1. No category

Skills Development Scotland
and
Fife Council workshop
Friday 19 March 2010
Venue: Kingdom House
Saltire Centre
Glenrothes
KY6 2AQ
FIFE/SKILLS
DEVELOPMENT
SCOTLAND
“TOWARDS
A
SERVICE
DEVELOPMENT
AGREEMENT”
‐
PARTNERSHIP
WORKSHOP
FRIDAY
19th
MARCH
2010
PARTICIPANT
BRIEFING
PACK
This
pack
has
been
prepared
to
support
the
Fife
partnership
workshop
involving
key
staff
from
Fife
Council,
Skills
Development
Scotland,
and
a
variety
of
other
active
partners
within
the
local
Community
Planning
mechanisms.
The
pack
contains
a
series
of
background
papers,
key
data/information
summaries,
and
a
suggested
framework
from
which
to
agree
how
SDS
can
most
effectively
align
its
activities
with
those
of
other
partners.
Contents
include:
1. The
workshop
programme
2. Fife
Council
Briefing
Note
3. Briefing
note
1
–
which
summarises
key
real
time
data
relevant
to
partner
activities
in
Fife
4. Briefing
note
2
‐
a
summary
of:
the
relevant
local
outcomes
within
the
current
SOA
and
the
7
SDS
corporate
outcomes
5. SDS
delivery
sites
within
Fife,
and
the
lead
SDS
contact
officers
6. The
draft
Service
Delivery
Agreement
template
(which
will
provide
the
key
focus
for
workshop
discussions)
7. The
SDS
Fife
Briefing
(December
2009)
Collectively,
these
documents
will
inform
and
provide
the
backdrop
for
the
workshop
discussions.
WORKSHOP
PROGRAMME
“TOWARDS
A
SERVICE
DELIVERY
AGREEMENT”
FIFE/SKILLS
DEVELOPMENT
SCOTLAND
WORKSHOP
FRIDAY
19th
MARCH:
2PM
–
5PM
2.00:
welcome,
introductions
and
expectations,
and
workshop
objectives
2.15:
the
building
blocks
‐
short
presentations
by:
• Skills
Development
Scotland
• Fife
Council
2.45:
towards
a
service
delivery
agreement
3.00:
local
priority
issues
and
actions
to
capture
in
the
agreement
• Information,
advice
and
guidance
• Skills
development
opportunities
including
literacy
and
numeracy
• Curriculum
for
Excellence,
16
Plus
Learning
Choices
and
MCMC
• National
training
programmes
• Key
sector/industry
support
• Employer
engagement
• Workforce
development
‘gap’
4.15:
moving
forward
–
developing
and
agreeing
a
service
level
agreement
4.45:
conclusions
and
next
steps
5.00:
close
FIFE COUNCIL BRIEFING NOTE
TOPIC:
Skills
Development
Scotland
Workshop
with
Fife
Partners
–
Friday
19th
March
‐
2pm
to
5pm
at
Kingdom
House,
Glenrothes
PREPARED
FOR:
Workshop
Participants
PREPARED
BY:
Anne
Macintyre,
Team
Leader
Partnership
and
Employability,
Development
Services,
Fife
Council
DATE
PREPARED:
9
March
2010
BACKGROUND:
A
meeting
was
held
on
25
January
2010
involving
Damien
Yates,
Ronnie
Hinds
and
Senior
Officers
from
SDS
and
Fife
Council
to
discuss
how
to
draw
up
a
Service
Delivery
Agreement
within
the
context
of
Fife’s
Single
Outcome
Agreement.
It
was
agreed
that
the
best
approach
was
to
set
up
a
workshop
through
the
Opportunities
Fife
Strategic
Group
with
input
from
Education
and
Fife
Economy
Partnership.
A
number
of
key
themes
were
identified
including:
Information,
advice
and
guidance
Skills
development
opportunities
including
literacy
and
numeracy
Curriculum
for
Excellence,
16
Plus
Learning
Choices
and
MCMC
National
training
programmes
Key
sector/industry
support
Employer
engagement
Workforce
development
‘gap’
This
briefing
note
outlines
local
priorities
in
relation
to
the
above
key
themes
in
preparation
for
the
workshop.
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Key
documents
to
be
circulated
with
this
briefing
note
are
Opportunities
Fife
Strategy
and
Fife
Economic
Strategy.
ISSUES:
1. Information,
advice
and
guidance
The
Council
is
committed
to
targeting
services
to
those
most
disadvantaged
in
the
labour‐market.
At
a
time
of
economic
recession,
availability
of
quality
Information,
Advice
and
Guidance
services
which
are
genuinely
accessible
to
all
is
increasingly
important
and
in
particular,
to
adults
who
are
coping
with
barriers
to
employment.
It
would
be
helpful
to
have
clarification
on
the
extent
of
SDS’s
role
and
commitment
to
working
with
this
client
group.
For
many
adults,
particularly
those
with
low
skills
and
qualifications,
the
journey
back
to
or
in
and
out
of
work
will
involve
acquisition
of
core
and
vocational
skills
through
participation
in
flexible
Community
Based
Learning
(CBAL)
programmes.
Integration
of
IAG
within
these
programmes
to
support
effective
client
progression
has
been
identified
as
a
priority
for
CLD
partners
involved
in
delivery
of
CBAL
and
we
would
welcome
the
opportunity
to
work
collaboratively
with
SDS
to
build
capacity
within
the
partnership
to
deliver
an
appropriate
level
of
IAG
services
to
an
identified
quality
standard.
The
Council
has
a
lead
role
on
the
implementation
of
an
Outreach
&
Engagement
Strategy
for
Employability
on
behalf
of
the
Opportunities
Fife
Partnership.
The
delivery
model
for
the
strategy
takes
services
into
local
communities
and
targets
those
coping
with
barriers
to
employment,
many
of
whom
may
find
it
difficult
to
access
IAG
services
through
more
mainstream
methods.
Development
of
effective
partnership
working
with
agencies
such
as
SDS
and
JCP
is
recognised
as
critical
to
the
success
of
the
strategy
and
this
is
being
progressed
under
the
auspices
of
the
Opportunities
Fife
Client
Engagement
&
Progression
Delivery
Group
which
is
Chaired
by
the
local
SDS
Manager.
Again,
some
clarification
on
SDS’s
role
in
supporting
delivery
of
Outreach
&
Engagement
services
would
be
helpful
in
informing
future
developments.
2. Skills
development
Skills
development
is
a
strategic
priority
within
the
Opportunities
Fife
Strategy
and
a
key
action
is
to
prepare
a
skills
action
plan
so
that
local
people
can
be
prepared
to
capitalise
on
employment
opportunities
afforded
by
major
capital
projects
such
as
second
Forth
crossing,
CVF
Aircraft
and
key
growth
sectors
including
renewables,
tourism,
retail,
care
and
sustainable
construction.
The
first
stage
in
preparing
this
action
plan
is
to
undertake
a
skills
review
–
focussing
initially
on
Renewables
but
followed
up
by
a
broader
review
to
identify
Fife’s
future
skills
requirements.
The
advice
and
support
of
SDS
colleagues
in
this
exercise
will
be
crucial
to
ensure
we
capture
relevant
local,
national
and
international
information
and
perspectives.
3. Literacy
and
Numeracy
The
Fife
Literacies
Partnership,
represented
by
private
and
public
sector
organisations
since
2001,
has
successfully
provided
literacy
and
numeracy
support
across
Fife.
Partners
work
with
around
4500
literacies
learners
per
annum
of
whom
approximately
70%
are
new
learners.
SDS
has
continually
been
involved
within
the
Fife
Partnership
under
the
banners
of
Careers
Scotland
and
Scottish
Enterprise
Fife
and
is
currently
represented
on
the
Literacies
Operational
Group.
The
Council,
as
lead
partner
has
applied
particular
priority
and
support
to
the
literacies
strategy,
ensuring
that
appropriate
funding
was
made
available
to
the
partnership.
In
terms
of
skills
development,
the
partnership
has
continued
to
provide
literacy
and
numeracy
support
for
those
either
seeking
work
or
employed.
Particular
success
was
achieved
by
the
Fife
Partnership
for
Essential
Workplace
Skills,
a
consortium
of
the
Fife
Literacies
Partnership
that
ran
a
pilot
project
between
2007‐2008.
Designed
to
focus
on
employer/employee
engagement
and
awareness‐
raising,
the
project
engaged
with
51
employers
and
664
employees.
As
a
result
of
this,
329
employees
participated
in
workplace
delivered
projects.
This
project,
funded
by
Learning
Connections
and
promoted
by
the
Scottish
Government,
produced
outstanding
results
in
terms
of
developing
a
more
comprehensive,
Fife‐wide
and
co‐ordinated
approach
to
raising
employer
awareness
of
literacies
issues
and
engaging
them
with
workplace
literacies
support.
Building
on
the
Essential
Workplace
Skills
initiative,
the
partnership
has
continued
to
support
skills
development
through
Literacies
Challenge
Funded
projects
run
by
private
and
public
sector
partner
organisations.
Recent
and
current
dedicated
workforce
projects
include
the
Fife
Fire
and
Rescue
Service;
Kingdom
Homes
Care
Workers,
Ingenico,
Ark
Housing
Care
workers
and
Fife
Council
Environmental
Service
Operatives.
The
Fife
Council
ESOL
Service
plays
an
important
role
in
provision
of
literacies
support
to
employees,
whose
first
language
is
not
English
supported
by
funding
from
the
Literacies
budget,
ESF
projects
and
from
Council
budgets.
In
addition
to
this
there
are
many
employed
learners
participating
in
College‐
run
Challenge
funded
projects
and
integrated
courses.
The
current
Literacies
Action
Plan,
covering
the
period
2009‐2011
includes
workplace/skills
development.
Outcome
three
of
its
targets
aims
to
maintain
the
number
of
employed
literacies
learners
and
the
number
of
employers
supporting
literacies
learning.
The
partnership
aims
to
deliver
literacies
to
employed
learners
within
both
workplace
and
educational
environments.
Outcome
five
of
the
Literacies
Action
Plan
aims
to
increase
the
number
of
young
people
within
the
age
group
of
16‐25
engaged
in
literacies
provision.
This
will
support
the
More
Choices
More
Chances
and
16
Plus
Learning
Choices
programmes.
There
has
been
an
increase
in
literacies
provision
for
young
people
through
the
new
Challenge
funded
Rathbone
Training
project
and
continuation
of
the
IDTC
Limited
project.
Both
of
these
provide
skills
development
for
those
young
people
that
need
support
at
pre‐entry
and
early
entry
into
the
workplace.
In
addition
to
the
workplace
literacies
aspect,
the
Literacies
Partnership
has
prioritised
delivery
in
Scottish
Index
of
Multiple
Deprivation
(SIMD)
data
zones.
Outcome
two
of
the
Action
Plan
aims
to
maintain
the
level
of
dedicated
literacies
provision,
with
specific
focus
on
areas
with
the
greatest
social
need.
The
Challenge
Fund
scoring
system
is
weighted
to
encourage
providers
to
support
delivery
in
these
areas.
In
addition
to
the
direct
delivery
of
literacies
provision
the
partnership
provides
staff
training
in
literacies
primarily
through
Fife
Council
ABE.
ABE
are
an
Accredited
SQA
Training
Centre
for
the
delivery
of
the
PDA
ITALL,
PDA
Dyslexia
and
2
new
HN
Units
in
Tutoring
Numeracy
in
Adult
Literacies.
Carnegie
College
also
deliver
the
PDA
Dyslexia.
4.
Curriculum
for
Excellence,
16
Plus
Learning
Choices
and
MCMC
The
Fife
response
to
MCMC
has
been
developing
since
2007.
This
has
always
been
based
on
a
strong
strategic
partnership
involving
FC,
Third
Sector,
SDS
and
Fife
Colleges
in
particular.
As
a
result
of
significant
work
in
this
context,
Fife
has
been
able
to
set
up
a
short
term
(until
March
2011)
16+
LC
Project
Team
to
further
develop
a
process
based
on
school
16+
LC
teams,
key
workers,
post
school
transition
groups
and
a
strong
Activity
Agreement
provision.
SDS
makes
a
significant
contribution
to
this
process
and
although
developing,
a
number
of
aspects
still
require
discussion
and
clarity
‐
the
status
of
Activate
Programmes
(presently
in
9
out
19
secondary
schools.
the
role
of
SDS
key
workers
and
16+
Transition
Workers
in
the
AA
process
the
use
of
INSIGHT
in
relation
to
school
'offers'
spreadsheets
access
to
INSIGHT
SDS
Case
Management
5.
National
training
programmes
•
•
•
•
•
Fife
partners
welcomed
the
consultative
approach
adopted
by
SDS
in
preparing
Demand
Statements
for
national
training
programmes
to
shape
the
provision
for
2010/11.
Although
timescales
were
extremely
tight
this
year
the
strategic
partnership
structures
in
place
through
Fife
Economy
Partnership
and
Opportunities
Fife
provides
an
effective
mechanism
for
consulting
on
design
of
future
provision.
6.
