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Voluntary Sector North West
St. Thomas Centre

Ardwick Green North
Manchester
M12 6FZ
Tel: 0161 276 9300
Fax: 0161 276 9301
Email: info@vsnw.org.uk

Workforce Development Issues and solutions

Issues & Solutions (Workforce)

Consortia
Greater together Lancashire (local & national partners): Launch 14th October

TUPE issues - big area of concern, legal problems
Skills coming out of public sector (skills not used to)
Blackpool looking at potential contracting out of Youth Service
Need for skills/training in these areas

Preferred provider model? What are commissioners doing?
Blackpool is open at moment
Joint commissioning/preferred supplier (AGMA) for workforce: lose diversity of provision, where is specialist delivery in this?
Some models don't link as well to young people in community

Shift of resources to other sectors?
Managing risk - for commissioners and for sector
What does it mean for delivery? For managing risk? For young people?
Co-design, co-commissioning must happen but before contract is agreed. Becoming commissioning arm within consortium

Issues of trust
Getting contract writing skills/resources going (use national partner)
New world, new risks. Can't see where going, eyes on greater prize
VAT on contracts, not grants. Need info from HMRC
National charities politically have to engage in shared venture, otherwise lose
Consortia is a separate entity, keeps risk away from providers
Public sector: through commissioning process, buying admin time

Funding available for workforce development
- criteria
- placements in public sector drying up, quality of placements unclear

Demand for excellence for young people
Issue specific employment = core skills before specialism
Match people with placements (rather than a blanket qualification = qualified for job), balance better qualified and working skills

Training & quality
Parallels with journey through care sector and older people
Leading to dual qualifications/skills set required

Health & social care
Joint social work & nurse qualification at Edge Hill
Morale of workforce - lack of clarity about the role

Quality
Ensuring young people get the worthwhile, qualifications needed to be embedded. Quality assurance in some areas is unclear. Concerns over the springing up of new provision in local areas/communities

Workforce
For infrastructure agencies: they need new role in tendering, brokering
For delivery (by contract)

Sustainability - skills (level 2)
Using national delivery agencies

How to get QUALITY
Register of workers (monitorning quality)

Maintained services and front end
Volunteers and workforce - 87% of services to young people outside schools delivered by volunteers. We need to remember this

PQASSO - level 1 = accreditation

Demand-led provision, shift away

Issues for personalisation but who makes these decisions and what is the impact on frontline services

Link/infrastructure to new skills sets required

Need to value young people: key to understanding

New relationship with councils

Councils selling services lock in?

Unclear about what youth work is needed