Employability Grant Programme: Key Information, Guidance and Sources of Useful Data

The aim of this Grant programme is to support unemployed people to move towards and into work.

To do this, we need to help local people to develop the skills and confidence employers are looking for. But to reach those people, we all need to work together at a local level to provide the best possible services to those who need them most.

The East Dunbartonshire Employability Grant Programme aims to support economically inactive, unemployed and parents on low incomes move towards and into work. We recognise that to help local people to develop the skills and confidence employers are looking for we all need to work together at a local level to provide the best possible services to those who need them most.

The partnership will decide on the local priorities and areas for action, but will also ensure that local employability providers continue to have the opportunity to access funding for services through a co-commissioned process. The key Scottish Government policy framework for this approach is called No One Left Behind and this will guide the future direction and delivery of employability services in the years to come.

In East Dunbartonshire the strategic partnership is the East Dunbartonshire Local Employability Partnership (EDLEP) consisting of partner agencies from the East Dunbartonshire Community Planning Structure. The EDLEP is chaired by East Dunbartonshire Council. Its purpose is to support the implementation of local and national employability policy through collective leadership, joint planning and co-commissioning. In doing so the partnership, working closely with local delivery partners, will make the best use of resources available to deliver effective needs-led employability services that help East Dunbartonshire residents make a successful transition towards employment.  

The East Dunbartonshire Employability Grant Programme will continue to fund provision that will:

• Augment the employability provision delivered by DWP, SDS and other partners
• Add value to the funding and other resources already available locally and create opportunities for innovation and collaboration
• Support the aims and objectives outlined in the East Dunbartonshire Economic Strategy and No One Left Behind.  

This grant application round will allocate funding from the Scottish and UK Government from:

• No One Left Behind
• Tackling Child Poverty funding
• Shared Prosperity Fund.

This document, and the associated grant application form, outlines East Dunbartonshire Local Employability Partnership’s (EDLEP) intentions, principles and priorities to be met through the new East Dunbartonshire Employability Grant Programme supporting employability and skills provision between 2025 and 2027.

This guidance, and the associated grant application form, outlines East Dunbartonshire Local Employability Partnership’s (EDLEP) intentions, principles and priorities to be met through the new East Dunbartonshire Employability Grant Programme supporting employability and skills provision between 2025 and 2027.

The two key outcomes to which the East Dunbartonshire Employment Grant Programme will contribute are:

• Reducing unemployment and economic inactivity across East Dunbartonshire and for targeted geographies and groups
• Reducing child poverty through Increasing income through employment for low-income parents.

There are six NOLB principles that will underpin the delivery expectations for all provision supported via the Employability Grants Programme.

1. Provide flexible and person-centred support
2. Be more straightforward for people to navigate
3. Be better integrated and aligned with other services, particularly with health, justice and housing provision
4. Provide pathways into sustainable and fair work
5. Be driven by evidence, including data and the experience of users
6. Support more people – particularly those facing multiple barriers – to move into the right job, at the right time.

In addition, all provision supported through the grants programme should also comply with the following additional principles that the EDLEP feel are critical in providing the best support to people to enable progress towards sustainable outcomes.

Services should be configured around the needs of the clients rather than delivery partners.

• ‘Travel to work’ should be considered with participants to help overcome barriers (both physical and perceived) and support access to opportunities outwith their local area and across East Dunbartonshire and the wider Glasgow City Region
• Applicants should be prepared to become an active partner, making use of the East Dunbartonshire Local Employability Partnership resources such as training and development activity and events and East Dunbartonshire Practitioners and Delivery Partners forums. In particular, applicants should be prepared to utilise a new Continuous Improvement Toolkit for employability services currently in development by the Scottish Government, links to which will be provided to successful applicants
• Ensure lived experience shapes service design and delivery as outlined in the Scottish approach to service design
• Ensure that the design of services has considered the needs of those with protected characteristics
• Provide additionality to existing provision available in East Dunbartonshire with connectivity, where permissible, to established provision and building progression routes into Further/Higher Education, Modern and Graduate Apprenticeships and other appropriate provision, as well as supporting access to employment
• Provision must not put at risk participants current eligibility for benefits or lead to a reduction in overall income.

Applicants should focus on the priority groups and priority areas outlined below and the needs of employers.  EDLEP is keen that potential grant applicant partners use their expertise, local knowledge and links with other partners to develop creative and innovative proposals that they have confidence there is demand for and that meet gaps in service delivery. The grant programme will allow providers to come forward with their own ideas and suggestions for new services and provisions based on evidence of need.

This grant programme will support provision across East Dunbartonshire’s five stage employability pipeline for unemployed and economically inactive East Dunbartonshire Council residents, particularly those furthest from the labour market and/or for whom the current employability service provision does not fully meet their needs. It will also support provision for low-income parents to help them progress within work and increase their income. 

Applicants can focus on particular stages of the pipeline or develop provision that covers more than one stage/ end to end provision.

