The NCS will be re-commissioned over the next few months and the NCS Trust intend to commission providers to coordinate and deliver the service in 9 lots across England.  These lots will be very large (£65m – £125m pa each) and will require provision of: Adventure activity; Personal development activity and; Social action work. 3SC is exploring ways to be involved either as a subcontractor or through a consortium of providers and we expect to put out a call for expressions on interest in the coming weeks

The MoJ are currently tendering the Prison Education Framework (PEF) which will mainly cover the provision of a core curriculum of English, maths and ICT. The PEF may also contain some specific sector skills qualification and could also include employability interventions.  The MoJ also intend to create a DPS to sit alongside the PEF and this will be the mechanism that they will use to commission pilots and innovative services for individual prisons the focus of these services will be employability work and personal development. This tender was due to be launched in August but there has been a delay and will now go live in September. 3SC intend to be active on the DPS and will be seeking delivery organisations to work with us in due course.   

Ensuring High Quality Careers Guidance: Making the Most of Everyone’s Skills and Talents Public Policy Exchange Central London. Wednesday 14 November 2018 In December 2017 the Government published the long-awaited Careers Strategy, which envisages the creation of a thriving careers system that promotes social mobility. The new strategy is based around four key priorities: ensuring every school and college has a high-quality careers programme; providing opportunities for work experience; offering tailored support to students; and utilising appropriate sources of information about jobs and careers. It also aims for the appointment of a dedicated careers’ leader in every school and the creation of 20 careers hubs in disadvantaged areas. Moreover, the Minister of State for Apprenticeships and Skills announced her ambition to achieve a shift in attitude, by raising the profile of apprenticeships. Additionally, she called for the Institute for Apprenticeships to speed up the process of approving new apprenticeship standards, following a sharp decrease in apprenticeships starts since the introduction of the levy. Despite these positive steps, significant progress is still required to ensure that everyone …

Join ERSA and Give us a Chance Consortium (GUAC) at this one day conference in central London on 12 September. Details here.

The Voluntary Data Conference. Thursday 11 October, Central London With the Fundraising Regulator and NCVO leading in discussion, this pivotal conference provides the perfect platform to examine how all voluntary organisations can further strengthen their data protection protocols in line with new GDPR’s laws; and continue to maximise their social impact through effective data management. Join data experts and senior charity officers to assess proven best practice from charities leading in delivering effective data-led approaches to inform strategic decisions, enhance data security and ensure adequate training for staff and volunteers to effectively manage and maintain data. LIMITED PLACES NOW REMAIN! SECURE YOUR PLACE HERE KEYNOTE DISCUSSION: Gerald Oppenheim, Chief Executive, Fundraising Regulator – The Future of GDPR and Data Protection in Voluntary Sector Fundraising – Analysing the latest changes to the Code of Fundraising Practice in relation to data protection and GDPR – Formulating a data policy which effectively communicates data usage to individuals and supports the “legitimate interest” condition when conducting direct marketing – Assessing what constitutes effective data management when marketing, fundraising and reaching …

The Working Wales tender is about to move into the ITT phase with a shortlist of up to five bidders per lot invited to work up full bids. The service aims to support people of all ages to overcome barriers and gain the skills to achieve and maintain good quality, sustainable employment. The provision will be funded for a period of up to seven years, will have an expected value in the first year of £56 million, and will be let in seven lots. 3SC are talking to a number of bidders and hope to be in a position to develop a delivery partnership as the bid progresses. The final submission of proposals is due by the10th September 2018 with delivery commencing on 1 April 2019.

Join NPC Ignites on 10 October 2018 for the NPC’s annual conference. They’ve lined up a selection of innovative thinkers to shake things up. Topics will range from data to digital and place-based approaches to governance. More here.

The Home Office receives applications for asylum from people arriving in the UK who are fleeing persecution, war and political unrest. Many of the new arrivals are destitute, so whilst their claims are checked and assessed they need to be housed and supported, not least because until someone is granted leave to remain they may not take paid employment and have no entitlement to welfare benefits. The Home Office therefore provides a range of accommodation and support services to asylum seekers and these services are currently being retendered. The tender will involve delivery in all four countries forming the UK. 3SC is hoping to develop a supply chain to deliver some of the face-to-face aspects of the services including the provision of an outreach support service and the provision of resettlement support. The next stage of the tendering process will commence in mid- July and once that begins 3SC will start the process of actively seeking delivery organisations.

Given the growing financial pressures placed on local authorities, this year’s Public Sector Finance Conference is the ideal platform to assess the future of funding and financial management, whilst examining practical solutions to ensure efficiency and capitalise on innovative commercial and income generation opportunities. With the MHCLG sharing updates on the progress and implications of the Fair Funding Review, you can join them on the 10th of October in Central London to examine the next steps in business rates retention, as well as securing value for money and financial sustainability in the delivery of high quality services. The morning keynote speech is by Stuart Hoggan, Deputy Director, Local Government Finance Settlement & Directorate, Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government The theme of his talk is: Developing Secure Foundations for Local Government Finance Reinforcing the commitment to support local government funding by giving English councils access to more than £200 billion in funding over five years Outlining the future of local government funding and budget allocations as per the 2018-2019 Local Government Finance Settlement Giving …

19 July 2018, 10am–4.30pm, London This NPC training is for charities keen to improve their impact—developing a theory of change is a good place to start. It shows what you want to achieve and how, setting out the causal links between your activities and end goal. For more information and to book, follow this link.

James Brokenshire, the Housing Secretary, announced a new Housing First pilot to get rough sleepers off the streets of Greater Manchester, the West Midlands Combined Authority Area and the Liverpool City Region. These schemes will involve the development of Housing First provision which puts the emphasis on finding individuals a secure and affordable home to live in, while providing them with expert support to rebuild their lives. Housing first is a model originally developed in the US that has now been piloted with considerable success across Europe. 3SC are looking at how they can be involved in the delivery of the pilot in the West Midlands.

Sadiq Kahn, the Mayor of London, has launched the GLA Young Londoners Fund, to provide a range of services focusing on employment, skills, being active and community involvement targeting young people from the ages of 10 to 21, who are at risk of exclusion or involvement in criminal activity and young people who have already been involved in criminal activities. The current tender has a total value of £15 million with most of this money being let as small grants of less than £50,000 a year. 3SC is exploring whether some of the larger grants available would suit a consortium approach. Details can be found here and the application deadline is midday 9 July.

The Ministry of Justice will open a dynamic purchasing system during the summer to facilitate the purchase of services in prisons that will complement the core curriculum offers through the Prison Education Framework. The DPS is an opportunity for providers to offer a range of interventions, such as mentoring and employability training. 3SC will be seeking to get a range of offers that it can subcontract onto this DPS that we would seek to subcontract out to delivery organisations.

Social Enterprise UK has launched a quarterly newsletter to keep people abreast of developments in its Places Programme, which aims to promote, raise awareness, and build the markets for social enterprise at a local and national level. Hotspots of social enterprise activity can be awarded the Social Enterprise Place badge, which celebrates their achievements and supports their growth. There are currently 25 accredited Places across the UK; to become one you can find out more here. 

29 June is Employability Day, organised by the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA), which campaigns for better services for jobseekers and learners. This is the third such annual event; a key messaging pdf is available here.

The Welsh Government have launched their Working Wales tender, which will replace a number of existing programmes, including Jobs Growth Wales, ReAct, Traineeships and the Employability Skills Programme. The service aims to support people of all ages to overcome barriers and gain the skills to achieve and maintain good quality, sustainable employment. The provision will be funded for a period of up to seven years, will have an expected value in the first year of £56 million, and will be let in seven lots. 3SC are talking to a number of bidders and hope to be in a position to develop a delivery partnership as the bid progresses.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) have just released a prior information notice confirming their intention to open a procurement event for providers to register and prequalify for delivery through the Prison Education Dynamic Procurement System (DPS). The idea is that required provision can then be commissioned through call offs from the DPS. The MoJ have indicated that up to £100 million of provision will be commissioned via this approach; the tender event is planned to open on 6 August this year.

29 June is to be the third annual UK ‘Employability Day’ and ERSA is calling for all organisations involved in employment support to get involved, by hosting events, talking to local MPs, informing the local press and social media, and other publicising activities. ERSA wants to know what your plans are for the day and has provided an online form for completion to help, which is available here. Online support materials are also available from ERA here.

The Dynamic Purchasing System (DPS) is a procedure available for contracts for works, services and goods commonly available on the market. The DPS can streamline procurement for both suppliers and authorities; suppliers don’t have to demonstrate suitability and capability every time they wish to compete for a public sector contract, and the award of individual tenders can be quicker than under some other procedures. Once the DPS is set up, an authority may award specific contracts using a DPS that they are entitled to use by inviting all suppliers admitted to the relevant category to bid. The Government is currently giving a series of presentations in different regions, giving an in-depth walkthrough of the accreditation process, the ‘Employability Journey’ and explain how suppliers can get involved. For more information contact: helen.tyrer@dwp.gsi.gov.uk.

Finalists for the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA) 2018 awards will be announced at the ERSA annual general meeting on 19 April, and awards will be presented to the winners in June 2018. There are several categories and include: Disability and Health Employment; Youth Employment; Innovation; Partner of the Year; Adviser of the Year; Team of the Year; Large Employer of the Year; Small or Medium Employer of the Year; Significant Achievement; and a Lifetime Achievement.