Economic
Development
Strategy
and
Key
sector/industry
support
Fife
Economic
Strategy
2009
–
2020
outlines
our
priorities
under
the
following
six
outcome
themes:
Outcome
Theme:
More
Dynamic
Businesses
Priorities
–
how
we’ll
make
a
difference
•
Continue
the
reorganisation
of
Business
Gateway
to
streamline
business
support
services
in
Fife
and
align
more
effectively
with
partners
•
Implement
enterprise
actions
arising
from
the
Fife
Culture
of
Enterprise
Framework
•
Utilise
the
Fife
Investment
Fund
to
explore
partnership
with
other
Local
Authorities
to
attract
greater
EU
funding
•
Improve
processing
times
for
business
planning
applications
•
Harness
the
Fife
Council
trade
exhibition
programme
to
generate
better
business
opportunities
locally,
nationally
and
internationally
•
Utilise
the
Supplier
Development
Programme
to
enhance
supply
chain
procurement
opportunities
for
Fife‐
based
companies
Outcome
Theme:
Extended
Employment
and
Skills
Opportunities
Priorities
–
how
we’ll
make
a
difference
•
Restructure
opportunity
centres
to
become
a
flexible
network
of
seamless
employability
support
services
under
the
‘Opportunities
Fife’
brand
•
Improve
accessibility
and
targeting
of
employability
services
in
deprived
areas
of
Fife
•
Build
on
partnership
working
activities
between
Jobcentre
Plus,
Skills
Development
Scotland
and
Fife’s
educational
institutions
to
maximise
employability
efforts
•
Widening
opportunities
for
engaging
those
without
work
in
activities
that
will
move
them
towards
training
and
employment
–
particularly
those
who
are
furthest
from
the
labour
market
•
Expanding
locally
based
degree
level
provision
in
Fife
and
ensuring
that
there
are
graduate
level
job
opportunities
available
in
Fife
•
Capitalising
on
training
and
employment
opportunities
afforded
by
major
capital
projects,
such
as
the
second
forth
crossing
and
the
CVF
Aircraft
Carriers
Outcome
Theme:
A
Modern
Business
Infrastructure
Priorities
–
how
we’ll
make
a
difference
•
Maintain
an
effective
supply
of
employment
land
for
Fife
•
Remediate
key
employment
land
sites
in
Fife
to
stimulate
inward
investment
and
support
business
expansion
•
Capitalising
on
the
opportunities
for
training,
employment
and
supply
chain
business
growth
from
major
capital
projects
in
Fife
such
as
the
new
Forth
crossing
and
the
Rosyth
Multi‐Modal
Container
Terminal
•
Stemming
retail
leakage
to
competitive
centres
outwith
Fife
•
Supporting
renewable
energy
infrastructure
projects
such
as
the
thermal
biomass
projects
currently
being
developed
by
the
private
sector
•
Support
the
development
of
innovative
cross‐forth
travel
Outcome
Theme:
Improved
Knowledge
and
Research
Base
Priorities
‐
how
we’ll
make
a
difference
•
Business
Gateway
will
provide
support
to
stimulate
and
encourage
innovation
and
growth
in
Small
to
Medium‐
sized
Enterprises
(SMEs)
•
Provide
business
research
facilities
for
renewable
energy
to
help
facilitate
the
commercialisation
of
research
in
developments
such
as
the
Hydrogen
Office,
Methil
•
Establish
a
knowledge‐transfer
network
between
local
companies
and
educational
institutions
across
Fife
•
Assist
businesses
to
access
national
and
other
funding
for
research
and
development
activities
by
better
integrating
services
across
public
sector
agencies,
including
St
Andrews
University
and
Fife’s
colleges
•
Work
in
partnership
with
Scottish
Enterprise
to
attract
and
retain
more
graduates
to
Fife‐based
businesses,
through
the
Fife
Culture
of
Enterprise
Framework
•
Continue
to
develop
science
and
technology
links
within
and
outwith
Fife
by
the
creation
of
a
science
park
associated
with
the
University
of
St
Andrews
Outcome
Theme:
Business
and
Employment
Growth
in
Key
Sectors
Priorities
–
how
we’ll
make
a
difference
•
Supporting
renewable
energy
projects
to
transform
Fife’s
economy
for
the
future
and
become
a
leading
Scottish
centre
within
the
sector
and
creating
or
safeguarding
2,000
green
jobs
•
Implement
a
multi‐agency
approach
to
align
skills
development
and
business
growth
in
Fife’s
renewable
energy
sector
•
Ensuring
that
the
right
support
structure
is
in
place
for
tourism
businesses
to
contribute
to
overall
growth
and
provide
business
development
and
networking
opportunities
within
the
tourism
business
community
•
Use
the
‘Promoting
Fife’
initiative
to
provide
targeted
and
customer‐focused
tourism
marketing
that
complements
activities
by
partner
organisations,
such
as
VisitScotland
•
Maintain
existing
strengths
and
develop
network
activity
in
financial
and
business
services,
construction,
creative
industries
and
IT
and
technology
•
Connect
niche
sectors
in
Fife
to
city
region
activities
to
benefit
from
economies
of
scale
Outcome
Theme:
Stronger
Communities
through
Regeneration
Priorities
–
how
we’ll
make
a
difference
•
Ensure
renewable
energy
developments
create
employment
and
training
opportunities
to
enhance
the
regeneration
of
deprived
areas
•
Development
and
expansion
of
social
enterprises
as
a
key
part
of
the
local
economy
and
job
market
in
priority
areas.
This
support
will
include
tailored
events
and
support
with
funding
applications.
•
Tackling
inequalities
through
regeneration
and
promotion
of
communities
by
investing
in
town
centres
will
help
to
improve
priority
areas
•
Develop
business
incubation
units
in
other
priority
areas,
building
on
the
success
of
recent
provision
in
Kirkcaldy
and
Methil.
•
Delivering
‘Be
Your
Own
Boss’
programmes
throughout
priority
areas
•
Continuing
to
support
town
centre
partnerships
including
Town
Centre
Management;
Business
Improvement
Districts;
and
Business
Associations,
to
ensure
that
businesses
are
stakeholders
in
the
future
of
their
town
centre
7.
Employer
engagement
More
co‐ordinated
employer
engagement
is
a
key
priority
for
Opportunities
Fife
and
an
Employer
Engagement
Group
(including
SDS
area
manager)
has
been
established
to
drive
forward
priority
actions
as
follows:
Develop
an
Opportunities
Fife
‘employer
offer’
and
work
proactively
with
employers
to
create
employment
pathways
for
key
client
groups
• Capitalise
on
employment
opportunities
afforded
by
major
capital
projects
such
as
second
Forth
crossing,
CVF
Aircraft
and
key
growth
sectors
including
renewables,
tourism,
retail,
care
and
sustainable
construction
• Working
proactively
with
public
sector
agencies
as
significant
employers
of
target
client
groups
• Deliver
a
responsive
redundancy
support
service
through
PACE
(Partnership
Action
for
Continuing
Employment)
• Introduce
measures
to
increase
job
sustainability
and
increased
retention
levels
including
vocational
rehabilitation
–
see
5.8.
• Create
transitional
employment
opportunities
through
Future
Jobs
Fund,
Community
Task
Force
and
Fife
Intermediate
Labour
Market
to
prepare
people
for
future
jobs.
8.
Workforce
development
•
In
addition
to
the
workforce
development
support
identified
within
Fife
Economic
Strategy,
Opportunities
Fife
partners
have
applied
for
ESF
Priority
2
funding
for
‘Upskilling
the
Workforce’
programme
and
if
successful
will
work
with
economic
development,
Business
Gateway
and
employers
to
deliver
this.
We
are
also
keen
to
address
‘in‐work’
poverty
recognising
that
the
average
wage
in
Fife
is
significantly
lower
than
the
Scottish
average
and
are
using
Fairer
Scotland
Funding
to
pilot
approaches
through
‘Making
Work
Pay’
linked
to
a
workforce
development
initiative
with
Fife
Works
through
which
ILA’s
are
extensively
promoted.
There
are
also
opportunities
for
workforce
development
within
‘Health
Works’
–
the
Government’s
review
of
the
Healthy
Working
Lives
Strategy
which
highlights
new
drivers
to
bring
employability
and
health
closer
together
linking
NHS
services
and
local
employability
services.
Fife
Council
and
NHS
Fife
will
be
drawing
up
an
action
plan
to
address
the
challenges
presented
through
Health
Works
including
improving
retention
rates
for
employees
with
health
issues.
It
would
be
helpful
to
know
specific
areas
of
support
that
SDS
can
provide
in
developing
services
to
employers
including
workforce
development.
BRIEFING
PAPER
1:
SUMMARY
OF
KEY
DATA
School
leaver
destinations
2008‐09
• A
total
of
3,888
young
people
left
schools
in
Fife
in
2008‐09.
Of
these,
85.7%
left
to
a
positive
destination,
and
14.3%
to
a
negative,
or
unknown
destination,
both
equalling
the
average
rates
across
Scotland.
The
numbers
entering
a
positive
destination
fell
by
0.6%
since
2007‐08,
just
lower
than
the
decline
of
0.8%
in
Scotland
• There
was
a
marked
decrease
in
the
number
of
leavers
entering
employment,
dropping
by
5.3%
since
last
year
to
12.9%
in
2008‐09,
the
lowest
level
in
10
years,
and
considerably
lower
than
the
national
average
of
18.4%
across
Scotland
• Reflecting
the
national
trend,
the
proportion
of
school
leavers
entering
further
and
higher
education
however,
rose
by
4.9%
to
68.9%,
its
highest
level
in
a
decade.
Amongst
these,
Fife
had
the
highest
percentage
of
leavers
entering
further
education
in
Scotland
• 12.1%
of
leavers
in
Fife
were
unemployed
and
seeking
employment
or
training.
This
was
1.4%
higher
than
the
previous
year,
and
above
the
national
rate
of
11.5%
• 1.7%
of
leavers
were
unemployed
and
not
seeking
employment
or
training,
just
above
the
national
rate
of
1.6%.
A
further
0.6%
of
school
leavers
in
Fife
had
unknown
destinations,
compared
to
1.2%
across
Scotland
National
Training
Programme:
results
for
the
first
half
of
2009‐10
• There
were
1,052
new
starts
on
training
programmes
in
Fife
between
the
1st
April
and
25th
September
2009,
and
a
total
of
2,531
trainees
in
training
at
the
end
of
that
period
• The
biggest
number
of
trainees
were
in
Modern
Apprenticeships
(MA)16‐19,
accounting
for
57.2%
of
the
total
in
training.
MA
20+
accounted
for
18%
of
trainee
numbers,
Skillseekers
accounted
for
13.5%,
and
Get
Ready
for
Work
(GRfW)
for
6.4%
of
trainees.
Training
for
Work
(TFW)
and
Lifeskills
were
the
smallest
programmes,
with
4%
and
0.9%
of
total
trainee
numbers
• A
total
of
676
outcomes
were
achieved
by
trainees
on
national
training
programmes
between
1st
April
and
25th
September
2009.
These
included
qualifications,
progression
to
another
training
programme
or
into
education,
job
outcomes,
and
retention
or
sustained
job
outcomes
The
More
Choices
More
Chances
(MCMC)
group
• The
MCMC
group
comprise
young
people
aged
15‐19
who
are
either
unemployed
and
seeking
employment/training,
or
who
are
economically
inactive.
At
16th
November
2009,
a
total
of
695
young
people
(known
to
SDS)
were
“unemployed
and
seeking”.
41%
of
this
group
were
aged
17,
36%
aged
15/16,
and
23%
aged18/19.
57%
of
the
group
were
male
and
43%
female.
81%
of
the
group
had
been
unemployed
for
under
3
months,
15%
had
been
unemployed
for
3‐6
months,
and
4%
had
been
unemployed
for
6
‐12
months
The
School
College
Collaboration
(SCC)
Project
• The
SCC
project
works
directly
with
S2‐S5
pupils
and
partners
to
ensure
vocational
study
at
school
and
post
school
learning
activities
are
given
equal
status
with
other
school/post
school
options
• Results
from
year
3
show
that
SCC
pupils
in
Fife
are
more
likely
to
enter
learning
opportunities,
particularly
further
education
and
training,
and
are
less
likely
to
be
unemployed.
Overall,
12%
more
SCC
pupils
entered
positive
destinations
than
the
mainstream
statutory
leavers
cohort.
SCC
is
also
shown
to
have
increased
awareness
and
understanding
of
learning
opportunities
amongst
Fife
pupils
and
is
perceived
to
have
had
significant
influence
on
pupils
career
plans,
as
well
as
increasing
pupil
confidence
Full
details
of
the
above
sets
of
data
can
be
found
at
the
following
link
on
the
SDS
web‐site:
http://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/briefings.aspx
BRIEFING
PAPER
2:
SUMMARY
OF
RELEVANT
LOCAL
OUTCOMES
AND
ISSUES
This
briefing
note
summarises
the
key
starting
points
to
develop
robust
strategic
linkages.
These
will
inform
the
process
to
align
SDS
activities
with
those
of
the
local
authority
and
other
Community
Planning
partners.
Two
related
sets
of
outcomes
are
suggested
as
important
starting
points:
(a)
the
local
outcomes
from
the
SOA
of
most
relevance
to
SDS
activities,
and
(b)
SDS’s
initial
corporate
outcomes1.
The
suggested
format
for
a
local
partnership
delivery
agreement
will
build
on
the
linkages
apparent
between
these
lists.
This
is
reflected
in
the
proposed
Service
Delivery
Framework
contained
later
in
this
pack.
Single
Outcome
Agreement
for
Fife
2008‐11
‐
related
local
outcomes
• Economy
Outcome
1:
A
dynamic
business
base
and
a
skilled
workforce
• Economy
Outcome
2:
Success
in
key
sectors
of
the
economy
• Economy
Outcome
3:
A
knowledge
Economy
• Economy
Outcome
4:
Pathways
to
employment
• Learning
Outcome
3:
Promoting
educational
achievement
• Environmental
Outcome
1:
Less
waste
• Best
value
and
excellence
for
Fife
SDS
corporate
outcomes
1. More
people
progress,
achieve
and
sustain
positive
destinations
2. Employers
are
more
productive
as
a
result
in
the
skills
and
development
of
their
employees
3. More
effective
labour
supply
4. Equalities
in
learning
and
employment
are
improved
across
Scotland
5. SDS
is
valued
by,
and
has
a
strong
reputation
with,
customers
and
key
stakeholders
6. SDS
influences
and
stimulates
a
high
performing
skills
system
7. SDS
achieves
its
goals
and
delivers
its
services
in
ways
that
minimise
environmental
impacts
1
These
may
be
refined
in
the
course
of
the
planning
cycle.
