, public and voluntary
  sectors across Kent
• Started in May 2002 and service delivery phase
  continues to May 2004
• Dissemination and mainstreaming phase continues
  to November 2005
• Focuses on 7 most deprived districts in Kent BUT
  at the same time
• Works with specific disadvantaged groups
  including people with learning and physical
  disabilities, mental health problems and people
  recovering from addiction

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Employability through KEEP

• KEEP provides employability through three types
  of services
• Pre-vocational training
• Support through transitions into employment
• Development of social firms

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KEY AIMS

• Pre-vocational qualifications
• the development of soft skills e.g. confidence
  building, literacy and numeracy
• Support through transitions
• Guidance and support through the pathway to
  employment and continued support in the workplace
  to sustain employment
• Development of Social Firms
• The establishment of social enterprises employing
  disabled/disadvantaged people and empowering them
  to take decisions within the business and develop
  their employment skills e.g. cafes/construction
  firms/landscape gardening contracts

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KEEP Relationship Map
Local Govt.
Kent County Council (District Councils)
KEEP Intermediate Organisation
Education
Business
Shepway Business Centre Focus to Work TrustCC
Economic Development
Oldborough Manor School Able to Do
Care
Beech Tree Totalcare, KAB, Blackthorn Trust, etc.
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KEY PRINCIPLES

• KEEP relies on the ideas and work of its partners
• KEEP is not there to replicate or duplicate
  existing provision
• KEEP will not fund activities which could attract
  funds from mainstream sources
• KEEP will fund work that enables organisations to
  work together to enable disadvantaged people to
  achieve outcomes in training and sustainable
  employment

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THE PATHWAY TO EMPLOYMENT

• Unemployed not ready for training
• Unemployed no qualification/ready to train
• Unemployed pre-vocational qualification
• Unemployed NVQ Level 1
• Unemployed NVQ Level 2
• Work Experience
• Entry to paid job
• Retention of job for more than 6 months

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SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

• 772 People from target groups helped through KEEP
• 70 of beneficiaries to move one step along
  pathway to work
• 30 to move 2 or more steps
• Support 315 beneficiaries into paid employment
• 70 of these to retain their job for at least 6
  months

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KEY SUCCESS STORIES

• Over 600 people helped by KEEP partners to date
• Joint working by KEEP partners- joint assessments
  and sharing support services
• Referrals to and from JC
• 36 people completed training courses
• 15 people have taken up voluntary work
• 25 now in full time paid work (17 with social
  firm)
• 16 people now in part time paid work
• This is despite the fact that KEEP partners are
  working with some of the most hard to reach
  groups
• These figures do not tell the whole story!

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POLICY LINKS

• KCC PSA/ Supporting Independence programme
• Invest to Save with UK Treasury
• Job Centre Plus- New Deal target groups
• Health inequalities
• Active ageing agenda
• European Employment Strategy- Equal programme
  supports this strategy and KEEP works under Theme
  A to support disadvantaged groups into
  employment)

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KEY MESSAGES

• Fear of coming off benefits remains the biggest
  single barrier to employment for many
  disadvantaged groups particularly those on IB
• The need for a longer term approach to assisting
  hard to reach groups along a pathway towards
  employment
• KEEP innovative network can be replicated in
  other areas in several aspects
• Shared working e.g. joint assessments, sharing
  services
• Partnership approach supporting small orgs to
  gain access to EU funding e.g. success in 2003
  ESF co-financing round
• Targeting PEOPLE NOT PLACES

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KEY MESSAGES

• KEEP has enabled the development of other
  important networks e.g. Kent Social Enterprise
  Network and Kent Strategic Mental Health
  Partnership
• The use of Intermediary Labour Markets (ILM) and
  social enterprise complement private investment
  and economic activity.
• The current contracting process by the statutory
  sector does not allow the effective involvement
  of the voluntary sector due to rigid targets and
  inflexibility of outcomes.
• National policies should enable joined up
  practice to support pathways to employment and
  sustaining people in work.

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KEY MESSAGES

• There is need for large public sector
  organisations e.g. local authorities and the NHS
  to take the lead on Corporate Social
  Responsibility by embracing the need for
  diversity in their workforce.

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KEY MESSAGES

• Working across diverse target groups in a large
  County like Kent has presented many operational
  difficulties
• There is a need to define the project idea and
  scope very carefully
• Sustainability and mainstreaming of the idea
  needs to be incorporated into project planning
  from the outset
• Equal presents a considerable commitment from
  partners both in time and willingness to try out
  something different and enter into the spirit of
  partnership

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KENT EQUAL EMPLOYABILITY PARTNERSHIP (KEEP)

• Further information
• KEEP conference on 14th May 2004 in Priestfield
  Stadium, Gillingham
• Website http//www.kent.ac.uk/keep
• Telephone [phone]
• E-mail keep_at_kent.ac.uk