Strategy

About

The Joined Up for Jobs strategy launched in 2001 led by Capital City Partnership (set up as a Social Inclusion Partnership in 1998) and the City of Edinburgh Council's Economic Development department (now known as Business Growth and Inclusion).

The purpose was to develop a new approach to employment support across Edinburgh and make a significant, positive contribution to tackling exclusion and disadvantage and to harness the co-operation of employers to do this.

Principles – 3 pillars

• Demand led
• Client centred
• Joined up

A formal partnership was created between key agencies who signed a partnership agreement. Original signatories included:

• City of Edinburgh Council
• Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh & Lothian
• Job Centre Plus
• Careers Scotland (now Skills Development Scotland)
• Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce.

The Joined Up for Jobs strategy is overseen by Edinburgh’s Local Employability Partnership (LEP), an internationally recognised partnership of third, private and public sector organisations working to achieve inclusive growth in Edinburgh.

Key stakeholders include:

• Third Sector employability providers who form the Joined Up for Jobs forum
• City of Edinburgh Council
• Capital City Partnership
• Department for Work and Pensions
• Skills Development Scotland
• Edinburgh College
• Edinburgh Chamber of Commerce
• Edinburgh University (representing the Edinburgh-based universities).

Local Employability Partnership

The Local Employability Partnership is led by Senior Managers from a range of core stakeholders to oversee the ‘Joined Up for’ infrastructure, manage No One Left Behind and UK Shared Prosperity Fund commissioning recommendations, add value, and avoid duplication.

Stakeholders include The City of Edinburgh Council, Skills Development Scotland, Department of Work and Pensions, NHS Lothian, Edinburgh College, Edinburgh Universities, Chamber of Commerce, Capital City Partnership and representation from the Joined up for Jobs Forum.

The Local Employability Partnership is one of the strategic partnerships that make up The Edinburgh Partnership(this will open in a new window) our Community Planning Partnership

The current Community Plan has three pillars:

• Enough Money to Live On
• Access to work, learning and training opportunities
• A Good Place to Live
• Edinburgh Local Employability Partnership Strategy 2024-2026

The Local Employability Partnership oversees the partnership support for the Joined Up for Jobs, Joined Up for Business, and the Youth Employability Partnership:

• Joined Up for Jobs sets out the framework for a partnership of key agencies and frontline services to work together to help more people into employment. Support is given through website resources, a client management information system, and quarterly forums
• Joined Up for Business gives businesses a "no wrong door" approach and offers a bespoke, free recruitment and training service, as well as a business growth support service for SMEs. We help businesses identify funding initiatives that can support recruitment, training and business growth needs. We also support the Fort Kinnaird Recruitment Skills Centre, and the emerging Edinburgh St James development through FUSE
• The Youth Employment Partnership brings together key agencies involved in supporting young people, focusing primarily on those transitioning from school. The groups aims are to ensure adequate support is in place for those seeking employment, training or support, as well as guiding the strategy on youth employment in the city.

NOLB/Tackling Child Poverty

No One Left Behind (NOLB)(this will open in a new window) is the Scottish Government’s approach to transforming employment support in Scotland. It aims to deliver a system that is more tailored and responsive to the needs of people of all ages who want help and support on their journey towards, into and in work - particularly people with health conditions, disabled people and others who are disadvantaged in the labour market.

Alongside NOLB, the Scottish Government’s Tackling Child Poverty strategy aims to ensure there is a focus on support for parents and their progression into work.

In Edinburgh, NOLB and Tackling Child Poverty funding contributes the majority of funding which is allocated to Third Sector organisations to deliver employment support on behalf of the Council and Local Employability Partnership members. This funding is distributed through the Network of Employment Support and Training (NEST) and Moving Forward programmes.

The Youth Employment Action Plan

The YEAP tracks all opportunities for young people (aged 16-24 or 26 if care-experienced) in one place, making it easier for referral partners to source the most suitable destination for their young people.

In Edinburgh, there is a significant amount of employability support for young people provided by a number of third sector organisations across the Joined Up for Jobs (JUfJ) network. Various routes fund this, including the City of Edinburgh Council and the Scottish Government.

This Youth Employment Action Plan (YEAP) outlines a pipeline approach for every young person in Edinburgh. The YEAP complements further contracted provisions funded by the City of Edinburgh Council, including the Joined Up for Jobs (JUfJ) network and national provisions. The YEAP is coordinated by Capital City Partnership; if you would like to be added or require any information, email: joinedupforjobs@capitalcitypartnership.org.

Edinburgh Guarantee

The Edinburgh Guarantee helps people of all ages and backgrounds to easily access and progress in fair work, training or further education. Through its network of employers and partners, the Edinburgh Guarantee can help all job seekers to find the support they need to achieve success.

The Edinburgh Guarantee is the public facing brand for supporting clients who have an interest in employment, education or training. The Edinburgh Guarantee(this will open in a new window) website is the one-stop shop for Edinburgh’s citizens interested in gaining support.

Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal

A City Region Deal is a mechanism for accelerating growth by pulling in government investment. By investing this funding in innovation, skills and infrastructure, performance will be significantly improved, and we will tackle inequality and deprivation. The Deal will drive productivity and growth while reducing inequalities and deprivation. Joined Up for Jobs will benefit from the Integrated Regional Employability and Skills workstream.

For more information visit The Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal (esescityregiondeal.org.uk)(this will open in a new window)(this will open in a new window).