SDS
LEAD
CONTACTS/DELIVERY
BASES
Local
Authority
SDS
Region
Head
of
Region
Area
Manager
Fife
North
East
Gordon
MacDougall
Grant
MacDougall
[email protected]
[email protected]
Tel:
07771
943650
Tel:
01592
623028
Mob:
07736
364501
SDS
main
delivery
centres
Opportunity
Centre,
12
Whytescauseway,
Kirkcaldy
KY1
1XF
Tel:
01592
583345
Careers
Scotland
Centre,
15
East
Port,
Dunfermline,
K12
7JG
Tel:
01383
602378
Kingdom
House,
Saltire
Centre,
Glenrothes,
Fife
KY6
2AQ
Tel:
01592
631155
DRAFT
SERVICE
DELIVERY
AGREEMENT
TEMPLATE
The
attached
tables
contain
the
framework
for
the
draft
Service
Delivery
Agreement
between
Skills
Development
Scotland
and
Fife
Council
for
2010‐11.
This
has
been
established
as
a
result
of
a
series
of
developmental
discussions
involving
national
and
local
SDS
staff,
and
officers
from
the
Council
and
other
Community
Planning
partners.
The
format
of
the
template
has
been
taken
from
the
joint
SOLACE/Improvement
Service
good
practice
note
on
the
use
of
outcome
indicators
within
SOAs.
The
agreement
has
been
developed
to
add
value
to
a
range
of
existing
planning
mechanisms,
and
in
particular
its
format
is
designed
to
enable
consistency
and
“read
across”
with
the
wider
Single
Outcome
Agreement
framework
now
in
place.
The
agreement
is
intended
to
embed
and
clarify
the
contribution
of
the
services
and
activities
of
SDS
within
the
collective
efforts
of
all
local
partners
to
address
skills,
learning
and
employability
issues.
It
is
focused
on
ensuring
these
combine
to
maximum
effect
to
address
locally
identified
priorities.
At
this
stage
the
draft
contained
overleaf
has
mapped
and
correlated
relevant
national
outcomes,
and
related
local
outcomes,
and
cross
referenced
these
to
SDS’s
corporate
objectives.
Key
generic
SDS
inputs
and
activities
are
also
listed
to
aid
developmental
discussions
within
the
workshop.
The
potential
contribution
of
these,
and
how
they
can
best
combine
with
other
partner
activities,
will
be
considered
as
appropriate
within
the
workshop
discussion
session
on
key
local
issues.
It
is
intended
the
workshop
itself
will
make
further
progress
in
completing
the
template,
and
also
identify
how
elements
that
cannot
be
completed
on
the
day
will
be
finalised.
This
will
ensure
a
strong
developmental
dynamic
in
the
process.
The
agreement
will
be
used
both
as
a
review
tool,
and
as
the
basis
for
the
further
development
of
joint
working.
Through
application
it
will
continue
to
be
refined,
and
provide
a
solid
foundation
to
integrate
the
ongoing
work
of
SDS
within
the
next
generation
of
SOAs
from
2011.
Both
SDS
and
Councils
are
committed
to
establishing
the
initial
SDA
by
the
end
of
March
2010.
DRAFT Format for SDS Service Delivery Agreement for Fife
Produced by:
Date:
Local Outcome
Economy
Outcome 1
A dynamic
business base
and a skilled
workforce
Economy
Outcome 2
Success in key
sectors of
the economy
Economy
Outcome 1
A dynamic
business
base and a
skilled
workforce
Economy
Outcome 3
A knowledge
economy
Learning
Outcome 3
15/03/2010
National
Outcome
2. We will
realise our full
economic
potential with
more and
better
employment
opportunities
for our people.
SDS Outcome/s
SDS Inputs
SDS Activities
Employers are
more productive
as a result of
investment in
skills and
development of
their employees
Chairing and
contributing to
PACE activities
•
•
Local investment
via national
training
programmes
•
SDS Key Sector
Team
3. We are
better
educated,
more skilled
and more
successful,
renowned for
our research
and innovation
4: Our young
people are
More effective
labour supply
More people
progress, achieve
and sustain
positive
destinations
All age careers
guidance services
SDS Key Sector
Team
Employers are
more productive
as a result of
investment in
skills and
development of
their employees
Learn Direct
helpline
Equalities in
learning are
Local investment
via national
All age careers
guidance services
•
•
•
•
PACE co-ordination
General careers guidance services and
specific supports such as Careers Match and
CV builder
Local delivery of: Modern Apprenticeships;
Get Ready for Work; Training for Work; and
Skillseekers – with focus where appropriate
on key sectors
Scottish Employer Service
Skills Gateways (Spring 2010)
Skills for Growth (Summer 2010)
Integrated Employment & Skills service in
partnership with JCP (Summer 2010 rollout)
•
•
My Learning Space (Summer 2010)
My Learning Coach (Summer 2010)
•
•
•
•
Scottish Employer Service
Skills Gateways (Spring 2010)
Skills for Growth (Summer 2010)
Integrated Employment & Skills service in
partnership with JCP (Summer 2010 rollout)
•
Local delivery of: Modern Apprenticeships;
Get Ready for Work; Training for Work; and
SDS Outputs
Progress Against
Outcomes
X level 2
qualifications
achieved
Number of young
people entering
positive outcomes
achieved as a result
of participation in
NTP’s
Progress Against Long Term Outcomes
An increase in economic activity rates
DRAFT Format for SDS Service Delivery Agreement for Fife
Produced by:
Date:
Promoting
educational
achievement
successful
learners,
confident
individuals,
effective
contributors
and
responsible
citizens.
improved across
Scotland
training
programmes
Targeted careers
guidance services
Individual
Learning
accounts
Access to SDS
branded learning
centre network
Learn Direct
helpline
Big Plus helpline
15/03/2010
•
•
•
Skillseekers – with focus where appropriate
on key sectors
Targeted careers guidance services and
specific supports such as Careers Match
Scotland; and CV builder
MCMC group targeting in schools
Integrated Employment & Skills service in
partnership with JCP (Summer 2010 rollout)
•
Utilisation/development of local branded
learning centres
•
•
•
Promotion, allocation and monitoring of ILAs
Use of Learn Direct helpline
Big Plus local promotion and referral rates
DRAFT Format for SDS Service Delivery Agreement for Fife
Produced by:
Date:
Economy
Outcome 4
Pathways to
employment
7. We have
tackled the
significant
inequalities in
Scottish
society
Equalities in
learning are
improved across
Scotland
Local investment
via national
training
programmes
Targeted careers
guidance services
Individual
Learning
accounts
Access to SDS
branded learning
centre network
Environment
Outcome 1
Less waste
14. We reduce
the local and
global
environmental
impact of our
consumption
and production
SDS achieves it’s
goals and
delivers it’s
services in ways
that minimise
environmental
impacts
Best Value and
Excellence for
Fife
15: Our public
services are
high quality,
continually
SDS is valued
and has a strong
reputation with
customers and
15/03/2010
•
•
•
•
Local delivery of: Modern Apprenticeships;
Get Ready for Work; Training for Work; and
Skillseekers – with focus where appropriate
on key sectors
Targeted careers guidance services and
specific supports such as Careers Match
Scotland; and CV builder
MCMC group targeting in schools
Integrated Employment & Skills service in
partnership with JCP (Summer 2010 rollout)
•
Utilisation/development of local branded
learning centres
Learn Direct
helpline
•
•
•
Promotion, allocation and monitoring of ILAs
Use of Learn Direct helpline
Big Plus referral rates
Big Plus
Via all activities
and approaches
•
Use of Video Conference facilities where
appropriate
Use of public transport where travel required
•
Partnership
working e.g.
Community
Planning/SOA
•
•
•
Inputs to relevant local partnerships
Development of SDA linked to the local area
SOA
Integrated Employment & Skills service in
DRAFT Format for SDS Service Delivery Agreement for Fife
Produced by:
Date:
improving,
efficient and
responsive to
local needs
15/03/2010
key stakeholders
links, PACE, IES
work with JCP etc
SDS influences
and stimulates a
high performing
skills system
Big Plus helpline
– referral
processes to
providers
partnership with JCP (Summer 2010 rollout)
•
•
Big Plus referral mechanisms
Integrated partnership delivery models via
Learning Centre network
ABERDEEN CITY
FIFE
BRIEFING
DECEMBER 2009
NOVEMBER
Chief Executive’s Message
What is Skills Development Scotland?
Since its formation in April 2008, Skills Development Scotland
has pursued its key purpose of maximising Scotland’s
sustainable economic growth by unlocking the potential of the
country’s greatest asset – our people.
Damien Yeates Chief Executive
Delivering
comprehensive
information,
advice and
guidance for
careers and
learning, as
well as
delivering skills
development
By bringing together learndirect scotland,
Careers Scotland and the main Skills and
Training interventions of Scottish
Enterprise and Highlands & Islands
Enterprise, we have made major inroads
to becoming a coherent body delivering
comprehensive information, advice and
guidance for careers and learning, as
well as delivering skills development.
We strive to be a catalyst for real and
positive change in Scotland’s skills
performance by helping individuals
realise their full potential. We also help
employers be more successful through
skills development.
We want to develop meaningful
partnerships at national, regional and
local levels. Through these partnerships,
we will work towards fulfilling our vision
and drive forward real, positive and
sustained change in Scotland’s skills
performance.
The aim of this briefing is to let you know
about our services and results and to give
you an overview of the local labour market.
We plan to produce these briefings on a
quarterly basis and would welcome your
feedback on what you would like us to
include. You can get in touch via your
local contact, see details below, or by
sending an email to
[email protected].
Alternatively, you can keep up to date
with our activity by visiting our website
www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk.
Your local contact
Grant McDougall
Area Manager
Fife
T: 01592 623028
M: 07736 364501
E: [email protected]
Our Services
LEARNING
EMPLOYMENT
L
Skills Development Scotland was
created to change the way in which
people learn, develop and utilise
their skills, and also to help
businesses and organisations build
their capabilities and put their
skills to their most productive use.
Our core services include careers
advice and guidance for young people
still at school as well as adults
looking to find work, those facing the
threat of redundancy and for those
looking to advance their career.
CAREERS
We are also actively engaging
with employers and offer a variety
of ways for people to develop
their skills through a range
work-based national training
programmes, including Modern
Apprenticeships, Get Ready
for Work, Training for Work
and Skillseekers.
Together with Jobcentre Plus, we
plan to introduce an integrated
employment and skills service
throughout Scotland in 2010.
DEVELOPMENT
We will soon be introducing a new
brand identity to unify our work
and to better connect with our
customers. In the interim, you
may be more familiar with what
we do through the different
services, brands and initiatives we
have brought together under Skills
Development Scotland. Here’s a
brief summary of these with
highlights for the first six months
of 2009/10.
Careers Scotland offers guidance to all school pupils from S2 onwards but is also freely available to
adults of any age. For example, PACE is a unique Scottish partnership initiative which provides support to
employees when an organisation announces redundancies. As part of PACE, Skills Development
Scotland offers careers advice and information on financial help, including business start up.
Other services available include CareersMatch Scotland which matches an individual’s skills and interests
to occupations; a CV Builder which allows individuals to create and save their own CVs;
Higher Education Conventions, a series of events that provide pupils with details about further and higher
education courses in Scotland and beyond; and the Exams Helpline, which provides pupils and parents with
impartial guidance on the clearing process and what their options are once the results are known.
Fast facts, April-September 2009
• 125,959 visits were made to Careers Scotland centres across the country.
• There were 173,412 face-to-face interventions with individuals to support their career
planning, improve their readiness to enter the labour market through employability
support or to aid their personal and social development through mentoring support.
• 41,284 school pupils were supported to progress their career choices and to make a
successful transition into work, training, or further education.
The Scottish Government would like everyone to carry on learning throughout their life, whether it's to get
a job or to improve their skills. We encourage this via learndirect scotland’s helpline, website and
network of over 500 branded learning centres.
ILA Scotland is a Scottish Government scheme that helps people pay for learning. It’s available to people
over 16 who have an income of £22,000 a year or less, or who are on benefits. Up to £500 towards the cost
of learning is available each year.
BRIEFING
FIFE DECEMBER 2009
The Big Plus is Scotland’s campaign to promote the free help that’s available for adults who need support
with reading, writing and numbers. People who contact us are put in touch with local tutors.
Fast facts, April-September 2009
• 954,691 visits were made to our family of websites.
• 141,992 calls were made to our helplines.
Another important area of our work is the delivery of four national training programmes where we work closely with a range of
providers to promote recruitment and to ensure high quality delivery.
Modern Apprenticeships offer people aged 16 and over the chance of paid employment combined with
the opportunity to train for jobs at craft, technician and management level. They are an exciting way of
gaining skills and qualifications that will help to start a career without having to study full-time, and are
now available across a wide range of industries.
Get Ready for Work is a national training programme for young people aged 16 to 19 who are not at
school, college, work or in training. The programme has been developed to help them move into a job,
further training or college. It helps them focus on what they want to do, learn new skills and gain the
confidence to make progress.
Training for Work provides training support for people aged 18 and over, who have been unemployed for at
least 13 weeks and who are actively looking for work. The programme allows people to undertake vocational
training linked to local labour market opportunities, enabling individuals to secure and sustain employment.
Skillseekers is a vocational training programme for young people aged 16 to 19, who want to develop
their skills and equip themselves for the world of work. It’s open to people who have left school and have
a job or who are looking for work.
Fast facts, all national training programmes combined, April-September 2009
Across Scotland
• 21,595 unemployed 16 to 19 year olds received personal support to secure training, work or
learning opportunities.
• 18,346 adults over 20 years old engaged with us to make effective career decisions or to
develop their skills and progress their careers.
• There were 7,185 achievements, such as the attainment of a qualification, a job, or progression
to another training programme.
• We engaged with 23,123 small to medium sized enterprises in staff development and training.
In Fife
• 1,052 people were successfully recruited across the four national programmes.
• 2,531 individuals were actively in training.
• There were 676 achievements, such as the attainment of a qualification, a job, or progression
to another training programme.
BRIEFING
FIFE DECEMBER 2009
Labour Market Overview
Skills Development Scotland has a key
role to play in making the link between
the supply of people skills and the
demand for businesses to meet their
workforce requirements.
