Indus Delta Welfare to Work Newswire - 15 June 2012

Parkhouse Bell is a recruitment consultancy that provides a confidential and specialist service across all levels within the welfare to work industry.  For more information visit our website or our dedicated jobs page on Indus Delta.

Latest News

Institute of Employability Professionals membership rising since website launch

The launch of the Institute of Employability Professionals (IEP) website this week has been incredibly well-received and membership levels of IEP are rising quickly, Declan Swan, the Director of the Institute of Employability Professionals, has announced. IEP is a professional regulatory body to raise the profile of the employment-related services and develop high quality qualifications, training and customer service for employment related services professional.

Read more here.

How can social housing landlords assist social mobility?

The Chartered Institute of Housing has produced a parliamentary task force report considering whether social housing hinders social mobility and what more landlords can do to assist social mobility. 

Read more here.

Apprentices in limbo as Real-Time Training collapses

Real-Time Training's £3 million Skills Funding Agency contract has been terminated so it has been forced to close. 

Read more here.

Child poverty falls as government calls for new measures

Households Below Average Income statistics published this week show that poverty has fallen across the population, and particularly among children. In 2010–11, just over one quarter of children in the UK (3.6 million) lived in households in poverty after housing costs had been deducted, a fall of 200,000 children (two percentage points) on the previous year. These statistics came on the day that the government announces plans to move away from income measures of poverty, with a greater emphasis on work and family behavioural factors. While welcoming a multi-faceted approach to capturing child poverty, Inclusion believes new indicators should sit alongside current measures rather than replacing them.

Read more here.

Dunedin Canmore only Scottish housing association to trial direct payment of Housing Benefit

The housing association, Dunedin Canmore, is the only Scottish housing association to trial direct payment of Housing Benefit early, and this week spoke to the Guardian about its reasons for this.

Read more here.

28 organisations pulled out of Work Programme between August and January

Twenty-eight organisations pulled out of the Work Programme, 15 from the voluntary sector, between August 2011 and January 2012.

Read more here.

Mandatory Work Activity: Early impacts evaluation published - no positive impact on employment

A Department for Work and Pensions initial study on the impacts of Mandatory Work Activity found that it has no impact on employment and could actually lead to those on Jobseeker's Allowance moving to Employment and Support Allowance.

Read more here.

Pending assessments

The Merlin Standard operates from the clear expectation that providers and their supply chain partners (irrespective of whether they are past, present or prospective partners) abide by the spirit and principles of the standard. This is necessary throughout the full process of supply chain engagement, selection and delivery, including when conducting early negotiations.

Read more here.

Mandatory Work Activity and skills conditionality statistics released

The Department for Work and Pensions has released official statistics on Mandatory Work Activity and Skills Conditionality up to and including February 2012.

Read more here.

Listings of the week

Welfare to Work Scotland 2012 on 19 to 20 September

Fees range from £135 to £270 plus VAT *Early bird fees available now*

You can book online or complete a booking form 

NEW confirmed speakers:

• Rt Hon. Iain Duncan Smith MP, Secretary of State, Department for Work and Pensions
• John Swinney MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, Scottish Government

About the Convention

High unemployment presents a very real challenge for us all and there’s a lot of thinking underway about how to work together better in Scotland.

For some, this discussion is mainly about current plans to design and better integrate our existing services around the needs of individuals, employers and communities. For others the focus is more on longer-term visions of what Scotland could do to reduce unemployment and increase employment opportunities, in particular for our young people.

This year’s Convention will bring you the latest on current plans and future visions. We will also look at the impact that high unemployment and benefits changes may have on groups and communities facing particularly severe barriers to employment. It will ask what a Scottish employability service should look like as well as ensuring a host of opportunities for sharing views and information under the following three themes:

• Working better together
  This is one of the big challenges for providers, Jobcentre Plus and Skills Development Scotland, Work Programme primes, local partnerships and voluntary sector organisations. What’s working well? Are we providing a truly integrated service at national and local levels?
• Working better for young people
  What more can be done to ensure that we give the current generation of young people the best opportunities to succeed?
• Working better with employers
  How do we enhance our offer to employers and learn from our work with them to give jobseekers the skills and competencies needed in today’s labour markets?

Sponsorship and exhibition

Download this year's exhibition and sponsorship opportunities here or email . 

Interpreting the latest labour market figures

Are you querying what the latest statistics mean?  Seize the opportunity to tap into the 30 years of expertise held by Paul Bivand, Director of Statistics and Analysis at Inclusion.  The Labour Market Analysis (Level 1) online course guides you through the fundamentals of how the labour market works, where to find important sources of relevant statistics and how to profile your local labour market.

Staying informed about labour market dynamics should help you work more strategically and productively with employers, customers, supply chain partners and other stakeholders.

Find course details online or contact [at] AdvanceW2W [dot] org [dot] uk (email us) for more information, or access to our preview library.

Contact Advance W2W if you are making a single booking (£96 incl. VAT for three week access to this course) or contact [at] AdvanceW2W [dot] org [dot] uk (email us) for a group booking discount.