Main features of managing employability services

Driving up performance through smarter contract management

This will require active management of procurement, especially in terms of specifying the outputs required by the funders.  It will also require constant ‘re-regulation’ to avoid providers finding ways of ‘working the system’ too easily.

In terms of shifting the spend profile, procurement will need to emphasise the progression from stage to stage, the final job destination and also emphasise the volume of clients required from each target group to avoid both creaming and parking.  It would be possible, for example, to offer an appropriate up front payment for the first target milestone of a target group into jobs, to increase that rate for the next milestone and to increase it further for the most stretching target, thus giving incentives to the provider to reach higher volumes.  Of course, the base rates and volumes need to be chosen with great care; otherwise a windfall may be given to the provider for little actual effort.

The main features that apply to the approach to managing employability services are outlined by clicking the links below:

Sub-regional or city/regional Procurement Process

Partnership Framework Agreement (PFA)

Non Prescriptive Approach

Outcome based funding

Use of specialist sub-contractors/referral agencies

What would be different as a result of these Programme Design changes?