In the past, through learndirect scotland for
business, we focused on helping small to
medium sized businesses. This focus will
continue, but we will also help larger
organisations too and work in partnership
with key partners such as the Sector Skills
Councils, trade unions and the Scottish
Funding Council to achieve our goals.
We will also prioritise our skills
development activities in the
Government Economic Strategy
key sectors. These are creative
industries, financial and business
services, energy, food and drink, tourism,
life sciences and universities.
Fast Facts: Fife
• The population of the Fife local
authority area is 361,900.
• 222,800, or 76.5%, are of
working age.
• During October 2009, 9,751 people
were claiming Job Seeker’s
Allowance.
• In the same month, Jobcentre Plus
reported 913 unfilled vacancies.
• Employee jobs by Industry (March 2009).
Agriculture and Fishing
Energy and Water
Manufacturing
Construction
Distribution, Hotels and
Restaurants
Transport and
Communications
2%
1%
14%
8%
21%
3%
Banking, Finance and
Insurance
11%
Public Administration,
Education and Health
34%
Other
5%
Sectors with fewer than 500 jobs are not represented.
Source: Office of National Statistics 2009
Latest News…
• Skills Development Scotland’s Space
School 2009 took off in November,
with 14 young people from across
Scotland attending a ten-day study
trip to NASA Space Centre, Houston.
The group took part in a range of
activities and organisational visits to
the United Space Alliance, The Wood
Group Engineers, Johnson Space
Centre and Rice University.
Our relationship with NASA is an
invaluable way of motivating and
inspiring young people to aim higher.
Visit our website to find out more
about the initiative and to see how
the group got on.
• The Scottish Region of the National
Training Awards took place in
Edinburgh on 5 November. The
awards, managed by UK Skills and
delivered by Skills Development
Scotland on behalf of the Scottish
Government, inspire others through
recognising best practice in learning
and development.
• The 8th annual Modern
Apprenticeships Awards will be held
in Glasgow on 9 December. Staged
by Skills Development Scotland and
sponsored by SQA, there are 106
entries in nine categories. All
celebrate the high standards being
reached by many employees,
employers and learning providers
involved in Modern Apprenticeships.
• Visit our website to download our
Partner Update Reports. Published
every six months, they include our
School Leaver Destination Report
and full analysis of our skills
programmes.
GrowinG FiFE’S FuturE
Fife Economic Strategy 2009-2020
Chairman’s Remarks
‘Fife - the easiest place to do business’
The Fife Economic Strategy 2009-2020
outlines a new direction for the
Fife economy - one that integrates
sustainability, promotes inclusion and
generates strong and stable economic
prosperity. This success must benefit
local residents, communities and
businesses and maintain and enhance
the natural environment. This new
strategy demonstrates Fife’s strong
commitment to improving Scotland’s
performance through sustainable
economic growth as outlined in the
Government Economic Strategy
and reflected in Fife Council’s BIG 8
Objectives.
Over the coming decades, the
Fife Economy Partnership faces a
number of significant challenges.
Consulting partners on political,
economic, social, environmental and
technological trends has provided
a robust foundation to ensure the
direction we set for the Fife economy
is equitable, inclusive and sustainable.
In developing this strategy we have
considered a variety of scenarios that
encompass issues such as climate
change, the cost of energy and
transport connectivity.
The Fife Economic Strategy will play
a key role in tackling these issues.
For instance, Fife can engage in the
opportunities presented by climate
change through leading the rest
of Scotland towards a low carbon
economy. There may be concerns
among businesses that addressing
climate change will have a negative
impact on the economy but here in
Fife we can show that it generates
investment growth and employment.
Combined investments of almost
£200m by Tullis Russell, Diageo and
Scottish Power in thermal biomass
projects in Fife will not only reduce
carbon dioxide emissions but will
also reduce costs to the businesses
and directly create or safeguard up to
1,400 jobs.
Through the Fife Economic Strategy,
we also intend to grow local
businesses and communities in a
manner that is economically and
socially sustainable and remains
sensitive to the environment.
Transportation and connectivity
improvements identified in the
previous strategy continue to be of
significance for future sustainable
economic growth in Fife. The Fife
Economy Partnership will capitalise
on these developments by seeking
training, employment and business
opportunities in the construction of
key transportation projects such as
the new Forth crossing.
Fife has enormous potential to
be more competitive, grasp new
opportunities and become the easiest
place to do business. However, the Fife
Economy Partnership cannot achieve
this vision alone.
This Fife Economic Strategy belongs
to Fife’s people, its businesses and
its communities. In reading this
strategy, ask yourself, what is your
role in Growing Fife’s Future? Through
working together we will position
Fife as a location of choice to live,
work, visit and invest and ensure that
Fife’s communities benefit from a
prosperous, inclusive and sustainable
economy.
Fraser Phillips,
Chair, Fife Economy Partnership
1
2
Introduction
What is
sustainability?
New partnership
working
Since the introduction of Fife’s
previous economic strategy, the Fife
Economic Development Strategy
2005-2015, there have been
substantial changes in economic,
social and environmental issues
that we must respond to. In other
words, to become a truly 21st
century economy, we must embrace
sustainable development. But what do
we actually mean by this? The Scottish
Government defines the concept as:
Ensuring the needs of today’s Fifers are
met, as well as those of the future is
our challenge. Fife’s inherent strength
in renewable natural resources and
renewable energy manufacturing
and research has established a new
sense of purpose and focus for the Fife
economy of the future. To harness our
strengths and help deliver on our
objectives, a review of partnership
working was undertaken.
“development which
secures a balance of
social, economic, and
environmental wellbeing in the impact
of activities and
decisions; and which
seeks to meet the
needs of the present
without compromising
the ability of future
generations to meet
their own needs”1.
The review assessed existing working
relationships between partners in
economic development and helped
determine an appropriate model
for future partnership working. The
outcome led to the creation of the
Fife Economy Partnership (FEP).
The new partnership will identify
and drive the appropriate strategic
policies and initiatives to grow the
Fife economy. It will also deliver on
the Fife Community Plan’s economic
priorities that areagreed through Fife’s
Single Outcome Agreement (SOA) – a
concordat between Fife Council and
the Scottish Government. In addition
to changes in the way we work across
Fife, there have also been changes in
working relationships and
responsibilities at a national level.
Revitalised working
relationships
Following the Scottish Government’s
Review of Enterprise Networks, the
skills function of Scottish Enterprise
has been moved into a new entity
called Skills Development Scotland.
Local offices have been merged
into regional centres, with Fife now
under Scottish Enterprise East. The
responsibility for local regeneration
and Business Gateway activities
has also been transferred to local
authorities.
3
A Scenario for Fife in 2020
In developing this strategy, a
variety of forces such as climate
change, demographic trends
and technological advancement
that are likely to have an impact
on Fife over the coming decade
have been considered. These have
been developed into a scenario to
illustrate how over the next decade
Fife could ultimately benefit from
the objectives and direction of this
strategy.
SuSTAINABLE SuCCESS: A 2020
SCENARIO
The uK and Scottish economies have
returned to sustained economic
growth following the credit crunch of
2008. Tightened financial regulation
and more prudent methods of
banking have also led to a growth
in sustainable business practices.
Dramatic new evidence that climate
change is accelerating faster than
expected, coupled with large rises in
the price of oil and other raw materials
have caused a boom in renewable
energy and environmental goods and
services. Consequently, the Scottish
Government pledge to make Scotland
“The Green Capital of Europe” is
beginning to bear fruit.
The Energy Park Fife has been one
of the main local beneficiaries of
4
the boom in renewable energy, with
particular strength in the manufacture
of wind turbines. The adjoining site
that features the Hydrogen Office is
now home to a network of spin-out
companies from the university of St
Andrews and hi-tech firms who have
clustered together to spearhead
research into clean technologies.
Combined employment of both
sites has now far exceeded the 2,000
green jobs target set out in the Fife
Economic Strategy 2009-2020 and the
success of reducing carbon emissions
has led Fife to become the first local
authority in the uK to generate more
renewable electricity than it consumes
domestically.
Of particular benefit in attracting
companies to Fife has been the
development of zero carbon business
space. This brought substantial
inward investment, with many
companies committing to reduce
carbon emissions following recently
introduced legislation. This was also
aided through Fife taking part in a
next-generation broadband pilot
scheme. Subsequently, Fife now boasts
the quickest digital connections of
any local authority area in Scotland
and a variety of businesses are keen
to locate to benefit. As such, the John
Smith Business Park (JSBP) has grown
in strength and hosts a number of
successful medium-sized financial
services, IT and software companies.
Average wages and productivity
have also improved due to the
diverse range of high-value added
employment opportunities, swelling
Fife’s contribution to the national
economy.
Significant growth in employment
opportunities across the Kingdom
resulted in Fife’s colleges expanding
substantially to cope with demand
for a more diverse range of courses.
This led to Fife’s colleges becoming
accredited Scottish Centres of
Excellence in Renewable Engineering
and Construction. Importantly, a
successful campaign to embed a
culture of enterprise in Fife led to the
creation of innovative qualificationto-employment networks that
guaranteed graduates a temporary
position following graduation. These
measures, coupled with initiatives
in Fife’s deprived areas have seen
greater retention of both graduate
and migrant workers which has
supported the substantial rise in Fife’s
employment rate. The revitalisation
of deprived areas and decline in
inequalities was mainly the result
of the Strategic Land Allocation
(SLA) approach in planning and
also a number of highly successful
regeneration initiatives.
Communities have become more
engaged in the decision making
process and this has generated a
positive sense of purpose across the
Kingdom but particularly more so in
deprived areas. The empowerment
of community groups has also led
to more effective public-private
partnerships, which has helped
streamline planning applications and
helped target investments to revitalise
town centres more effectively.
A significant turning point for Fife’s
deprived communities has been
the improvements in transport
connectivity. The completion of the
Kirkcaldy-to-Leith cross-forth ferry
route proved particularly crucial in
opening up investment in deprived
areas. Other transportation projects,
such as the successful completion of
an under-budget second forth crossing
(which was later upgraded with the
Dunfermline to Edinburgh tram link),
the reinstatement of the Levenmouth
rail link and road improvements to the
Redhouse roundabout, all supported
wider inward investment to Fife and
greatly improved access to services for
many Fifers and visitors.
The Fife economy of 2020 is in
remarkably better shape than at the
end of the credit crunch. A focus on
sustainability has created a better
balance between manufacturing,
construction and service sectors.
Fife residents and communities have
benefited from the achievements
of Growing Fife’s Future through
new infrastructure, revitalised town
centres, a healthier environment and
less inequality. After over a decade
of concerted action, Fife has become
renowned as a high quality location of
choice to live, work, visit and invest.
wHAT wE wANT TO ACHIEvE
To make this vision a reality, some
headline objectives need to be set.
using 2008 as a baseline up to the year
2020, the Fife Economy Partnership
and relevant public agencies need to
achieve:
Six Strategic Objectives
1. Increase the number of employees in medium and
large enterprises by 10% (6,000 jobs)
2. 80% of the working age population in employment
3. Attract private sector investment through Invest in Fife
of £550m
4. Double the amount of business expenditure in
research and development to £36m
5. Grow Fife’s tourism sector revenue by 20% (£51m)
6. Increase the number of people employed in green jobs
by 2,000
5
1. where we are now
6
what we have achieved
Business Support and Job Creation
Organisation/Initiative
Achievement
Business Gateway
Assisted 1,983 business start-ups, creating 3,057 jobs, and provided more than
£1m of financial assistance over the period 2005-2008
Green Business Fife
Fife Council is working with companies to tackle climate change and develop
sustainability through Green Business Fife. A number of Fife-based businesses
have already demonstrated their commitment through measures such as
generating operating energy through on-site renewable sources or by simply
reducing their own energy requirements
Sector Networks
The Fife Tourism Partnership, Creative Fife, TechnetFife, ContactFife, Green
Business Fife and Fife Construction Forum encourage and support networking,
business development activities and co-operation for companies in these key
sectors
Fife Social Economy Partnership
Between November 2007 and April 2009, the Fife Social Economy Partnership
assisted the start-up of seven new social enterprises. In the same period, 13
existing organisations were supported in making funding applications totalling
£143,780
Fife Investment Fund
In response to the credit crunch, the Fife Investment Fund provided 59 small
businesses with £326,000 of funding to help invest and grow their business
Inward Investment
Organisation/Initiative
Achievement
Invest in Fife
Invest in Fife secured an annual average of 11 investment projects, 684 jobs and
£15.5m investment over the three years 2005-2008
Physical/Infrastructure Investment
Organisation/Initiative
Achievement
Energy Park Fife
Investment of over £12m in 22,000 square metres of industrial space on the
134 acre site at the Energy Park Fife aims to create a world leading hub for
manufacturing and research activity in renewable energy. The development
has attracted major companies who employ around 350 workers operating
in fabrication, testing, assembly and engineering activities and the site is now
moving into phase two of its development, where employment could rise to
over 1,000
John Smith Business Park
£17.5m of public and private investment in John Smith Business Park has
created 100,000 square feet of high quality office accommodation on the 60
acre site. The total employment on site currently stands around 1,000 with the
potential to rise to 5,000 over time
Business Incubator Kirkcaldy
The Business Incubator Kirkcaldy unit was opened to provide flexible, purposebuilt premises with office accommodation ranging from 160 square feet to 500
square feet to help businesses become established. Currently 12 units out of 35
are let, supporting approximately 50 jobs. In addition, a business incubator was
developed in conjunction with Carnegie College at Methil Docks
7
A Changing Policy Environment
Shaped by the principles for
sustainable economic development
and low carbon targets, the new Fife
Economic Strategy is set within the
context of the following national,
regional and local strategic framework:
• Government Economic Strategy defines the purpose of the Scottish
Government to close the gap in the
rate of sustainable economic growth
between Scotland and the uK by
2011
• Skills for Scotland: A Lifelong
Skills Strategy - sets out the
Scottish Government’s objectives
Fife Partnership and the Scottish
Government that sets targets for the
local economy as identified in the Fife
Community Plan and reflected by the
Council’s Big 8 ambitions
for developing a cohesive lifelong
learning system centred on the
individual but responsive to
employer needs
• Edinburgh City Region Economic
Development Framework –
outlines areas where there is a case
for collaborative action to improve
the economic performance of the
City Region
• Fife Structure Plan 2006-2026 - sets
out the strategic land use framework
for Fife
• Fife Community Plan - sets out Fife
Partnership’s approach to delivering
a shared vision for improving the
quality of life in Fife
• Fairer Fife Framework - outlines
Fife’s approach towards tackling
inequalities, poverty and deprivation
The following diagram illustrates these
linkages:
• Fife Single Outcome Agreement
(SOA) – a concordat between
National and Local Policy Framework
Government Economic Strategy
Skills for Scotland: A Lifelong Skills Strategy
UK Shared Framework Principles for Sustainable
Development
• Sustainable economy
Edinburgh City Region Economic
Development Framework
Fife Community Plan (Single Outcome
Agreement)
Fife Structure Plan
A Fairer Fife Framework
Fife Council Plan (Big 8)
Fife Economy Strategy
8
• Promoting good governance
• Living within environmental
limits
• Use sound science
responsibly
•
A strong, healthy and just
society
The UK Low Carbon
Industrial Strategy: A Vision
Fife Economy 2009
The Fife Economic Development
Strategy 2005-2015 was written and
delivered during a period of sustained
national and local economic growth.
