Wearing an employer’s shoesUnderstanding what businesses are thinking and what this means for welfare-to-work providers

Jim Bligh (Head of Labour Market Policy, CBI), Alex van Besouw (Senior Policy Adviser, CBI) and Karen Walker (Resourcing Manager, Greggs)

• The CBI on unemployment, welfare-to-work and skills

• Understanding what businesses are thinking

• Implications for welfare-to-work providers

• The employer perspective: Karen Walker (Greggs)

Overview

The CBI on unemployment, welfare-to-work and skills

Who we areWe work with a range of UK employers of all sizes…

…including a large number of welfare to work providers

• The CBI is the UK’s premier business lobbying organisation providing a voice for employers

• The UK’s leading business organisation speaking for some 240,000 businesses – together employing around a third of the private sector workforce.

• The CBI speaks for companies of all sizes and every sector

• Our mission is to promote the conditions in which businesses of all sizes and sectors can compete and prosper for the benefit of all

Why are we here?

● Unemployment is a real concern for British business

● CBI’s position representing both welfare-to-work providers and employers gives us a unique perspective

● Engaging employers has never been more important for the welfare-to-work industry…

● …and providers need to get better at it!

● We want to challenge you and start a proper debate about employer engagement

Understanding what businesses are thinking

Employers remain cautious about the economic situation …

● Economic situation is challenging but the outlook has brightened

● But uncertainty remains about the Eurozone crisis and the impact it will have on business

● Companies are looking to hire :

● But while there will be net positive private sector hiring in 2012, employment growth will remain modest

0.6%CBI predicted growth for 2012

€ ?Impact of the Eurozone crisis on the economy remains uncertain ↔Business investment and export growth remain subdued but forecast to improve slightly in the second half of 2012

58%of companies are planning to

create jobs in the next 12 months - Barclays Job

Creation Survey

+12%of companies surveyed by the CBI

are planning to increase recruitment of permanent staff in the next six

months – CBI/Harvey Nash Employment Trends Survey 2012

Employers want to do more to support the unemployed…

● Business is concerned about unemployment and especially youth unemployment

● It is clear that employers want to engage with welfare-to-work and skills providers and do more to support the unemployed by offering work experience, apprenticeships and jobs where they can

● But they do want job-ready individuals with the right attitude and employability skills

49%of employers say that the Youth Contract would incentivise them to take a chance on a young person

…but the employment and skills landscape remains difficult to navigate and understand...

Advanced Manufacturing Supply Chain Initiative

Flexible Training Opportunities Routeways into jobs

Apprenticeship grant for employers Funding for apprenticeships Rural Development

Programme

Best Market Solutions Graduate Acceleration Programme

Sector-based work academies

Bridge to Employment Graduate Placement Programme

Wage Incentive (youth contract)

City Skills Fund Growth and Innovation Fund Work Choice

Community Activity Programme Higher Apprenticeship Fund Work experience (for young unemployed)

Custom training for SMEs Leadership and Management Advisory Service Work Programme

Employer Ownership Pilot Low Carbon Skills Fund Work Together

Employer Recruitment Initiative Mandatory Work Activity Working Families Everywhere

Table 1: Examples of some schemes/funds linked to employment and skills that employers can access and engage with

…and impressions of welfare-to-work providers and back-to-work schemes are not always positive● Many employers have good

relationships with welfare-to-work providers and are engaging with a range of schemes and initiatives

● But employers are often left frustrated and confused by approaches from multiple different providers

● Media stories around exploitation in particular mean some employers have a negative impression of providers

● Engaging with providers can sometimes be burdensome

We should remember that employers are not a homogeneous group

Size Sector

Small

Medium

Large

Agriculture

Automotive

Aerospace

Construction

Creative

Financial services

Information Technology

Manufacturing

Professional Services

Retail

Transport

Tourism

Utilities

Implications for welfare-to-work providers

Improving employer awareness

Making it easier for employers to get involved

Helping employers to navigate the employment and skills system

Personalising the service offering for employers

Four challenges for welfare-to-work providers going forward

Improving employer awareness

● Time and resource is needed to raise awareness amongst employers about the benefits of engaging with schemes such as the Work Programme and how they can do so

● Building stronger connections with LEPs, local authorities and organisations such as the CBI could help

