Evaluation of Edinburgh Waterfront EWRC

The Edinburgh Waterfront Recruitment Centre (EWRC) was established to link employment opportunities generated through the waterfront development to the need for jobs amongst local people in North Edinburgh and Leith. It also had a wider remit to link people with city-wide job opportunities. Ultimately, the project sought to increase local participation in the Waterfront development and increase the prosperity of the surrounding area by reducing employment and economic inactivity through the provision of access to job opportunities and relevant training opportunities. The evaluation aimed to review the activities and outcomes of the EWRC and the extent to which it has met its objectives.

The evaluation comprised a desk-based review, which involved a benchmarking exercise comparing the EWRC with similar initiatives, profiling the North Edinburgh labour market, and a review of documentation provided by Scottish Enterprise Edinburgh and Lothian. Consultations were carried out with stakeholders via face-to-face and telephone discussions and a focus group was set up with individuals attending job interviews. A progress review workshop was also carried out.

The EWRC is found to have been relatively successful, with over 300 people being helped into jobs, 31% of which being local residents. In addition to this, 35% of jobs have been filled by people from disadvantaged areas. It is noted that this has been achieved despite a number of barriers, including unsuitable accommodation for EWRC and a blurring of boundaries between various responsibilities. It is concluded that there is still a strong rationale for the initiative, however, that there is little evidence of the EWRC having proactively targeted local employers and encouraged them to use the Centre.

Several options are outlined for the future of the Centre, including relocating the EWRC to a more high profile location such as Telford College, bringing the Centre into another organisation such as Waterfront Edinburgh Ltd, and considering the future development of the Centre in the context of new stakeholder arrangements developing through the Edinburgh Waterfront Partnership. It is strongly recommended that a process of action planning is carried out by the steering group to provide an overall framework for the initiative.