At the time of reviewing and
producing this revised Strategy for
2009-2020, the global economy is
undergoing a serious downturn.
The impact on businesses has been
significant with company closures
and job losses in construction, retail
and finance in particular, but also
extending into many other sectors.
Fife has suffered a similar rise in
unemployment as experienced
nationally, with the number of
jobseekers allowance claimants rising
60% between June 2008 and June
2009.
Over the next few years we anticipate
a low rate of economic growth as
a result of the recession. However,
the revised Strategy also looks at
developing long term economic
stability and strength from new
opportunities.
The Strategy must therefore plan for
both the short and long term. It must
provide greater flexibility to enable
effective and appropriate responses to
economic, social and environmental
challenges and harness opportunities,
including new technologies, when
they arise.
Employment Rate
In the year to September
2008, Fife’s employment rate
outperformed the Scottish and
uK averages
Solidarity and Cohesion
Around 44,000 people in Fife are
income deprived - the fourth
highest of any local authority in
Scotland
Sustainability
Renewable energy developments
at Tullis Russell, Diageo and the
Energy Park Fife will reduce carbon
emissions through producing
renewable electricity and
potentially creating up to 2,000
new jobs
9
2. where we want to be
10
vision and guiding principles
This Strategy will deliver the Fife Economy Partnership’s vision of Fife in
2020 as:
The easiest place to do business – where a
flexible business infrastructure and responsive services
for new and growing businesses ensure that Fife is the
location of choice for business investment from any
industry sector.
A centre of excellence for renewable
energy – Fife’s strengths in providing an
excellent business environment for renewable energy
manufacturing, research and services have led to the
region becoming a leader in renewable energy.
We want Fife to be the first location
of choice, where people and
businesses choose to invest, work,
learn, visit and live. To achieve this,
Fife needs to become:
• more prosperous, recognising that
economic growth must contribute
to the Government’s objectives for
sustainable economic growth and
equality in distribution of this wealth
• more inclusive, ensuring
opportunities are available for all.
Greater community empowerment
and better utilising the skills and
talents of Fife’s people will cultivate
sustained productivity and cohesion
• adaptive to change, the future will
certainly not see a return to businessas-usual. Changes in demands from
customers; how goods and services
are produced; the supply chain; the
nature of competitive advantage; the
way people live their lives and the
regulatory context for business are all
likely to be different. Organisations
must ensure they can adapt to
changing circumstances to realise
sustainable success
STRATEGIC FOCuS
Following consultation with our
key stakeholders and analysis
of Fife’s performance against
the previous strategy, we have
concluded that our six strategic
outcome themes should focus on:
1 Supporting the growth of
dynamic businesses
2 Extending employment and
skills opportunities
3 Developing a modern business
infrastructure
4 Improving our knowledge and
research base
5 Growing business and
employment in key sectors
6 Stronger communities through
regeneration
• more environmentally conscious,
through minimising wherever
possible the use of non-renewable
resources and being fully prepared to
pursue a zero carbon future
11
OuTCOME THEMES
OUTCOME 1 MORE dyNAMIC
bUSINESSES
Issues and Challenges
Fife’s businesses are the primary
drivers of its sustainable economic
growth. They provide employment and
earnings, contribute to a competitive
business environment and create
markets for other businesses. They
also set the demand for our colleges
and universities in supplying a
skilled and informed workforce. A
competitive business environment
boosts productivity by stimulating
investment, innovation and greater
workforce development. Embracing
sustainability and low carbon
objectives will ensure Fife businesses
are prepared for the future.
Fife, in common with the rest of
Scotland, needs to improve its
business formation and survival rates
to compete in the global market.
Increasing our business start-ups
will help to foster competition and
innovation, achieve productivity gains
and create employment opportunities.
To improve survival rates, businesses
will frequently have to consider
their responses to issues caused
by globalisation and sustainability
(including climate change). The
potential causes of low start-up rates
in Fife include its enterprise culture,
low levels of entrepreneurial skills and
attitudes to risk. To address this issue,
a Fife Culture of Enterprise Framework
for Action is being developed.
The Framework will provide a blueprint
for creating a vibrant enterprise
culture in Fife. It is intended to initiate
a programme of entrepreneurial and
enterprise development over the next
three to five years that will lay the
foundations for long-term change,
while also addressing immediate
priorities and actions. Therefore,
providing the right conditions for
Priorities how we’ll make a difference
• Continue the reorganisation of Business Gateway to streamline business
support services in Fife and align more effectively with partners
• Implement enterprise actions arising from the Fife Culture of Enterprise
Framework
• Utilise the Fife Investment Fund to explore partnership with other Local
Authorities to attract greater Eu funding
• Improve processing times for business planning applications
• Harness the Fife Council trade exhibition programme to generate better
business opportunities locally, nationally and internationally
• Utilise the Supplier Development Programme to enhance supply chain
procurement opportunities for Fife-based companies
12
more business growth is as much
about creating a culture of enterprise
as it is about physical infrastructure.
Individual entrepreneurial skills need
to be enhanced to encourage more
people to start a business and sole
traders assisted to grow at transition
stages. The Framework also illustrates
the need to work in partnership with
schools, colleges and universities to
better understand business realities
and to inspire a belief amongst
young people in their capability to be
entrepreneurial.
A competitive business environment
creates markets for other businesses
and boosts productivity by stimulating
investment, innovation and workforce
development. Embracing new
technologies and innovative practices;
boosting employee skills and a
more sustainable use of resources
will help Fife businesses to become
more successful and compete
more effectively in an increasingly
globalised world. Productivity gains
and competitive advantage can be
gained from more businesses in Fife
trading globally. Businesses need to
be able to capitalise on opportunities
from developing economies and
international markets and we need to
minimise the barriers for businesses in
exploiting these markets.
OUTCOME 2 ExTENdEd
EMPLOyMENT ANd SKILLS
OPPORTUNITIES
Issues and Challenges
Fife’s people and labour supply are
critical to its future prosperity and
to that of the wider city region.
A highly skilled and educated
workforce is essential for economic
growth, business competitiveness
and innovation. To play their part in
contributing to overall sustainable
economic growth our people must be
equipped with the right skills to meet
the demands of a modern economy.
we need to focus on reducing
unemployment to ensure that all
in society can play their part in and
benefit from sustainable economic
growth.
A key challenge for Fife is the number
of people who are without work –
currently around 40,000. Significant
proportions are on incapacity benefit
and for some, profound health
issues will mean that they may never
be able to work. However, for the
majority of those without work due to
unemployment, caring responsibilities
or premature retirement, there is clear
evidence from pilot work undertaken
in Fife that shows we can make
significant inroads to getting people
back to work.
There have been improvements in
skills at all levels throughout Fife but
we still need to further improve and
diversify the skills and educational
attainment of our workforce. Lower
qualification levels tend to be more
prominent in those areas of Fife
where unemployment is highest.
Strong leadership skills and workforce
development also need to be
promoted and supported to enhance
the skills of those already in work. we
therefore need to improve skill levels
that meet identified skill shortages
and help to provide more sustainable
employment opportunities.
To do this we need to have a clearer
understanding of employers’ skills
needs for the future and provide a
flexible training infrastructure that
is able to respond more quickly to
these requirements. we also need
to encourage more people to take
up qualifications in subjects to
support the future demands of the
labour market, such as low carbon
construction skills, to ensure that Fife
residents are suitably qualified to
take advantage of employment and
progression opportunities.
we must get the most out of capital
investment projects in Fife, particularly
large scale ones such as the second
Forth road bridge – these can
provide training and employment
opportunities for local residents.
The FILM and LOAN projects already
underway in Fife are helping the
unemployed access training and
employment opportunities with
pilot schemes ongoing in John Smith
Business Park and Energy Park Fife.
Likewise, we must encourage young
people to enrol on similar schemes as
routes to employment.
Finally, although the gap with the
rest of Scotland is narrowing, there
still remains a graduate deficit in Fife
which requires to be addressed if Fife
is to raise productivity and increase
competitiveness and innovation.
Priorities how we’ll make a difference
• Restructure Opportunity Centres to become a flexible network of seamless
employability support services under the ‘Opportunities Fife’ brand
• Improve accessibility and targeting of employability services in deprived
areas of Fife
• Build on partnership working activities between Jobcentre Plus, Skills
Development Scotland and Fife’s educational institutions to maximise
employability efforts
• Widening opportunities for engaging those without work in activities that
will move them towards training and employment – particularly those who
are furthest from the labour market
• Expanding locally based degree level provision in Fife and ensuring that
there are graduate level job opportunities available in Fife
• Capitalising on training and employment opportunities afforded by major
capital projects, such as the second forth crossing and the CvF Aircraft
Carriers
13
OUTCOME 3 A MOdERN
bUSINESS INFRASTRUCTURE
Issues and Challenges
A modern business infrastructure
should provide an adequate supply of
employment land, effective transport
infrastructure and a range of business
properties to attract appropriate
investment. Fife needs to safeguard an
appropriate employment land supply.
The Fife Structure Plan 2006-2026 and
complementary Local Plans require
a sufficient supply of employment
land that is located near to housing to
reduce the need for travel and ensure
deprived areas are linked better to
employment hubs. Employment land
in and around major settlements
will ensure businesses can expand
and new companies can relocate to
premises that are flexible, adaptive
and available to all types of enterprise.
For instance, providing diversity in
renewable energy facilities, such as the
westfield Environmental Energy Park
will enable Fife to develop inherent
strengths, in addition to addressing
the effects of climate change locally.
within the lifetime of this strategy
we will need to manage our
environmental assets more sustainably.
Key resources are rapidly depleting
which will push up energy prices and
therefore costs to businesses and the
economy. To alleviate these resource
constraints, low carbon business
infrastructure will play a key role in
meeting climate change targets and
creating a low carbon economy. Our
aim is to differentiate Fife as a centre of
excellence for renewable energy
and to do this we need to provide
suitable sites for renewable energy
developments whilst also ensuring
that the supply chains are in place
to support companies in this sector.
An effective transport infrastructure
can assist in opening up new markets
for businesses and help to build the
critical mass of businesses to drive up
competitiveness and deliver growth.
The previous strategy highlighted the
need for increased connectivity for
Fife with a second Forth road bridge.
Now that this has been confirmed by
the Scottish Government we need to
ensure that businesses and residents
can benefit from and fully optimise
the training, employment and supply
14
chain opportunities that will arise
from the construction of the crossing.
The Rosyth Multi-Modal Container
Terminal is another project listed
as one of national significance by
the Scottish Government and will
become an important development
to both attract firms and boost export
capability for firms in Fife.
In general, more efficient cross-forth
transportation will open up business
and employment opportunities within
the wider city region for residents
in Fife as well as providing a boost
to tourism. Other transportation
improvements, including the
upgrading of Redhouse Roundabout
and route improvements on the A92,
will improve connectivity within
Fife and to the wider city region and
beyond. This will reduce constraints on
major renewable energy projects, such
as the Energy Park Fife and westfield
Green Business Park.
There are clear linkages between
planning, transportation and the
economy which contributes to and
supports economic and business
growth at the local, regional and
national levels. The allocation
of housing, employment land
and delivery of transportation
improvements all support economic
development in terms of attracting
people and business investment.
Priorities how we’ll make a difference
• Maintain an effective supply of employment land for Fife
• Remediate key employment land sites in Fife to stimulate inward
investment and support business expansion
• Capitalising on the opportunities for training, employment and supply chain
business growth from major capital projects in Fife such as the new Forth
crossing and the Rosyth Multi-Modal Container Terminal
• Stemming retail leakage to competitive centres outwith Fife
• Supporting renewable energy infrastructure projects such as the thermal
biomass projects currently being developed by the private sector
• Support the development of innovative cross-forth travel
15
OUTCOME 4 IMPROVEd
KNOWLEdGE ANd RESEARCh
bASE
Issues and Challenges
In recent years, global competition
has made Fife businesses less cost
competitive, particularly in the
manufacturing and construction
sectors. Recent events in the economy
emphasise the need for stronger
working relationships between the
private and public sector organisations
responsible for stimulating innovation,
enterprise and education. Knowledge
transfer is a key driver of productivity
and growth but Fife’s business base is
still under-represented with companies
whose core business is based in
knowledge-intensive and research
activities. Developing and promoting
Fife as a business location to attract
higher value business will be essential
in increasing our knowledge and
research base.
To ensure our efforts are successful
we must create more dynamism and
emphasis on Fife’s unique strengths.
we need to attract businesses
whose competitiveness is driven by
technology and knowledge. Fife’s ability
to attract Regional Selective Assistance
is a clear advantage in attracting this
type of business. A key opportunity
and focus for Fife is to become a centre
of excellence for renewable energy - we
need to ensure that research facilities
for the industry are in place to support
Fife in leading Scotland’s renewable
energy sector. Better integration of
services offered by the main public
sector agencies, including St Andrews
university and Fife’s colleges to benefit
the renewable energy sector will also
maximise opportunities. Aligned to
this is the need to increase access to
national research and development
funding schemes for businesses
to increase their research and
development activities.
16
In developing our knowledge and
research base, our focus should not
be on science and technology alone,
we also need to assist and encourage
all businesses to apply knowledge
and innovation to improve businesses
operational performance through
eco-efficiency, and sales performance
by offering goods and services with
a more competitive edge. Applying
innovation to address resource
efficiency and waste reduction across
Fife’s business base can also increase
competitiveness and aid sustainability.
In the longer-term this may involve
developing new business models and
working relationships.
If innovation and knowledge are
to drive the economy then we also
need to attract and retain more
graduates within Fife. A crucial priority
in achieving this will be to raise
degree-level provision in Mid-Fife. The
combination of employer demand
for graduates and the provision of
attractive places to live will also help
increase the proportion of graduates.
with the focus on growing the
knowledge and research base there
will be a sustained increase in demand
for graduates in the future.
Priorities how we’ll make a difference
• Through Business Gateway will provide support to stimulate and encourage
innovation and growth in Small to Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)
• Provide business research facilities for renewable energy to help facilitate
the commercialisation of research in developments such as the Hydrogen
Office, Methil
• Establish a knowledge-transfer network between local companies and
educational institutions across Fife
• Assist businesses to access national and other funding for research and
development activities by better integrating services across public sector
agencies, including St Andrews university and Fife’s colleges
• Work in partnership with Scottish Enterprise to attract and retain more
graduates to Fife-based businesses, through the Fife Culture of Enterprise
Framework
• Continue to develop science and technology links within and outwith
Fife by the creation of a science park associated with the university of St
Andrews
OUTCOME 5 bUSINESS ANd
EMPLOyMENT GROWTh IN KEy
SECTORS
Issues and Challenges
In order to contribute to overall
sustainable economic growth we
need to maintain a focus on those
sectors that have the greatest growth
potential in terms of output and
employment. To address the difficulties
caused by the economic downturn, we
need to differentiate between Fife’s
longer term growth sectors and those
that need to be maintained in the
short term.
At the same time, Fife needs to be
ready for future opportunities as the
economy recovers – this will mean
ensuring that a flexible business
infrastructure is in place to support
any type of business investment.
There is also scope to generate more
opportunities locally by improving
business understanding of the
procurement process and tendering
opportunities. The development of
renewable energy offers significant
opportunities for Fife in this respect
with high value and long term
business growth potential.
Recently introduced legislation
around climate change legally binds
governments and businesses to
reduce their carbon emissions. These
targets mean renewable energy
products will be in high demand and
this presents significant opportunities
for renewable energy manufacturing
and clean technologies – sectors
where Fife can offer competitive
advantage. There is a clear opportunity
for Fife to become the leading Scottish
centre for renewable energy and we
aim to have 2,000 people employed in
green jobs by 2020 in the chart below.
To help achieve this target, we
need to ensure renewable energy
developments boost the regeneration
of deprived areas. Infrastructure
such as skills training facilities or
research centres will play a crucial
role in offering new opportunities to
local residents. There are a number
of sub-sectors within the renewable
energy sector where Fife can create
opportunities and take the lead in a
national context:
Thermal bio-mass
including Tullis Russell and
Diageo projects
Offshore wind energy
Energy Park Fife and
opportunities for inland
manufacturing
Fuel cells and power storage
Hydrogen Office, Energy Park
Fife
Carbon capture and storage
Longannet power station
Anticipated Areas of Green Job Creation in Fife
Research &
Development
100 jobs
Renewable Power
Generation
200 jobs
Fife Energy Park
1,000 jobs
Sustainable
construction
700 jobs
Source: Fife Council, Development Services
17
However, for Fife to become a leader
in renewable energy we must ensure
that appropriate networks are in place
so local supply chain opportunities
are maximised to win business and
investment. This is also true of other
key sectors. The sector networks, such
as Green Business Fife, CreativeFife, Fife
Construction Forum and TechnetFife
have created opportunities and
provided advice and support to Fifebased businesses. These networks will
continue and ensure Fife contributes
more broadly to national targets. A key
target championed by the Scottish
Government that aims to grow the
Scottish tourism sector by 50% by
2015 poses a substantial challenge for
Fife.
To grow Fife’s tourist trade, products
such as golf need to promoted and
marketed more effectively.
A recent review of tourism in Fife
identified the need for greater
engagement with the business
community in Fife-wide decision
making and improvements
to business development and
networking opportunities. This is
being addressed through a review of
tourism partnership working in Fife
and a new service level agreement
with visitScotland. The Promoting
Fife initiative will play a key role
here in aligning local, domestic and
international campaigns – ensuring
consistency and cementing a preferred
understanding of place.
Tourism contributes around £250m
to the Fife economy and supports
12,500 tourist-related jobs. In recent
years, Fife’s tourist industry has seen
increases in visitor expenditure,
rising numbers of visits and gains in
employment. These trends indicate
that there is potential for tourism to
be more lucrative than it is currently.
Priorities how we’ll make a difference
• Supporting renewable energy projects to transform Fife’s economy for
the future and become a leading Scottish centre within the sector and
creating or safeguarding 2,000 green jobs
• Implement a multi-agency approach to align skills development and
business growth in Fife’s renewable energy sector
• Ensuring that the right support structure is in place for tourism businesses
to contribute to overall growth and provide business development and
networking opportunities within the tourism business community
• Use the ‘Promoting Fife’ initiative to provide targeted and customerfocused tourism marketing that complements activities by partner
organisations, such as visitScotland
• Maintain existing strengths and develop network activity in financial and
business services, construction, creative industries and IT and technology
• Connect niche sectors in Fife to city region activities to benefit from
economies of scale
18
OUTCOME 6 STRONGER
COMMUNITIES ThROUGh
REGENERATION
Issues and Challenges
Economic regeneration aims to
strengthen our communities,
create wealth and narrow the gap
between the most and least deprived
communities. This will be tackled
by reducing unemployment and
promoting job creation in the areas of
greatest need.
convinced of the benefits of recruiting
from these priority groups and young
people motivated to gain work skills
and qualifications. Those who are in
entry level jobs need to be encouraged
and supported to gain the necessary
skills to progress through employment,
ensuring better financial security for
themselves and their families.
within Fife’s most deprived areas,
almost 17% of the population are
without work and, of those who
are unemployed, 20% have been
out of work for more than one year.
Regeneration through renewable
energy will offer a number of
opportunities for many deprived areas
in Fife. The Energy Park Fife and carbon
capture developments at Longannet
have the potential to create a variety of
green jobs and training opportunities
that local people can harness.
To encourage business start-ups
in priority areas, support needs
to be accessible, and appropriate
starter business premises need to
be provided. The ‘Be Your Own Boss’
initiative assists unemployed people
in deprived areas of Fife to look at self
employment and social enterprise
start-up as an option. The initiative
offers free information and training
events, drop-in sessions and advice on
grants. This has been supported by
developing the provision of affordable
business units in Kirkcaldy and Methil.
These facilities offer additional advice
and support on-site for new business
start-ups.
we also need to provide support
programmes and initiatives for those
who are furthest away from the
labour market as well as those who
are “job-ready”. Employers need to be
Town centres are at the heart of
our communities and a focus for
local pride. Fife’s town centres have
experienced new challenges as a
result of the economic downturn.
This has resulted in reduced
footfall, redundancies and retail
vacancies which have, in turn, led
to lack of confidence in retail-led
regeneration schemes and town
centre developments. The partnership
approach taken in Fife has led to the
creation of Town Centre Management
arrangements in Kirkcaldy and
Dunfermline and emerging Business
Improvement Districts in these
towns. Other town centres have also
benefited from support, including
bespoke training opportunities and
a pilot grant scheme to part-fund
shop front improvements. These
measures contribute to improving
the appearance and vitality of town
centres across Fife, benefiting local
communities and the local workforce.
Priorities how we’ll make a difference
• Ensure renewable energy developments create employment and training
opportunities to enhance the regeneration of deprived areas
• Development and expansion of social enterprises as a key part of the
local economy and job market in priority areas. This support will include
tailored events and support with funding applications.
• Tackling inequalities through regeneration and promotion of
communities by investing in town centres. This will help to improve
priority areas
• Develop business incubation units in other priority areas, building on the
success of recent provision in Kirkcaldy and Methil.
• Delivering ‘Be Your Own Boss’ programmes throughout priority areas
• Continuing to support town centre partnerships including Town Centre
Management; Business Improvement Districts; and Business Associations,
to ensure that businesses are stakeholders in the future of their town
centre
19
3. How we will get there
Having identified a number of
challenges and priorities for action,
the Fife Economy Partnership
developed corresponding strategic
themes through which the Strategy
can be implemented, monitored and
evaluated.
STRATEGIC THEMES
The strategic themes and objectives
developed for the strategy are
in response to, and reflect, our
overall vision in terms of improving
productivity and participation and
increasing population through the
principles of equity and sustainable
development.
The themes have been developed
as “outcome themes” to reflect the
outcomes that we need to achieve to
realise our vision of a Fife that is the
easiest place to do business and a
leader in renewable energy.
20
The outcome themes and objectives
will form the basis of the annual action
plan which will direct the delivery of
the Fife Economic Strategy.
An Annual Action Plan will be
developed to focus delivery of the
Strategy. Deliverables will be outlined
for each of the outcome themes, each
with a specified timescale.
DELIvERING THE STRATEGY
MONITORING AND EvALuATION
Delivery of the Strategy will be
achieved though coordinated action
from private and public sector
partners. Building on the successes
of the previous strategy, and the new
Fife Economy Partnership (comprising
strong representation from the
private sector) will provide a new
opportunity to align activities and
deliver the objectives in this strategy.
The integrated nature of the outcome
themes demands clear cross-cutting
working relationships between
partners and also within individual
organisations to ensure delivery of the
outcomes.
The revised Strategy will be subject to
review in three years time. Monitoring
on a regular basis will assess the
overall impact of the Fife Economy
Partnership’s activities under each
outcome theme. A monitoring
framework will be developed to
measure the impact of actions and
activities. Overall performance will be
assessed against objectives set out
under the economy theme of the Fife
Community Plan and performance
will be benchmarked through the
Fife Single Outcome Agreement
(SOA) concordat with the Scottish
Government.
4349/OCT09
FINAL DRAFT Feb 2010
OPPO RT UNI TIES FIF E ST RATEGY 2010-2012
1. Introduction
Opportunities Fife is the partnership responsible for driving forward the
employability and skills agenda within Fife’s Community Planning structures.
This is a key priority for Fife Partnership and for Scottish and UK
Governments as it is recognised that meaningful and effective employability
measures are essential for our economic recovery and will help tackle related
issues of poverty, income inequality and health.
The Opportunities Fife vision is ‘to enable the people of Fife to reach
their full employment potentia l and con tribute to a thriving Fife
economy’ .
This strategy brings together More Choices More Chances (MCMC) and
Workforce Plus into an all age employability framework to achieve this vision
for Fife.
This new strategy demonstrates the partnership’s renewed commitment to
tackle unemployment and high levels of dependency on ‘workless benefits’. It
contributes directly to Fife Economic Strategy’s outcome theme ‘Extended
employment and skills opportunities’ and will focus on engaging with those
who are further from the job market, improving skill levels and educational
attainment and ensuring we have a highly skilled, educated and healthy
workforce.
Opportunities Fife will work closely with Fife Economy Partnership, Fife’s
Education and Skills Executive Group and other strategic partnerships to
successfully connect people to learning, skills and job opportunities. In
realising this vision Opportunities Fife will deliver on the Fife Community
Plan’s employability and skills priorities that are agreed through the Single
Outcome Agreement and will contribute to Fife’s future prosperity.
2. Challenges
This strategy is set within the very challenging context of a continuing global
recession which has led to significant job losses and increasing
unemployment levels both locally and at a national level. Data from the Office
fro National Statistics highlights in November 2009 there were nearly 10,000
people registered unemployed in Fife claiming Job Seekers Allowance (JSA)
– a 75% rise on comparative figures for November 2007. An additional 30,000
1
FINAL DRAFT Feb 2010
people are on other ‘inactive’ benefits such as Employment Support
Allowance, Income Support and Disability Living Allowance which represents
a total ‘Benefit Claimant’ rate of 17.8% for Fife – higher than the UK average
and equal to the Scottish rate. This total of nearly 40,000 people reliant on
‘benefits’ presents a significant challenge for Fife’s employability partners.
Jobcentre Plus data also shows the number of job vacancies notified to job
centres has reduced by a quarter over the last year. Following experiences of
past recessions in the 1980’s and 1990’s, the Office for National Statistics
(2009) highlight that job losses are predicted to increase for the foreseeable
future. After the 1980s recession, unemployment levels did not return to their
pre-recession position at any point before the beginning of the next recession
in the early 1990s. Following the 1990s recession, the economy recorded
positive economic growth towards the end of 1991, but it took until 1997 for
unemployment levels to return to their pre-recession positions. This serves to
illustrate how long a challenge this will be for the Fife labour market to return
to conditions prior to the credit crunch. Add to this the expected budget cuts
and job losses in the public sector, and the scale of the challenge is even
greater.
Inevitably when the competition for jobs gets tougher, it is those who are
already disadvantaged with limited experience and skills that are pushed
further from the job market. Young people in particular are taking up a
disproportionate share of the unemployed with 30% of all JSA claimants now
under 25 years of age. Former Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee
member, Professor David Blanchflower warns that we are at risk of losing a
generation to unemployment.
Other groups who require additional support as they struggle in the face of an
increasingly competitive job market include lone parents, those with health
issues including mental ill health, people with disabilities, ethnic minorities, exoffenders and those facing other barriers such as overcoming substance
misuse or homelessness. The increase in unemployment is also having an
impact on child poverty levels with fewer families finding work as the route out
of poverty and across the UK there are almost 2 million children living in
households with no working adult.