Potential benefits for employers of engaging with the Work Programme  Reduced recruitment costs Candidates filtered to meet specific business

needs Tailored company specific packages of

training/support for candidates Continued support for individuals and employers

when in work if needed On-going engagement with the Work

Programme provider, making it easier to meet urgent demand for new recruits

Staff turnover likely to be lower; the average cost of replacing an employee is £6125

Making it easier for employers to get involved

● Collaboration between providers on employer engagement could make it easier to get businesses involved

● This might include:

– Jointly approaching employers regarding vacancies

– Joint marketing to employers

– Creating single points of contact for employers

Helping employers to navigate the employment and skills system

● Providers could do more to help employers navigate the employment and skills system

● This would benefit both providers and employers

● Linking employers into Apprenticeships is a good example. But providers could also help in signposting them towards other funds (e.g. regional growth fund)

Personalising the service offering for employers

● Personalisation is relevant not just for jobseekers but employers too

● Employers are looking for providers that can tailor services to meet their specific business objectives

● Work Programme providers could go further to personalise services for employers using their black box flexibilities

The CBI can help too!

● Providers cannot do everything on their own. Organisations like the CBI have a role to play.

● At the moment the CBI is taking action to:

– Improve awareness about back-to-work schemes through its Getting the UK Working campaign

– Encouraging our members to engage with schemes such as the Work Programme

– Working with DWP to set up an Employer Forum to focus on employer engagement with government employment schemes and initiatives

– Lobbying to make it simpler for businesses to access and engage with the range of employment and skills initiatives and funds that exist

“The goal should be to increase take-up of all the

options on the table, especially the Work

Programme, by offering a service that is right for

businesses first time” – John Cridland (CBI

Director-General)

Karen WalkerResourcing Manager

Greggs Plc

The Work Programme & Greggs Plc

About Greggs

• 1,585 shops across the UK• Ten regional bakeries• 1 central savoury production plant• 1 specialist confectionery bakery• 2 distribution centres• 20,000+ employees• A growing business – we will recruit

800+ new people in next 12 months

Our company Values define what we do…

We will be enthusiastic and supportive in all that we do, open, honest and appreciative,

treating everyone with fairness, consideration and respect

Since June 2011…• 44 voluntary work experience placements offered via JCP• 7 graduate and 4 undergraduates on 2-year programme• 5 work placements for young people through BBC3 ‘Up for

Hire’ programme• 10 young apprentices recruited in 2011• Employed 4 people from Business Action on Homelessness• Recruited 27 people in London and the South through A4E

and Avanta, giving jobs to long term unemployed people• 3 women ex-offenders employed from HMP Styal and HMP

Low Newton

Partners help drive success

Why tackling unemployment is absolutely critical to us…• Young people form 1/3 of our workforce, circa 7,000 18-24

year olds at Greggs• People tend to stay at Greggs for a long time once they have

joined us• Unemployed people are our customers as well as potential

employees• New people add quality, vibrancy and richness of ideas to

our workforce• We have a wider pool of available candidates to choose from• This is high on our agenda

The Greggs experience

• Firstly, we believe that there is definitely a place for Work Providers (experience, knowledge and access)

• Too many Providers out there – all offering the same thing• It makes it appear confusing• It wasn’t easy to tune in at first ...• We wanted a simple process and one way of working

throughout our business• We have developed a close partnership with JCP• We decided to work with one main Work Provider and

consolidate other partners

The Greggs experience

• We had many unsuitable candidates put forward that we were unable to progress

• We then knew that we needed to spend time setting up the partnership

• We looked at:– what we are looking for in a candidate– the type of work they would do– our culture v best fit– our recruitment process

• We now have a good relationship with our Provider

The Greggs experience

• They tailored their process to meet our needs• They are extremely responsive to our needs• Small trial initially - now moving to a national roll-out• Funding process isn’t as smooth / timely (Youth Contract)• Funding for Providers is about getting someone into work,

but not necessarily with the same employer• Sustainability is our agenda• We have recruited 64 people (10% of our new recruits) via

Work Providers in the last 12 months – lots of successes and great feedback

Challenges and opportunities of private sector engagement

• We need the best talent available – job-ready candidates with the right attitude

• We need to seek out talent and engage with people who might not progress through normal channels

• It’s a tough climate for businesses – there are not as many opportunities available

• We therefore need to be efficient, effective and work as a team

• A single point of contact helps (and possibly a database so other Providers know who our partners are)

• Clarity re: funding