Stephen Moore, formerly Executive Director of Business Development at Working Links, has joined esg as Business Development Director. Press release follows.

In the last of the current series of site visits, I visited i2i's Manchester FND delivery centre earlier this week. As a subcontractor to Serco, I thought it might be interesting to see how they are finding the move from delivering the Gateway stage of New Deal over to FND.

JHP have been winning a fair amount of new work recently, so the extra funding will doubtless come in useful. Announcement below:

You may be aware from recent press reports that JHP Group has been attracting interest from a variety of organisations that were keen to acquire the business. Today I am very pleased to announce that following a lengthy and detailed process we have secured an exciting future for the company with a management buy-out in partnership with LDC (Lloyds TSB Development Capital), who will acquire a majority share of JHP Group. This is exceptionally positive news to start 2010.

As ever, I'd suggest reading the entire executive summary of the skills review, even if not the entire document as there are almost 160 pages! A lot of content throughout, and interesting to read in the light of the recent National Skills Strategy announced only a few weeks ago.

'Learner accounts' and more information for employers, as well as those currently employed, are amongst the initiatives that may ring familiar. Published a year before the Freud Report, looking at welfare to work as a whole and changing the focus and landscape of the industry, this review should definitely be read in its context.

Below is a quick look into the current policy framework for pre-employment training. We are keen to hear your thoughts on the topic. What are your positive and negative experiences of pre-employment training? What do you think is going to happen in the future and how would you like to see it improved?

Yesterday I met with Jim Knight MP in Parliament to talk about a number of topics surrounding the welfare to work industry. A very pleasant, well-informed and open interviewee, the Employment Minister found time to answer a number of questions put to him by readers of Indus Delta. The following is not in direct quote form, but a summary of what the Minister had to say on each topic.

Before Christmas I went to visit Remploy's Waterloo branch, where they deliver WORKSTEP. The organisation has changed and branched out a lot in the last few years, and it was interesting to see their welfare to work side in action first hand

TBG Learning is a leading UK provider of Welfare to Work services, we believe in working in partnership with the best quality-driven organisations to deliver our services responsive to the needs of customers, employers and stakeholders.

There's a show on Radio 4 tonight where Melanie Phillips (one of the Daily Mail's more, um, controversial writers) spends time with young unemployed people. Here's the BBC page, and the description follows.

Further to the recent article about the launch of ERSA's customer charter, I've taken some time to look at three key charters that have come into force in recent weeks. These are ERSA's, the DWP's, and Edinburgh’s Joined Up For Jobs Partnership (JUFJ).

Updated 17/12 - DWP published their White Paper on Tuesday, aimed at 'Building Britain's Recovery: Achieving Full Employment'. I've had a good read through, and would defnitely recommend reading the summary which is here, as it really is full of content. The summary below is made up of useful excerpts I've picked out from the White Paper, including a bit of background to set out what the Bill is being based on.

Overall, there are a lot of reforms set out here, including more information on skills accounts, 'better off in work' credit, and additional plans to tackle youth unemployment. There is also a lot in there for working families, lone parents, carers, and people with disabilities. This White Paper is by no means a short-term plan to fend off the recession, but outlines reform in all key areas - more powers to Jobcentre Plus staff, Housing Benefit reform, a review of Pathways to Work, and an aim to work back up towards full employment.

Moving back to FND, last Tuesday I visited A4e's FND delivery centres in Wolverhampton and Dudley to see how they've adapted to the new contract.