Strategic Priority Four: Employment for All

"Supporting young adults and other potentially vulnerable groups to succeed."

In order for us to achieve our vision of delivering long term sustainable employment and business growth driven by a first class skilled workforce, we must address the inequalities around employment and income levels across Nottinghamshire. This needs to focus on both individuals and communities, investing in social capital and promoting community empowerment. There is a substantial track record of achievement to build upon. For example, since 2006 we have delivered the Department for Work and Pension's City Strategy Programme, which focuses on achieving higher levels of employment and lower levels of economic inactivity. Furthermore, our Making the Connection programme was seen as an early success, in integrating employment and skills delivery.

We are now delivering the second stage of our City Strategy programme, which involves building on previous success by:

• Expanding our geographical coverage so that good practice can be embedded across appropriate areas of the County;
  
• Maintaining a focus on vulnerable groups; and
  
• Developing our relationship with central government by jointly commissioning services that aim to support more people to find and stay in employment.
  

Analysis of economic inactivity in Nottinghamshire identifies a number of key groups, which reflect the nature of disadvantage across the county. These are:

• People with Health Problems - tackling the cause and effect of health on work and long term unemployment is a key challenge for Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.
• Young Adults - by working together, the Board and its partners have the potential to develop co-ordinated campaigns to motivate young adults and facilitate better informed career choices linked to opportunities presented by the local economy. Raising the participation age for full time education is a significant opportunity here.
  
• Black and Ethnic Minority Groups - the disparity in the employment between ethnic groups remains significant and there is a need for a twin track approach that looks at the barriers to employment and training for BME communities against a series of pro-active employer-led measures, which could increase the opportunities available.

We will: