A4e's Executive Chair Mark Lovell

OPINION: MARK LOVELL

Employment and enterprise Local authorities are able to bid for funding to create jobs for young people, thanks to resources made available in the Budget. But this will need careful planning, says Mark Lovell

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lot of policy focus over the last few years has been on more effective joining up of employment and skills programmes. A4e has been a strong advocate of this, as we know we need to work harder to make a more demand-responsive employment and skills market. The future needs of business need to be better served by the supply of relevant and appropriate qualifications and competencies. Businesses need to improve their planning for future workforce needs, while individuals need more portable and transferable skills, as well as developing a longerterm view on career development. Whilst much has been done in policy terms to address this, there is still a long way to go to get this working effectively at the front line. In broad terms, however, the market is able to respond with more flexibility to deliver according to the needs of business and enable people entering the labour market to enhance their skills at early-stage employment. If this part of policy has a structure for success, what next? Right at the top of our agenda at the moment is creating a much stronger link between employment and enterprise. In a growing economy, active labour market programmes become much more ‘job fulfilment’ focused. With harder-to-help clients, the onus is on working with them to tackle barriers, equipping them with core skills, then assisting them in identifying and securing work amongst a broader range of opportunities. In recession, job placement is important, but more crucial is ‘job creation’. This requires a rethink of strategies to link employment and enterprise approaches. RDAs have moved the focus of their

Mark Lovell believes that a more demand-responsive employment and skills market will become crucial in the future.

regeneration initiatives to look more broadly at job creation measures. We have local authorities able to bid for youth work creation programmes following the Budget. Local government is also able to look at enterprise through a range of policy approaches, which have been put in place over the last few years but still require greater focus on implementation (LEGI and LABGI for example). The challenge we face in the UK economy is to make ‘job creation’ a focused, sustainable and economy enhancing strategy. We must not create ‘make-work’ jobs in the hope this leads to opportunity. Stakeholders need to work together to stimulate economic development and enterprise as part of the core focus of active labour market initiatives.

The challenge we face in the UK economy is to make ‘job creation’ a focused, sustainable and economy enhancing strategy Mark Lovell, A4e executive chairman

This was the approach we had to take when we started work in Israel – lending skills, enterprise and employment initiatives into an integrated offer to kick-start economic development. The approach draws on our roots in the early Nineties, working here with steel and coal communities on employment programmes with integrated, local service offers developed with the TECs and Business Links at the time. Creating new jobs is key to economic growth and, as such, we need to work with stakeholders on this area of our work. We need to equip jobseekers with the tools to locate these opportunities and skills – some traditional, some new in a changing economy – to enter and progress in the workforce. Sounds simple but this is a complicated and challenging process, where global active labour market policies are now moving. Collaboration and joint working amongst stakeholders, supply chains and sectors is more important than ever to accomplish this.

blueprint SUMMER 2009

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