Education and training services

Tender description

The European Social Fund (ESF) aims to increase labour market participation, promote social inclusion and develop the skills of the workforce. In London, ESF will support the London Economic Action Partnership’s three skills and employment themes: promoting sustainable employment and progression, ensuring individuals and employers are better informed on skills and employment and encouraging businesses growth. Procured using a modified Open Procedure under the Light Touch Regime, the contracts will deliver a mix of youth and adult skills and employment services to support unemployed adults and young people through training and sustained jobs, and to help employed people on low pay to progress in work through skills development. The estimated total value of these contracts is around 59 500 000 GBP over 4 years. The Greater London Authority’s budget is indicative and subject to confirmation from the Managing Authority for the England ESF Programme (Department for Work and Pensions). This lot relates to services that focus on supporting unemployed and economically inactive adults and young people to gain industry relevant and pre-apprenticeship skills to enable them to ultimately progress into sustainable employment. 6 sub-lots refer to a specific sector, they are: (a) health and social care; (b) infrastructure and construction; (c) early years; (d) creative; (e) Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) sectors; and (f) other. Successful providers will be required to engage with stakeholders and sub-regional partnerships and ensure local priority needs are met. 6 contracts will be awarded, equating to 1 per sub-lot. This lot relates to services that will aim to support parents with young children to enter or re-enter the workplace. However, in London and across the UK, entering work does not guarantee a route out of poverty. Consequently, this contract for services will be split into 2 sublots: (a) supporting parents into work, which supports parents who are unemployed into work; and (b) parents in work progression, which supports parents in low-paid work to progress in their careers. 1 contract will be awarded per sub-lot. This lot has three strands: Strand 1: Supporting people onto sustained higher and degree level apprenticeship programmes. Strand 2: Supporting people onto sustained Level 4+ accredited provision aligned with career progression. Strand 3: Supporting refugees and recently arrived migrants with permission to work in the UK and with non-UK Level 4+ qualifications, skills and experience into higher level work. There are 2 geographically focused sub-lots within this lot: (a) Local London and South London Partnership; and (b) Central London Forward and West London Alliance. Contracts will be awarded covering these areas reflecting the Sub-Regional Partnerships of London boroughs which are defined in the Specification. The contracts will support people who are in low paid work to access higher-level occupations, higher-level apprenticeships or in-work training. One contract will be awarded per sub-lot. The capacity for provision of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) in London is severely constrained by the combination of the current lack of ESOL provision overall, of more qualified teachers, and of support for lower qualified teachers to progress. Better qualified teachers are particularly important where the need is not only for basic English ability, but also for associated literacy, numeracy and digital skills. It is anticipated this lot will work through a mentoring model. Delivery partners will need to demonstrate how they will deliver group training sessions with 1-1 coaching support (by subject experts) for participants focused on improving their practice. There are no sub-lots within this lot. There is evidence which shows that adults without GCSEs at grade C / 4 (or above) in English and/or mathematics have limited job opportunities, career progression and earning potential. Moreover, as disadvantaged young people are less likely to secure these qualifications at both 16 and 18 years of age, adults without this level of qualification are already likely to be some of the most disadvantaged in London. It is expected that this lot will aim to pilot innovative approaches to address the common barriers that affect participation among those in low-paid work, delivering qualifications integrated with wrap-around interventions to participating adults to support them to achieve their English and maths qualifications. There are no sub-lots within this lot. Over 50 % of the UK’s provision to support speakers of English as a Second or Other Language (ESOL) takes place in London and funding cuts have created a significant gap in provision, with over half of providers, rising to 2 thirds of colleges, reporting that they struggle to meet demand for ESOL provision. This programme aims to support unemployed adults with low-level English language and literacy skills. Provision will integrate basic digital skills with English language provision and address the rising demand for ESOL at lower entry and pre-entry levels and reduce digital exclusion. There are no sub-lots within this lot. Without formal qualifications and appropriate life skills, entering London’s complex, high-skill job market is much more difficult and therefore young people are likely to suffer from reduced opportunities, low incomes and unemployment at a later stage of their lives. This contract for services has been developed to complement existing provision, it has 2 primary expected aims: (i) to intervene early and reduce the number of young Londoners who will be Not in Employment Education and Training (NEET); and (ii) reduce drop-out at age 17 so that young people complete key stage 5 education and training. There are four sub-lots inline with the 4 geographical Sub-Regional Partnerships of London boroughs: (a) Central London Forward; (b) Local London; (c) South London Partnership; and (d) West London Alliance. 1 contract will be awarded per sub-lot. Services offered through this contract will provide intensive and long-term support for young people who are vulnerable to becoming involved in gangs and serious youth violence. Commissioned services are intended to work closely with Alternative Provision (AP) and Pupil Referral Units (PRUs) to support young people at risk. The programme will be targeted at the London boroughs with the highest levels of gang-related activity as detailed in the Specification. There are no sub-lots within this lot. Young people who have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and are Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET) experience lower entry into education, employment or training (EET) outcomes than the general youth population and higher levels of unemployment and inactivity as adults. Young people with SEND are less likely to have formal qualifications and appropriate life skills. The focus of support through this contract will differ according to age: young people aged 16-17 will be supported to move into a sustained EET outcome which is compliant with the requirements of the UK policy on Raising the Participation Age (RPA); and for the older age group (aged 18-24) the aim is to tackle the issue of young people with SEND cycling in and out of training without gaining employment experience. There are three sub-lots focused on three key groups: (a) Young people with Learning Difficulties; (b) Young people with Physical Disabilities or Long-Term Health needs; and (c) Young people with Social, Emotional and Mental Health (SEMH) needs. One contract will be awarded for each sub-lot. The services commissioned via this lot are intended to reduce the number of young Londoners aged 16-24 who are Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET) and have other specific complex needs or characteristics and therefore are likely to suffer from reduced opportunities, low incomes and unemployment at a later stage of their lives. There is a need to provide targeted interventions for these young people in order to increase their chances of moving into sustained employment education or training (EET). It is anticipated that the contract will offer tailored programmes and take a multi-agency approach to address the complex barriers faced by these young people. There are four sub-lots in line with the four geographical Sub-Regional Partnerships of London boroughs: (a) Central London Forward; (b) Local London; (c) South London Partnership; and (d) West London Alliance. 1 contract will be awarded per sub-lot. There is a high level of need for careers support in London. Although the proportion of young people in London who are Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET) has fallen in recent years, nearly 1 in 10 (83 000) of 16-24-year olds in the city still fall into this category. It is anticipated that this contract for services will build upon the success of the 12 existing Careers Clusters in London (funded until March 2019), which are working to improve the provision of careers education, advice, information and guidance (CEAIG) in the capital. The clusters will offer more intensive support to schools with a higher need, supplementing the universal provision which will be available to schools through the London Enterprise Advisers Network and related provision. Ten contracts will be awarded.