East Renfrewshire Jobs Action Team: interim evaluation

The rationale for the Jobs Action Team (JAT) was to use a pro-active approach to engage people not currently in mainstream employment or training programmes, particularly those resident in the Social Inclusion Partnership (SIP) areas. It was considered important that this engagement be done through an independent organisation as people are fearful of threats to their benefit status when dealing with the mainstream agencies, and also that the approach had to be personal offering social development opportunities as well as a process of actively matching people to jobs.

The methodology for the evaluation included interviews, consultations and the analysis of monitoring and output information.

The East Renfrewshire JAT has helped move a significant number of local jobless people into work, and this has been achieved on a cost effective basis. In addition, the project has been particularly successful in terms of the number of SIP residents linked to employment opportunities, in comparison with all previous attempts by mainstream agencies or more localised projects.

It was felt that JAT needs to dig deeper in terms of reaching more Incapacity Benefits clients and more residents of the disadvantaged areas, and correspondingly fewer people for whom the mainstream agencies provide an adequate service. Also, JAT needs to work more closely with Jobcentre Plus in particular, as well as to make more effective use of existing programmes such as Pathways to Work, New Deal for Lone Parents, Training for Work, etc. The staffing of JAT needs to be simplified to give the project manager staff resources which he/she can directly manage so as to meet targets effectively.