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Making sure our clients have the right skill
sets for the workplace is vital to their social
mobility, says Asi Panditharatna
Keeping clients moving
THE RECENTLY PUBLISHED REPORT SOCIAL MOBILITY
IN GREAT BRITAIN – STATE OF THE NATION 2018-19
has highlighted a number of concerns for those from
disadvantaged backgrounds. We believe this applies
to many of the clients we support who are in
substance misuse recovery – particularly those from
low-skilled, unemployed, NEET (not in education,
employment or training) backgrounds.
The report confirms that people in low paid roles
tend to get stuck there and are more likely to be from
lower socio-economic backgrounds. Connected to this,
those with the least skills are unlikely to get training
and higher or degree level apprenticeships. This is
against a backdrop of two-thirds of the reported
growth in UK employment (with around 75 per cent of
people aged 16-64 now in work) having been in
‘atypical’ roles such as zero-hours contracts or agency
work that do not provide job satisfaction, security or
contractual rights. Such roles can make it hard to plan
for the longer term, such as obtaining a mortgage.
The report also highlights that those with fewer
skills are the least likely to get the training they need
to support their progression in the workplace. The
new apprenticeship standards led by employers have
the potential to be a powerful vehicle for social
mobility, but the reality is not as clear cut; those
from lower socio-economic backgrounds are
clustered in lower-returning and lower-level
apprenticeships and are not benefiting as much as
their more affluent peers.
As automation changes the world of work, these
divides could worsen – workers in low-paid roles with
low qualifications are most at risk of their work being
automated but least likely to access training to reskill.
This may seem like a bleak outlook, but the
solution lies in establishing a firmer foundation for
the future – access to skills, training and job
opportunities with a clear career trajectory.
At The Forward Trust, our approaches to achieving
this include focusing on promoting talent with
employers so they are not just looking at managing
risks with people in recovery. We also make sure
employability and vocational training support is
aimed at people having maths, English
(contextualised for work) and the digital skills to find
a job and then succeed in their role.
The solution also includes helping clients to
access higher-level government apprenticeships that
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offer progression
and promotion
routes. We are
focusing on
progressing
people into
higher level
qualifications, for
example our new
ESFA ESF
contracts are
training people in
customer service
diploma level
qualifications, so
they can access
higher paid roles
in the digital
sector in London.
As younger
people from
disadvantaged
backgrounds do
not necessarily
have the support
networks to give
them a leg-up in
their career,
another component for success is giving them access
to a network of peer support – so that clients,
learners and service users can also draw on one
another for help, as well as tapping into each other’s
networks for jobs.
In essence, it’s about creating a range of different
pathways for people to access better-paid
employment – including jobs, apprenticeships,
traineeships, self-employment and setting up a
business/social enterprise – as well as the support
networks to bolster this and ultimately drive social
mobility.
To celebrate Employability Day on 28 June, we are
planning an employers’ roundtable to discuss these
issues around talent and progression. For more
information about Forward Trust’s employment
services, see www.forwardtrust.org.uk/our-
services/employment-services/
Asi Panditharatna is divisional director of
employment services at The Forward Trust
As automation changes
the world of work...
divides could worsen –
workers in low-paid roles
with low qualifications
are most at risk of their
work being automated
but least likely to access
training to reskill.
June 2019 | drinkanddrugsnews | 11