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New advancement service will help Londoners get work - and get on at work

Denham: new joined-up services will provide improved guidance on jobs, skills, housing, finance and childcare

A new adult advancement and careers service will boost the city's skills by giving Londoners access to advice on housing, employment rights, childcare, finance and personal issues to help them overcome barriers to success at work.

Two pilot services will be opened in London this year.

The first, serving Southwark, Lambeth and Wandsworth, will build on the existing careers services to provide a range of joined up advice, guidance and support, ensuring no-one is deprived of the opportunity to realise their potential.

The second pilot, to be developed in partnership with the Mayor, will focus specifically on the challenges facing people who already have a job but want to develop further skills, take more responsibility and earn higher wages.

Skills advice will help everyone, from those in good jobs wanting to improve, to those who need new skills to access job opportunities. The advancement service will identify skills needs through Skills Health Checks; and provide better face to face, online and telephone support to enable people to access advice when and where they need it.

A key element of the new service will be a 'no wrong door' approach developed jointly with colleges, the voluntary sector, childcare, health and financial advice services. The agencies will work to high common standards of customer service, offering referrals to more expert advice where necessary.

Announcing the new centres in London today, Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills John Denham said:

Getting from a job with few prospects to a good job can be as tough as getting off benefit and into work. People who want to get on need support improving their skills and, often, sorting our childcare, tax credit, housing and other issues. The new joined- up approach to providing advice and support is crucial to overcoming these barriers.

We want everyone at work to raise their skills, enabling them to build successful careers in a constantly changing global economy, The new advancement and careers service will provide the practical support that Londoners need to share in the prosperity of this dynamic city.

The advancement service will be fully operational across England from 2010/11.

Notes to Editors

  1. The pilots will aim to provide:
    • Through a 'no wrong door' approach individuals can quickly access range of advisory services, getting the help they need, on issues such as careers, jobs, skills, housing, childcare, employment rights, finance, personal issues
    • Clear understanding across partners of roles and responsibilities
    • Effective arrangements between organisations for sharing facilities and services
    • Common quality standards and service standards across partners
    • Coherent (from customers perspective) marketing
  2. They will test out:
    • scope of advisory services to be included;
    • different delivery models to produce joined up services;
    • ways of working across partners, in particular integrating voluntary and community services;
    • pulling together initiatives and sources of funding;
    • costs of joined up service;
    • fit with wider integration of employment and skills.
  3. Specifically for Job Centre Plus clients they will also test out:
    • content and use of Skills Health Checks, including the referral arrangements between JCP and the advancement service and information sharing between the organisations;
    • how individuals with basic skills needs can get the screening, assessment and training required as quickly as soon as possible
    • the careers service supporting individuals making choices in learning through targeted Skills Accounts; and
    • better joining up of telephone based services with face to face services (more choice for clients in way service delivered).
  4. We will also test Skills Health Checks for people in work covering career management, personal effectiveness and skills development, available on-line and with telephone support if needed and we will continue to trial (across England) in depth telephone guidance for adults, including those in low paid/ low skilled jobs.
  5. Every adult in England can currently access a free information and advice service comprising the national learndirect telephone and online advice service and local nextstep face-to-face service, with priority given to those without a first full Level 2 qualification. Adults participating in any LSC funded learning can access information and advice services through their learning provider.
  6. The current service handles some 12 million requests for information each year, about 600,000 advice sessions and in-depth telephone guidance for some 70,000 adults each year - delivering information and advice to priority customer groups, face to face, by phone and on-line.