Examples of services under each stage of the pipeline are outlined below but this is not an exhaustive list. Providers are encouraged to use their own knowledge and outline their own approach.

• Supporting access to referrals to Services
• Engagement through targeted outreach in communities
• Identification and meeting of needs
• Assessment
• Active engagement with key intermediaries and agencies
• Developing relationships with referral agencies.

• Personal development/confidence and motivation
• Basic Life Skills including ICT skills
• Specialist Support/ access to support e.g., debt/financial, homelessness, substance misuse etc.
• English for Speakers of other Languages/linked to employability (ESOL)
• Action plans
• Identifying pre-employment training requirements
• Benefits advice
• Specialist employability support services around health, well-being and disability
• Addressing well-being and mental health.

• Employability skills training
• Skills academies
• Job searching strategies
• Pre-apprenticeship training
• Core skills
• Career guidance
• Vocational skills training (focussing on skills demand eg hospitality, care, construction, green jobs and skills)
• Further and Higher Education
• ICT Training
• Work placements and experience
• Enterprise awareness
• Voluntary work
• Occupational Health Support.

• Employer engagement & support
• Jobsearch activities
• Innovative approaches in partnership with employers/ employer engagement
• Mentoring
• Career advice and support
• Access to ICT services for applications and job searching
• Employer recruitment incentives
• Lift Off grants
• In-work benefit calculations.

• Support to help employee retention
• Client tracking to ensure sustained employment
• Intermediate labour market initiatives
• Employer engagement
• Initiatives to tackle in-work poverty
• Provision of business skills for social enterprise and self-employment
• Childcare support
• Tracking and aftercare for length of the programme.

Our priority groups for the East Dunbartonshire LEP for this grants programme are listed below. Based on local labour market and demographics and the experience of delivering NOLB over the last year, the LEP is looking to have a focus on:

• 16-19 year olds/school leavers without a positive destination / young people at risk of no positive destination within six months of leaving school
• Young people aged under 25 years with a barrier to employment
• Jobless care-experienced/LAAC young people (aged 16- 26 years)
• Those involved in the community justice system.
• Those who are economically inactive
• Unemployed people with physical or learning disability who are able and wishing to progress/return to work.
• Unemployed people with health conditions (including mental health) wishing to progress/return to work including those in recovery from addictions
• Long term unemployed residents
• Unemployed residents residing in the most deprived data zones (SIMD2020)
• Unemployed Black and minority residents including marginalised communities, refugees and asylum seekers.
• Unemployed people in homeless/temporary accommodation.
• Unemployed and employed low-income parents
• No or limited work experience
• Low-skilled
• Carers
• Armed Forces veterans
• Those who do not have English as a first language.

Applicants who submit bids focussed on targeted support to individuals with poor health, disabilities including mental ill health and addictions should take account of emerging Specialist Employability Support models of delivery and reflect this approach in their applications.

Unemployment affects people across all areas of East Dunbartonshire however there are communities more impacted than others. Whilst the grant programme will support provision open to the priority groups above regardless of where they stay, there is also a need for provision targeting our most deprived communities (SIMD 2020). For East Dunbartonshire these communities are as below.

All 16 and 17 year olds not entitled to benefits should be able to claim £60 per week as long as they are on provision for 10 hours per week. This training allowance should be paid by the provider and claimed back from EDC using through the quarterly claims process. Providers should keep a detailed record of payments made. 18 years olds may be eligible for the training allowance although clients should be encouraged to claim benefits if they are eligible instead of getting the training allowance.

We want to safeguard the benefits and entitlements of residents taking part in activity supported through this grant programme. We will expect applicants to demonstrate an understanding of the individual needs of course attendees, giving consideration to possible benefit impacts and ensuring there is no risk to entitlements by the take up of any employability initiative.

Providers should ensure they have had a recent dialogue with DWP to clarify/remove any potential benefit impacts your proposed programme.

The employability services and provision being applied for should be:

• Appropriate for the age and stage of the target participant group
• Proportionate to the numbers of unemployed
• Ensure that provision can support those who have significant barriers including being economically inactive
• Where possible/appropriate delivered locally in facilities that are accessible to all
• Needed locally and not duplicate existing provision,
• In line with current and future labour markets, skills requirements, and job vacancies.

Providers can propose services throughout this period or for certain periods only (according to anticipated demand). Providers can make multiple applications if they wish to provide more than one project. This information document and the application form will be published on the Adult learning, youth work and employment page.

Providers will need to ensure that project participants are not engaged on another employability programme when participating on the programme.

Only direct delivery costs will be considered as eligible grant expenditure and a maximum of 10% of total staff costs can be included in the cost breakdown for management and administration costs. Please note, Scottish Government grant funded eligible costs exclude:

• Costs for employability not related to No One Left Behind.
• Any programmes or activities which do not have the aim of assisting participants to access or progress into or towards employment
• Ongoing childcare costs
• Any Value Added Tax (VAT) reclaimable by the grantee
• Costs not directly supporting the grant purpose.
• Staff relocation costs
• Insurance costs.