Employability support has a crucial role to play in strengthening our most
disadvantaged communities where reducing unemployment and creating jobs
is a key element of our regeneration efforts. There is still much work to do in
closing the gap between disadvantaged communities and more prosperous
communities. The latest Scottish Indices of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD)
published in November 2009 highlights pockets of enduring poverty and
inequality in Fife. In the worst 20% datazones, one in three of the working age
population is claiming benefits compared to one in twenty in the best 20%
datazones.
A summary of Fife’s labour market trends outlining the challenges ahead for
the employability and skills agenda is included in Appendix A.
2
FINAL DRAFT Feb 2010
3. Employability Pathway
To enable the people of Fife to reach their full employment potential and
contribute to a thriving Fife economy, the Opportunities Fife partnership is
committed to working together to improve the ‘employability pathway’ for
clients and to achieve the maximum impact with the resources available.
‘Employability’ is defined as the combination of factors and processes which
enable people to progress towards or get into employment, to stay in
employment and to move on in the workplace. The employability pathway
describes that journey from initial engagement to sustainable employment –
illustrated below. Clients may enter at any stage of the pathway and services
need to be flexible to meet individual client needs. The key focus for the
Opportunities Fife partnership is to ensure we have effective partnership
arrangements in place to provide a cohesive ‘employability pathway’ equipped
to tackle collectively the current challenges facing individuals and employers
in Fife.
Fife Employ ability Pathw ay
Emplo yab ilit y is t he c om binat ion of fa ctors and proc ess es which e nab le p eopl e to progre ss
towards or get i nto e mpl oy ment, to st ay i n e mplo ym ent an d to m ove on i n the w orkpl ace
Stage 1
Clien t
Engagement
C
L
I
E
N
T
S
Engaging with
target clients
either through
outreach or
within agency
settings,
supporting
access to
employability
services
Stage 2
Individua l
Needs
Assessment
Undertaking
initial
assessment of
client needs
and assets
using a
common
assessment
framework and
preparing
client Action
Plans
Stage 3
Specialis t
Support
Supporting
individuals to
overcome
specific
barriers such
as disability,
ethnicity,
substance
misuse, lack of
confidence/mo
tivation,
childcare,
money issues,
etc providing
signposting
and preemployment
support
Stage 4
Employabi li ty
Support
Providing direct
delivery of core
skills, job
search,
enterprise
support, career
guidance, job
related training
and
qualifications,
work tasters
and
occupational
health support
Stage 5
Job
Placeme
nt
Involved in
employer
engagement,
job placement
and brokerage
and job
coaching
Stage 6
Sustaining
Employmen t
&
Progress ion
in Providing
Work inwork training
and support,
mentoring, job
development,
employer
support and
occupational
health support
Ef fe cti ve Ca se Man age me nt a nd usi ng FO RT ( Fi fe On line Re ferr al and Tra cking) to mea sure pr o gressi on
3
E
M
P
L
O
Y
E
R
S
FINAL DRAFT Feb 2010
4. Policy Context
For the employability sector there is a wide ranging national and local policy
context covering education and skills, employment, poverty, health and
inequality.
National policy:
Wel far e Re for m – The introduction of Flexible New Deal and the roll out of
Employment Support Allowance are seen as key elements in reducing welfare
dependency, increasing economic competitiveness and in reconnecting the long
term unemployed with the labour market.
Skill s for S co tla nd - A Lifelong Skills Strategy, sets out the Scottish
Government's objectives for developing a cohesive lifelong learning system
centred on the individual but responsive to employer needs.
Curri cul u m for E x celle nc e - Aims to achieve a transformation in education in
Scotland by providing a coherent, more flexible and enriched curriculum from age
3 to 18. Significant statements about Skills for Work, Life and Learning are made
in the recently issued Building the Curriculum 4.
Achi e ving our P ot enti al - A Framework to Tackle Poverty and Income
Inequality in Scotland including an intent to address Scottish Government targets
relating to eradicating child poverty by 2020. The Framework explicitly recognises
that a contribution is required from the private sector supported by the fact that one
third of the poorest 30% of households in Scotland have at least one adult in paid
employment.
Equall y Well- A Scottish Government Ministerial Task Force report on reducing
health inequalities published in 2008, explicitly makes the links to employability by
stating that healthy life expectancy needs to be increased across the board to
achieve sustainable economic growth.
He alth Wor k s – A Scottish Government review of the Healthy Working Lives
Strategy which highlights new drivers to bring employability and health closer
together linking NHS services and local employability services.
Local Policy:
Fife Co m m uni ty Pl an an d Singl e Ou tco me Agree men t ( SO A) – Sets out
Fife Partnership’s approach to delivering a shared vision for improving the quality
of life in Fife and sets targets for skills and employment also reflected by Fife
Council’s Big 8 ambitions.
Fife Ec ono mi c S tra teg y 200 9-20 20 – Outlines a new direction for the Fife
economy including extending employment and skills opportunities.
The Fair er Fi fe Fr a me wor k - Outlines Fife’s approach to addressing
inequalities, poverty and deprivation and identifies five key indicators of change
including reducing income–poverty by getting more people into sustainable
employment and by promoting financial inclusion.
Join t H eal th I mpr ov e men t Pla n ( JHIP) - Provides a partnership framework
for improving health and well being.
Fife Adul t Lit era cie s Ac tio n Plan – Provides literacies support for over 4,000
adult learners in Fife per year including workplace literacies in partnership with
employers.
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FINAL DRAFT Feb 2010
5. Strategic Objectives
The high level target for Opportunities Fife is to achieve an 80% employment
rate by 2020 (in line with Growing Fife’s Future – Fife Economic Strategy).
Figure 1 in Appendix A indicates the enormity of this challenge as Fife never
reached an 80% employment rate prior to the current recession. Taking
account of projected population changes over the period 2009 to 2020, this
sets a target of an increase of 15,500 more people becoming economically
active by 2020 (See Appendix B). In achieving this target there will be a
strong focus on reducing inequalities and supporting those who are most
disadvantaged in the labour market.
Using 2009 as a baseline, Opportunities Fife will strive to achieve the
following strategic outcomes over the period 2010 to 2012:
Strategic O utcomes 2010-2012
1
Re du cing un e mplo y me nt:
Increase the percentage of Fife’s working age population in
employment to 80% - an increase of 5,000 becoming economically
active by 2012 and a further 10,500 by 2020
2
Narr o w the in equ alit y gap
Narrow the claimant rate between the 20% most deprived areas and
the 20% least deprived by 4% - 1,750 people into work or training from
20% most deprived areas
3
Mor e C hoi ce s Mo re C han ce s
Reduce the number of young people (aged 16 to 19) not in education,
employment or training from 1,830 to 1,400
Increase the number of young people (age 16-24) employed by public
sector organisations in Fife (targets to be agreed with Fife Council and
NHS Fife)
4
Barrier s to wor k
Increase investment in tackling barriers to employment through
attracting £5m investment in targeted support measures (eg ESF,
Fairer Scotland Fund, Deprived Area Fund, Wider Role)
5
Em plo yer en gag e men t
Work with public and private sector employers to create pathways to
sustainable employment opportunities for key target groups -150
employers engage with Opportunities Fife employment support and
1,500 job outcomes achieved
6
Skill s de velo p men t
Increase the participation in in-work learning to 30% and decrease the
number of working age population with no qualifications by 10% (2,000
people)
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7
Cul tur e o f en terpri s e
Support Fife Culture of Enterprise Framework and promote
entrepreneurship through delivery of 300 awareness raising sessions in
school, college and community settings
8
He alth Wor k s
Work with employers and NHS Fife to deliver the local
recommendations set out in Health Works including the ‘Fit for Work
Service’ proposal – targets to be agreed
5.1 Reducing U nemployment
Issues and challenges: Reducing unemployment is increasingly
challenging in an economic downturn and particularly so in the face of
continued job cuts in the private sector and anticipated cuts in the public
sector. Unemployment is a lagging indicator so even when the economy
recovers it will still be some time before employment begins to rise again. The
key challenge is the number of people without work – currently around
40,000. Of this total almost half (around 20,000) are in receipt of Employment
Support Allowance (ESA) or Incapacity Benefit and almost 7,000 are lone
parents or carers. Many of these clients face significant barriers including
health and caring responsibilities and we will work with Jobcentre Plus and
other partners to continue to make inroads to getting people back to work
through a range of programmes and initiatives.
Priority Actions:
• Partnership approach to maximise subcontracting opportunities for
Flexible New Deal contracts in Fife
• Implement outreach and engagement strategy and robust referrals to
other agencies to reach those furthest from the labour market
• Introduce case managed support to sustain progression over a
sustained period
• Introduce a Common Assessment Framework to improve the client
journey and assist with referrals and information sharing
• Tackle child poverty through proactive targeting of low income families
and lone parents
• Prepare health and employability action plan to drive forward Health
Works proposals at a local level
• Build capacity within the voluntary sector to reach target groups
through voluntary sector employability forum
5.2 Narrow the Inequality G ap
Issues and Challenges: The latest SIMD data published in November
2009 highlights enduring poverty and deprivation in Fife’s most disadvantaged
communities. Concerted action through the Fairer Fife Framework and across
a range of partnerships is required to address this. The key challenge for
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FINAL DRAFT Feb 2010
Opportunities Fife is to improve accessibility and targeting of employability
services in deprived areas and to invest in longer term support in recognition
that clients will need support over a sustained period of time in order to
progress.
Priority Actions:
Deliver Fairer Scotland Fund employability programme:
• Proactive engagement in deprived areas through Opportunities for You
outreach and engagement service including door-knocking and interagency working
• Targeted support for homeless people in Glenrothes through Gilven
House, support for ethnic minority communities through Equal and
Next Steps programme for alcohol and drug users
• Working for Families programme including childcare solutions,
personal development and money advice
• Enterprise and social enterprise awareness raising in disadvantaged
areas through Business Gateway and BRAG
• MCMC programme for those young people most at risk of disengaging
• Employment support programme including intermediate labour market
waged placements; in-work training and support; and new approaches
to progress clients from minimum wage jobs
• Participate in collaborative work programmes in targeted areas to
contribute to Building Stronger Communities
• Joint staff development programme to improve client’s journey towards
employment
5.3 More Choices More Chanc es
Issues and Challenges: The impact of the recession on young people in
Fife is severe and a co-ordinated programme of support is in place to prevent
young people becoming lost to unemployment. Evidence from the past tells us
that young people who experience unemployment are scarred for life so it is
particularly important that we help them avoid the trap of long term
unemployment. This support starts within schools to prevent young people
from becoming ‘not in employment, education or training’ at the end of
compulsory schooling. Interventions are then focussed on getting young
people into education, training and employment and providing adequate
support to help them sustain these outcomes.
Priority Actions:
• Improve the analysis and reporting of information in relation to specific
at risk groups and implement early intervention strategies
• Support the development within schools of successful transition
intervention programmes
• Develop a range of mechanisms to support and retain students and
robust mechanisms for reporting early leavers
• Develop a targeted focus on outcomes for children leaving care
• Further develop the Fife Opportunities database in line with Scottish
Government E-prospectus proposals
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FINAL DRAFT Feb 2010
• Develop case management support to sustain progression for targeted
young people
• Deliver a broad range of employability and skills programmes to meet
aspirations of young people and labour market opportunities
5.4 Barri ers to W ork
Issues and Challenges: The multiple barriers facing many long term
unemployed people include lack of current skills, transport, childcare, other
dependent care, poverty and debt, health including mental health, housing,
substance misuse, domestic abuse and criminal convictions. A network of
agencies may need to provide specialist support and the challenge for
Opportunities Fife is to ensure that client’s diverse needs are met. Fife Rights
Forum has developed Fife On-line Referral and Tracking (FORT) system
which employability partners are developing as a tool to aid referral to a wide
range of organisations and monitoring of client progress and outcomes.
Priority Actions:
• Delivery of partnership ESF Priority 1 programme tackling worklessness
targeting those with multiple barriers to employment
• Address financial barriers through implementing financial inclusion and
employability front line training programme and partnership arrangements
with CARF to provide dedicated money advice service for specific client
groups
• Increased use of FORT system for more effective referral and tracking of
client progress
• Effective delivery of discretionary funds to provide practical assistance for
transition to work or training.
5.5 Employ er Engagement
Issues and Challenges: Feedback from employers has consistently raised
the issue of disjointed and multiple approaches from employability partners.
There is no central point for employers where they can access advice and
information on the range of employment programmes and incentives making it
difficult for them to engage and fully participate. Clients are not currently
accessing the full range of possible employment opportunities and equally
employers are not accessing the full pool of potential talent because providers
do not currently have mechanisms to share market intelligence or
opportunities. The key challenge for Opportunities Fife is to better serve the
needs of employers and will take the lead from the Fife Economy Partnership
who will identify a representative to ‘champion’ a co-ordinated employer
engagement approach.
Priority Actions:
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FINAL DRAFT Feb 2010
• Develop an Opportunities Fife ‘employer offer’ and work proactively
with employers to create employment pathways for key client groups
• Capitalise on employment opportunities afforded by major capital
projects such as second Forth crossing, CVF Aircraft and key growth
sectors including renewables, tourism, retail, care and sustainable
construction
• Working proactively with public sector agencies as significant
employers of target client groups
• Deliver a responsive redundancy support service through PACE
(Partnership Action for Continuing Employment)
• Introduce measures to increase job sustainability and increased
retention levels including vocational rehabilitation – see 5.8.
• Create transitional employment opportunities through Future Jobs
Fund, Community Task Force and Fife Intermediate Labour Market to
prepare people for future jobs.
5.6 Skills Development
Issues and Challenges: The failure in past recessions has been in not
supporting people to get the right skills to take advantage of the opportunities
in the upturn or to move into areas of work not affected by the recession. A
key priority will be to ensure that people have the right skills to take advantage
of opportunities offered by forthcoming major engineering and construction
projects and other public sector capital projects. Growth is also anticipated in
renewables, tourism, low carbon construction techniques, retail and care
sectors. There will be a continued need to focus on delivering core
employability skills to help people become job-ready – including confidence
building and motivation, timekeeping, communication, literacy and numeracy,
entrepreneurship and IT. An application for European Social Funding Priority
2 – ‘Upskilling the Workforce’ has been submitted and if successful will put
added investment into enhancing the skills of those already in work.
