Supporting people
Supporting people to acquire the skills they needOverview
Ensuring that Kirklees residents have the skills they need to access good work, and progress within work at all stages of their career, lies at the heart of our ambition for an inclusive economy. Accessing a skilled workforce is also essential for businesses to drive up productivity and increase wages. Increasingly this means creating a supportive environment for those who are furthest from the labour market to regain the confidence and resilience to return to and remain in work. This includes those who have been out of work or at risk of losing employment, due to long-term ill health and deskilling while on NHS waiting lists. In line with the Get Britain Working White Paper we aspire to achieving an economic activity rate of 80% and setting a trajectory to create 27,800 additional jobs by 2043 - the life of the refreshed local plan.
The challenges and opportunities facing our education and skills system are described above. This embraces every stage of learning and work - from early years childcare, through primary and secondary school, further/higher education, adult learning and work. To truly fulfil the potential of our residents and businesses, each stage needs to operate effectively and deliver a high-quality experience for learners. The transition between the stages is also vital.
The Inclusive Economy Strategy is focused on post-16 learning and work, complementing other strategies and plans - particularly Our Kirklees Futures - focused on earlier stages of learning.
Success measures
- 1. Employment rate
- 2. Median disposable household income
- 3. Percentage of working age adults qualified to NVQ levels 2 and 4
- 4. Percentage of working age adults economically inactive, including 16-24 year olds and over 50s
Actions
We will continue to take a partnership-approach to creating an inclusive jobs market for young people in Kirklees, building on our existing offer that includes Employment Kirklees and provision from C+K Careers. This enhanced support will ensure all young people are able to benefit from opportunities in Kirklees and the surrounding area, as our economy transitions towards greater sustainability and increased digital automation. We will seek to enhance support for care leavers, young people with learning disabilities and other priority groups
Increasing young people's skill levels and removing barriers to employment is a key enabler of increasing productivity and reducing economic inactivity.
Incorporating green skills and awareness of green jobs and industries into training programmes and employment support will contribute to Kirklees having a workforce that is ready for a new economy.
We will work with employers and training partners to guarantee opportunities are available for all young people particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Working in partnership we will continue to deliver digital skills training for all. Local delivery will provide accessible support and interventions tailored to the specific needs of Kirklees residents and businesses. Our training providers will continue to incorporate new technology into their courses in order that Kirklees is at the vanguard of digital technology enabling all businesses to adopt technology that is appropriate for them.
Digital technology is central to delivering productivity gains in the modern economy. Uptake of this technology however requires a workforce at every level in organisations that can apply it and work with it.
Digital technologies are delivering significant gains in the efficient use of resources and contributing to avoiding travel, all of which supports reduced emissions and net zero targets.
Automation and AI can be seen as risks to jobs particularly those in lower skilled roles. Incorporating digital skills in all employment support will allow individuals to gain skills at an appropriate level and provide a foundation they can continue to build on.
We will support employers to develop their workforce, with advice and guidance around skills training for those seeking to progress in work. This could be through Skills Bootcamps or other training programmes. In work support for both the employer and employee is provided where an opportunity has been brokered for a participant on one of our employment programmes.
Increasing skills is essential for adoption of new technology and improving management practices. We expect productivity to increase with enhanced workforce skills.
Refreshing and developing new skills is an important way in which individuals and businesses are exposed to new approaches. As courses increasingly incorporate new sustainable practices, we expect these to be adopted within businesses' operating models and governance frameworks.
We will continue to build inclusive practices in supporting progression and training within local employers through sharing good practice and by promoting the West Yorkshire Fair Work Charter and the Disability Confident scheme.
We will build on our successes in adult and community learning and engagement with local communities by the University of Huddersfield and Kirklees College to expand our provision and see Kirklees recognised as a place of excellence for community-based learning.
We will focus more of our activity in neighbourhoods that fall within the bottom 20% of deprivation nationally, ethnic minorities and other under-represented groups.
By engaging with our communities, particularly those in our most deprived neighbourhoods, we expect to see individuals supported to overcome barriers to employment and to thriving more broadly.
This intervention will have a strong focus on our most deprived neighbourhoods in which we know Black and Asian residents are twice as likely to live in as the wider population. Low income has a significant impact on individuals' health and wellbeing outcomes, impacting on their ability to participate in society fully and adult learning can be a vital first step in re-engaging.
Transitioning to a new, greener economy is going to require new skills and new ways of living and working for all of us. Helping our communities to gain those skills and build on existing assets is key to everyone in Kirklees being able to thrive while living within the limits of our planet's resources.
Levels of economic inactivity have increased rapidly in recent years, linked to poor health and wellbeing. Tackling this challenge is vital not only to individual wellbeing but also to addressing skills shortages and increasing productivity.
We will work with the Department for Work and Pensions, West Yorkshire Combined Authority, the Integrated Care Board and other partners to deliver programmes from the Get Britain Working white paper. This will include the Trailblazer, Accelerator and 'Connect to Work'. Additional employment support and skill programmes will run alongside to complement/fill any gaps in provision.
Improving participation rates in the Kirklees labour market will have a positive impact on productivity whilst boosting health and wellbeing outcomes.
Low income has a significant impact on individuals' health outcomes impacting on their ability to participate in society fully and adult learning can be a vital first step to re-engaging.
Transitioning to a new, greener economy is going to require new skills and new ways of living and working for all of us. Helping our communities to gain those skills and build on existing assets is key to everyone in Kirklees being able to thrive while living within the limits of our planet's resources.
This intervention will have a strong focus on economically inactive residents experiencing ill health/disabilities to participate in the labour market.
Case studies
The Council's Adult and Community Learning service offers a range of courses, enabling people to achieve their ambitions through education, training, employment and lifelong learning.
Through working closely with local partners, we deliver courses directly into our communities, tailored to our learners, their circumstances and their needs. We strive to ensure that learning is accessible for all, allowing every resident the opportunity to develop their life and work skills.
Having recently obtained a 'Good' rating in our latest Ofsted inspection (February 2025), this positive grading highlights the high-quality education, life-changing opportunities, and the strong support we provide to adult learners across Kirklees.
The Council's REAL Employment team currently delivers the Local Supported Employment programme within Kirklees. This programme aims to support adults aged 18+ with learning disabilities, autism and/or additional needs, into paid, sustainable employment.
REAL are members of BASE (the British Association for Supported Employment) and follow their 5-stage model; Customer Engagement, Vocational Profiling, Engaging Employers, Job Matching, and in work support and Career Development.
The model is person centred, with allocated work coaches providing continuous support to job seekers throughout their employment journey. Those on programme are supported to find job roles that match their aspirations, interests and strengths, and through working closely with local employers, we strive to highlight the importance placed, and benefits which can be seen, from inclusive recruitment practises. REAL will continue to be a key local delivery partner as the Government rolls out the new work and health initiatives trailed in the Get Britain Working White Paper.
Wholly owned by Calderdale and Kirklees Councils, C+K Careers has over 30 years' experience in delivering high quality, impartial, careers advice and guidance services. Through their work with local authorities, they deliver a range of integrated services designed to reduce the number of young people and adults who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) or at risk of becoming NEET.
C+K is a delivery partner for the Councils Employment West Yorkshire providing practical one to one support to our residents aged between 16-24, to help them find work or change careers. The support provided is tailored to the individual's needs, helping develop their employability skills, supporting them with CV writing, completing applications, interview skills, job search and much more.
Minimising the number of young people and adults who are NEET not only provides a financial benefit for communities. It also has positive social benefits including improved mental health and reduced levels of crime.