An Assessment Panel will manage the assessment and scoring procedures following the Council’s grant processes. Membership of the Assessment Panel will be drawn from strategic partner organisations represented on the LEP.

Notification of outcomes will be communicated, followed by grant letters.  Full details of the payment process and terms and conditions of grant, including monitoring and reporting requirements will be included. The grant offer may be indicative or “subject to” an award of government funding as we are still awaiting confirmation of budgets for that period.

The Provider shall provide employability services in the volumes, outputs of services and financial profiles set out in each award of grant, which could be different from the application submitted.

Any other changes to the programme, including a change in what was specified in grant applications, will require approval in advance.

Public sector funding dictates that grant payments require to be accounted for in the financial year of delivery.

A maximum of 25% of project costs may be paid up front at the project start date but a payment schedule will be discussed with the applicant and will be reflected in the award of grant letter.

Applicants will be required to submit quarterly claims. All claims must be supported by the required proof of spend. Applicants will be required to invoice East Dunbartonshire Council after the claim has been approved. Payments will be processed through East Dunbartonshire Council’s normal accounting system and payment to applicants will be by BACS.

Prior to final claims being paid, a monitoring visit will be made to all projects. The final monitoring visit will be made by a Compliance Officer from East Dunbartonshire Council.  This visit will check that the project has been implemented as described, that financial records associated with the project are in order, that publicity arrangements and equality and sustainability policies have been complied with.   

Where the applicant is unable to demonstrate sufficient progress towards achieving agreed outputs and targets, future funding may be withheld or reduced. Further details will be outlined in the terms and conditions.

The key performance indicators for the programme (below) are outlined in the application form and replicate the current Scottish Government outcomes for current grant funds. They also contribute to the grant programme outcomes:

• To reduce unemployment
• To increase income from employment for low-income families.

All participants must meet all of the following eligibility conditions:

• Reside in East Dunbartonshire
• Have the right to live and work in the UK
• Be of working age (16-67) with the exception of 15 year olds who are within six months of the school leaving age and who are identified as being at risk of not moving into a positive destination.

Indicators

• How many people will start in your service?
• How many will attain a qualification?
• How many will complete the programme of support?
• How many will undertake a work placement?

Outcomes on completion

• Participants entered FE/HE/Training
• Participants commenced employment/self -employment
• Participants sustained employment at 13, 26 and 52 weeks
• Participants commenced a Modern/Graduate Apprenticeship
• Participants commenced on a formal Volunteering programme
• Improved employment (low- income parents)
• None of the above – to be detailed.
  

Successful projects may have additional outputs and outcomes which they will also monitor and report on.

Personal information will be gathered and recorded by the grant recipient for the following purposes:

• To provide quantitative performance data on registrations, progressions and positive outcomes to inform service delivery adjustments and improvements
• To provide qualitative performance data in the form of case studies
• To contribute to the national No One Left Behind Shared Measurement Framework once published.

Providers will be expected to keep (and to share with East Dunbartonshire Council) key data on the employability participants journey and outcomes and record this on our Hanlon MIS system. Equalities data will also be required. A data-sharing agreement will be issued as part of the grant offer letter conditions. More information on this will be made available to successful applicants alongside the grant paperwork and full training will be provided where required.

Throughout the grant funding period monitoring visits will be scheduled with all providers to check the project has been implemented as described, that financial records are in order and to discuss performance.

As well as providing quantitative and qualitative measures, monitoring of projects serves a number of purposes. It helps identify successful elements of projects, but conversely can help to identify potential problems and make suggestions as to how these might be overcome. Monitoring is vital in enabling the LEP to gain greater insight into individual projects, but also to ensure and verify that the funds have been spent as envisaged and acknowledged correctly.

It is likely that an independent evaluation will be commissioned which will include evaluations of each of the projects supported via the programme alongside an evaluation of the process and collective impact. Grant recipients will be required to provide information and staff /management time to engage with the appointed contractor/s. Information on the process will be shared to recipients when available.

In addition, grant recipients will be required to establish their own evaluative processes to drive continuous improvement and monitoring processes will include grant recipients evidencing how they do this and to what effect. This will be discussed both individually at review meetings and collectively at East Dunbartonshire Employability Delivery Partners Forum meetings and development sessions. 

The Scottish Government is developing a Continuous Improvement tool-kit for use by LEPs and individual employability delivery organisations and grant recipients will be advised when this becomes available for use. Any materials or resources will be published on the documents section of adult learning, youth work and employment web page.

Successful grant applicants will also be required to complete a grant probity form confirming and attaching evidence that they have appropriate policies and procedures in place around adult and child protection, data protection, equalities, health and safety and insurance.

Data on employment and unemployment is available from a number of sources as detailed below.

Figures for the above can be found on the Labour Market Profile section of the Official Labour Market Statistics website which is updated.

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) provides a range of information relating to the labour market, including data on school leaver destinations and the participation measure. Details are available on the Skills Development Scotland (SDS) website.

To apply for an Employability Grant, please download the application form below.