Business Development Update – December 2020
Not only is it a busy time for everyone delivering front line services, there are also lots of new services being commissioned particularly by the DWP. Read how 3SC are engaging with these opportunities below.
DWP Kick Start – this is a new £2 billion government fund that will pay any employer of any size across the private, public and third sector to create quality 6-month work placements for young people aged 16 to 24, claiming Universal Credit and at risk of long-term unemployment. The Government will fully fund each Kickstart job paying 100% of the relevant National Minimum Wage for 25 hours a week, plus associated employer National Insurance contributions and employer minimum auto-enrolment pension contributions. A £1500 grant per placement is also available to help with set up costs and to enable young people to develop new skills to help them move into sustained employment once their Kickstart funded job ends. The idea is that many of the young people will be kept on after the 6 months and even those that are not will have valuable work experience to add to their CVs. Large employers can bid to DWP direct if they can offer at least 30 jobs and smaller employers can group together if between them they can offer at least 30 jobs. 3SC has built a partnership of small and medium sized employers so they can access the scheme. To join 3SC’s Kickstart partnership or to find out more please contact Gareth Snaith on 07436 530042 or contact us at Kickstart@3sc.org
DWP CAEHRS – the DWP has now awarded providers places on Tier 1 and Tier 2 of their Commercial Agreement for the Provision of Employment and Health Related Services (CAEHRS). The successful providers and their lots can be found here:
https://ersa.org.uk/media/news/dwps-new-framework-employment-and-health-related-services-announced
The Chancellor, in the comprehensive spending review on 25/11/20, allocated £2.9bn to the DWP Restart Programme. This service will be to work with those who have been unemployed for 12 months or more and will be commissioned off the Tier 1 DWP CAEHRS Framework. It is expected that the service will be called off in December/January with delivery starting in the spring of 2021. 3SC is talking to a number of the qualified providers and is looking to develop a partnership of employability providers to support the delivery of these contracts.
Additionally, it is believed that smaller call offs in a third tier of CAEHRS (up to £2m pa) will be forthcoming at some point. 3SC will seek to lead our own bid for these services with our delivery partners.
If your organisation is interested in joining a 3SC led employability partnership please complete our short EOI
Andy Shields, Head of Business Development, 3SC