Case studies

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority have supported a programme of Test and Learn pilots to drive innovation in the delivery of adult skills.

Lincolnshire County Council are faced with the challenge of working across a large and dispersed county. By creating strategic alliances, they have developed provision that enables them to meet their skills and employment challenges. This case study examines the current system, and what is needed to improve outcomes for the local community.

Following the disbanding of Connexions as a national service in 2012, Kirklees Council continued to make significant local investments in Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance (CEIAG), NEET prevention activities and post-16 tracking. With the exception of York, Kirklees and Calderdale have the lowest combined NEET and not known rates in the Yorkshire and Humber region.

Kirklees Council have re-organised their services to have greater capacity and a clearer focus on adult skills and local growth.

The district councils have put significant resource into supporting businesses in their market towns through the development of, and investment in, a virtual high street digital platform.

"At the end of the programme, participants were guaranteed an interview for work at the hospital. This resulted in some excellent employment outcomes for local residents."

The examples demonstrate how councils have been able to reduce 16 to 18-year-old disengagement to an all-time low and increasingly support older young people towards work. Evidence demonstrates the value of creating personal advisers for individuals, planning provision across places, and brokering leadership and support into work.

Key to being able to leverage the power of partnerships is to have the ability to jointly influence funding, commissioning and resource.

Hampshire County Council’s skills strategy and action plan works across two Local Education Partnerships and three unitary areas. This requires them to develop strong partnerships with providers and employers, with good skills programme networks to meet their region’s diverse needs.