Opportunities Fife will work closely with Fife Economy Partnership to develop
Fife’s skills action plan to ensure that local people are suitably qualified to
take advantage of employment and progression opportunities and play their
part in contributing to and benefiting from sustainable economic growth.
Priority Actions:
• Commission skills review to inform Fife’s future skills needs for
renewables and other known growth sectors
• Develop skills action plan involving employers, Skills Development
Scotland, schools, training providers and College/University sector to
meet Fife’s future skills needs
• Work with employers and economic development colleagues to deliver
ESF Priority 2 ‘Upskilling the Workforce’ programme
• Capitalise on training opportunities afforded by major capital projects
and key growth sectors
• Deliver bespoke and flexible training solutions for individuals and
employers.
5.7 Culture of Enterprise
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FINAL DRAFT Feb 2010
Issues and Challenges: Fife Culture of Enterprise Framework is based on
the premise that our future economic success will depend on our ability to
develop a culture that both encourages and values enterprise and provides a
supportive environment for entrepreneurial activities. A key challenge for
Opportunities Fife is to ensure that people we engage with have the
opportunities to develop more positive attitudes to enterprise and enterprising
behaviours as well as contributing to improved performance on
entrepreneurship and business success.
Priority Actions:
• Develop an enterprising ethos embedded in education from early years
through Curriculum for Excellence
• Deliver awareness raising sessions in priority areas and follow on
support for enterprise
• Develop enterprising behaviours as part of core employability skills
through community based learning, skills and employability
programmes.
5.8 Healt h Works
Issues and Challenges: Ill-health is estimated to cost the British economy
£100 billion a year in lost productivity, lost tax and increased health and
welfare costs. The Scottish Government report ‘Health Works’ states that
there is increasing evidence to show that improving health and wellbeing of
the working age population will increase sustainable economic growth.
Equally it has been long recognised that for most people, being in work is
better for their long-term health than being unemployed, and that
unemployment can severely damage health in the longer term. A key
challenge for NHS Fife and Opportunities Fife is to define the local pathway
for providing support to those for whom health is a barrier to retaining or
returning to work. Alongside this is the introduction of a ‘fitnote’ to replace the
current ‘sicknote’ that will aim to keep people in work where it will help their
recovery. This will present a real challenge to prevailing attitudes to health
and work amongst employers, employees and healthcare staff.
Priority Actions:
• Public sector bodies in Fife to become exemplars and champions for
Health Works
• Opportunities Fife partners to promote importance of workplace health
as part of ‘employer offer’
• Opportunities Fife to develop joint action plan with Fife Health and
Wellbeing Alliance and Fife Economy Partnership in response to
Health Works review.
6. Delivering the Strategy
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FINAL DRAFT Feb 2010
The Opportunities Fife Strategic Group (OFSG) is made up of senior
managers from Jobcentre Plus, Skills Development Scotland, Fife Council,
Scotland’s Colleges Fife, CVS Fife, NHS Fife and representation from the
employer led Fife Economy Partnership. The group is responsible for
developing and driving policy direction for ‘employability and skills’ and will
provide strengthened leadership for delivery of the strategy.
The group reports to Fife Partnership through the Education and Skills
Executive Group and Fife Economy Partnership (see Appendix C).
An Action Plan will be prepared to focus on delivery of Opportunities Fife
Strategy 2010-12 and this will be taken forward through three programme
delivery groups with supported from Opportunities Fife Task Team:
•
•
•
More Choices More Chances
Client engagement and progression
Employer engagement
A Quality and Performance group assists the OFSG in monitoring progress
and making recommendations on best use of funding streams and
programmes to meet strategic objectives. This group will also develop a
quality framework and use peer assessment to introduce improvements to
services across the partnership. A data sharing protocol has been developed
alongside a shared platform for performance monitoring through Fife Online
Referral and Tracking (FORT) system. A monitoring framework will be
developed to measure progress and impact of activities and regular progress
reports will be communicated via Opportunities Fife website
www.opportunitiesfife.org.uk.
This strategy will be reviewed in 2012 in line with the three year review of Fife
Economic Strategy. Overall performance will be assessed against objectives
set out under the education, skills and employment themes of the Fife
Community Plan and performance will be benchmarked through the Fife
Single Outcome Agreement.
APPENDIX A
Labour Market C hange in Fife
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FINAL DRAFT Feb 2010
1. Introduction
The Fife labour market has experienced significant change since the 1980s.
Then renowned for its capabilities in industrial manufacturing, Fife has since
undergone a period of transition, now offering a wider range of employment
opportunities, particularly in the services sector. To fully understand labour
market performance, long-term trends have been outlined that identify
persistent issues in Fife’s labour market.
2. Employment Trends
Fife’s employment rate tends to perform comparatively well against national
trends. Fife is fortunate to have benefited from a rapidly rising population, at a
time when net-immigration to Scotland has been relatively static which has
helped ensure a suitable labour supply. A greater number of services job
opportunities also enabled a wider number of people to obtain employment.
The strength of employment growth in Fife, compared to the national average
is reflected in Figure 1.
Figure 1: Employment Rate of Working Age Population, 1999-2008
80.0
78.0
Rate (%)
76.0
74.0
72.0
70.0
Fife
Scotland
68.0
66.0
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Population Survey/Local Labour Force Survey
3. Unemployment Trends
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FINAL DRAFT Feb 2010
Since December 1992, both Fife’s and Scotland’s unemployment rate have
gradually fallen. Figure 2 highlights how unemployment trends in Fife have
reduced in-line with the national experience. These significant reductions
throughout the past decade have meant that Fife’s unemployment rate started
from a lower point than at the beginning of the 1980 and 1990 recessions.
However, as ONS (2009)1 highlight; since unemployment began to rise in
2008, the pace of such rises has outstripped the initial rises in past
recessions. Importantly, even when JSA claimants were falling, Fife’s
Jobseekers Allowance (JSA) claimant rate never actually fell below the
national average, meaning there may a combination of harder-to-reach or
disengaged claimants in Fife’s labour market.
Figure 2: Jobseeker Allowance Claimants (JSA) of Working Age Population,
1999 - 2009
6.0
Fife
Scotland
UK
5.0
Rate (%)
4.0
3.0
2.0
1.0
0.0
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Source: Office for National Statistics, Claimant Count
In 2009, JSA claimants comprised around a third of the total numbers of
benefit claimants. Other benefits include Employment Support Assistance
(ESA) (formally Incapacity benefit), Income Support, Lone Parent benefit,
Carers Allowance, Severe Disability benefit, Disabled and Bereavement
benefit. In-line with the trends in JSA claimants, total benefit claimant
numbers fell throughout the last decade but have since begun to rise sharply
since the beginning of recession. Figure 3 (overleaf) shows that total benefit
claimants in both Fife and Scotland have remained persistently above the UK
average since at least 1999. The impact of the recession on total benefit
claimants in Fife now appears to be having a more pronounced effect as
reflected in the Fife average now overtaking the Scottish rate.
Figure 3: Total Benefit Claimants of Working Age Population, Sept 1999 –
Aug 2009
1
ONS, (2009), The Impact of the Recession on the UK Labour Market, UK Government
13
FINAL DRAFT Feb 2010
20
19
18
17
Rate (%)
16
15
14
13
Fife
Scotland
UK
12
11
10
1999/00
2000/01
2001/02
2002/03
2003/04
2004/05
2005/06
2006/07
2007/08
2008/09
Source: Office for National Statistics, DWP Benefits
4. Educational Attainment Trends
Despite discouraging unemployment trends in Fife over the past decade,
there have been significant improvements in educational attainment. Figure 4
illustrates the number of people of working age in Fife who have no
qualifications has fallen by 17,500 (-9.2%), whilst at the higher end of
attainment, those achieving NVQ Level 4 or above has risen by 25,200 people
(+9.6%). However, this does appear to have had a negative impact on those
entering trade apprenticeships; although the -3.3% fall in Fife between 1999
and 2008 is in-line with the Scottish trend.
Figure 4: Qualification Levels of the Working Age Population, 1999 & 2008
Qualificati on L ev el
19 9 9
20 0 8
Ch a ng e bet we e n
19 9 9- 20 0 8
%
%
Num b er
Num b er
Num b er
%
% with NVQ4+
48,000
23.1
73,200
32.7
25,200
9.6
% with NVQ3 only
32,000
15.4
40,100
17.9
8,100
2.5
% with NVQ2 only
25,000
12.1
33,200
14.9
8,200
2.8
% with NVQ1 only
24,000
11.7
25,800
11.5
1,800
-0.2
% with Trade Apprenticeships
23,000
10.9
16,900
7.6
-6,100
-3.3
% with other qualifications
18,000
8.8
15,000
6.7
-3,000
-2.1
% with no qualifications
37,000
17.9
19,500
8.7
-17,500
-9.2
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Population Survey/Local Labour Force Survey
5. Scottish Indices of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD)
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FINAL DRAFT Feb 2010
A more detailed and comprehensive geographical and social breakdown is
provided by the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) 2009. The SIMD
compiles data on income, employment, health, education, housing and crime
to provide a detailed picture of area-based deprivation. The SIMD 2009
reports that 8 of the 453 datazones in Fife are within the lowest ranked 5% of
all the datazones in Scotland. Figure 5 outlines that these same eight
datazones were also Fife’s lowest ranked in the SIMD 2006. The increase in
rank represents poorer performance in the indicators measured in the SIMD.
In total, 83 of Fife’s datazones are in the lowest 20% of datazones in
Scotland.
Figure 5: SIMD Comparison of Fife’s Lowest Ranked Datazones
SIMD 2009
Rank
SIMD 2006
Rank
Templehall
135
316
Gallatown West
150
161
Sinclairtown Central
174
354
Ballingry West
197
272
Methilhill East
272
296
Aberhill
283
361
Methil Memorial Park
286
308
Kirkland South
323
431
Source: Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation 2006 & 2009, Scottish Government
A total of 43,279 people of working age live in Fife’s lowest ranked 20% SIMD
datazones. The total number of benefit claimants in these datazones is
14,100 (32.6%) including 3,666 claiming JSA (8.5%). A total of 54,627 people
of working age live in Fife’s highest ranked 20% SIMD datazones. The total
number of benefit claimants is 3,270 (5.9%) including 827 claiming JSA
(1.5%). Closing this gap will take concerted efforts over a period of time and
on a range of fronts including employability and skills. To reduce the gap in
total numbers of claimants as a percentage of the working age population by
just 4% will require 1,750 people from the worst datazones to move from
benefits to work or training.
6. Child Poverty
The Government’s target for a reduction in child poverty to 1.7 million is now
unlikely to be met in 2010 and research carried out by Joseph Rowntree
Foundation (JRF) has forecast that the target will be missed by at least
600,000. Significant progress has been made in reducing the number of
children in low income non-working households but this progress has been
wiped out by a rapid increase in the number of children in low income
households where at least one adult is in paid work. The increase in
unemployment is expected to result in more children from non-working
households going into poverty and significantly two thirds of these children
live with a lone parent.
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FINAL DRAFT Feb 2010
Figure 6: Children in poverty
Source: Joseph Rowntree Foundation
7. In-work poverty
In work poverty is largely a function of low pay and low hours and has been
increasing steadily before the onset of recession. Fife does not have as high a
proportion of low paid workers as some areas (low pay tends to be
concentrated in rural areas), however almost a quarter of Fife’s employees
earn less than £7 per hour and the average wage in Fife is significantly lower
than the Scottish average. As noted above, in work poverty impacts
significantly on child poverty levels and if it’s ignored then the drive to lift
children out of poverty will stall and the move from worklessness to work
becomes less attractive.
Figure 7: Employees Earning Less than £7 an hour, 2008
Source: Office for National Statistics, Annual Survey of Hours & Earnings (ASHE)
APPENDIX B
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FINAL DRAFT Feb 2010
Estimate of c hanges in w orking age population 2008 –
2020
GROS Estimate of working age population in 2020
224,203
80% economic activity rate in 2020 (Estimate)
179,362
Economic activity rate in 2008 (82.2%)
184,000
Estimated change in the No. of people who are economically active
-4,638
GROS Estimate of working age population in 2020
224,203
80% Employment rate in 2020 ( Estimate)
179,362
Employment rate in 2008 (76.5% )
171,100
Estimated NET increase in the No. of people in work Required
8,262
Sources: General Register of Scotland (GROS). ONS, Annual Population Survey ©crown copyright, 2009.
NOTES: Estimated Working age population is based on the total of all males aged
16-64 and all females aged 16-59 and is taken from the total of the estimated
individual age bands from the General Registers Office for Scotland.
NET increase is defined as the number of extra people in work. This is after those
people who have lost their employment have been factored into the total number of
new jobs created.
To achieve an employment rate of 80% the economic activity rate will have to
increase to a higher level.
The number of adults not in work in Fife at December 2008 was over 39,000.
To achieve an Employment rate of 80% an economic activity rate of 90% is a
more realistic requirement. This would require the number of economically
active people in Fife to be increased by 15,541 from its current level of
184,000.
The change in the eligibility rules for people who would have claimed
Incapacity Benefit now having to claim Employment Support Assistance will
lead to increases in the number deemed to be economically active however
local initiatives targeting those claimants who are on long term incapacity
benefit should be considered.
APPENDIX C
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FINAL DRAFT Feb 2010
FIFE PARTNERSHIP BOARD
EXECUTIVE
GROUP
EDUCATION &
SKILLS EXECUTIVE
GROUP
FIFE ECONOMY
PARTNERSHIP
Opportunities
Fife
Strategic Group
Quality and
Performance
Group
Opportunities Fife
Co-ordinator/Task Team
MCMC
Delivery
Group
Client
Engagement
Delivery
Group
Employer
Engagement
Delivery
Group
Local & Thematic Networks
18