Skip to content

Work

Introduction

This section of the toolkit sets out how we, in Gloucestershire, aim to work with businesses, residents, and partners to create meaningful employment and skills opportunities that generate lasting social value. 

Our approach is designed to ensure that local people benefit from employment, training, and development opportunities through procurement and project delivery. 

Gloucestershire has a diverse workforce and a growing economy, but challenges remain in addressing skills shortages, youth unemployment, and barriers to work for disadvantaged groups. 

Our key priorities include:

  • Increasing local employment opportunities and job retention.
  • Supporting disadvantaged groups, including long-term unemployed individuals and NEET young people, into work.
  • Enhancing skills and training provision to meet employer needs and future workforce demands.
  • Promoting apprenticeships and work placements for young people and adults.
  • Encouraging organisations to be more inclusive in their recruitment and employment practices in order to attract more employees and support individuals with additional barriers.

Links to local evidence of need and local strategies

Gloucestershire Skills Strategy 2022-2027

Access further information, including the evidence base for the strategy, here: Skills for Business in Gloucestershire | GFirst LEP

You can access a wide range of relevant data on Inform Gloucestershire to help you understand the local needs and priorities in the County and the guidance in the sections of the toolkit below explains more about what we are seeking from you and how we would like to work with you. 

Maps | Inform Gloucestershire 

How we would like you to work with us 

To maximise delivery of social value under this theme, we would like you to work strategically and operationally in collaboration with the teams and services listed below: 

  • Gloucestershire Employment & Skills Hub – The Hub acts as a front door for employer and jobseeker support so can help you reach those Gloucestershire residents most in need of the apprenticeships, job opportunities or work placements you are able to offer. 
  • Careers Hub – The Gloucestershire Careers Hub links business with education to provide first-class careers education support and information about opportunities to people throughout the county. The Hub provides strategic careers support for 61 schools, colleges and alternative provision settings in Gloucestershire and the team have strong relationships with the careers leads in these organisations. The Careers Hub is well placed to advise you on which schools most need your support and the sorts of careers activities and programmes that would be of most benefit to young people. 
  • Adult Education in Gloucestershire (Ad Ed) – Adult Education in Gloucestershire, a service within Gloucestershire County Council, provides learning for individuals, employers and communities, and works in partnership with external organisations and other services across the Council to meet their skills needs.

The specific Social Value TOMs we want your help in achieving and how we will help you with this

Outcome 1: Creating local employment opportunities
Ref Measure Unit
NT1

No. of full time equivalent direct local employees (FTE) hired or retained for the duration of the contract

 no. people FTE

Please work with our Employment and Skills Hub to achieve this outcome. The Hub provides a one stop shop for employers looking to recruit locally. If we can’t help, we will direct you to the most suitable alternative organisation to reach out to. The Hub team also have strong relationships with Department of Work & Pensions (DWP) and Jobcentre Plus so by working with the Hub it will save you time engaging with Jobcentre Plus.

Outcome 1: Creating local employment opportunities
Ref Measure Unit
NT1

No. of full time equivalent direct local employees (FTE) hired or retained for the duration of the contract

 no. people FTE

Please work with our Employment and Skills Hub to achieve this outcome. The Hub provides a one stop shop for employers looking to recruit locally. If we can’t help, we will direct you to the most suitable alternative organisation to reach out to. The Hub team also have strong relationships with Department of Work & Pensions (DWP) and Jobcentre Plus so by working with the Hub it will save you time engaging with Jobcentre Plus.

Outcome 2: Creating equal employment opportunities
Ref Measure Unit
NT3 Long-term unemployed people recruited no. people FTE
NT3a Long-term unemployed armed forces veterans recruited no. people FTE
NT4 Employees recruited who are Not in Education Employment or Training (16- 24 y.o.) no. people FTE
NT4a Unemployed 16-25 year old care leavers recruited no. people FTE
NT5 Unemployed ex-offenders aged 18 and over recruited no. people FTE
NT6 Unemployed individuals with disabilities recruited no. people FTE
NT128 Local people with disabilities employed or retained no. people FTE

Please work with our Employment and Skills Hub to achieve this outcome.

Gloucestershire Employment and Skills Hub acts as a source of support, information and guidance for any resident and employer within Gloucestershire. 

Who does the Hub support?

Within the Hub there are a range of specialist programmes that support people who have barriers to entering the labour market. That includes those with health conditions and disabilities, care leavers, young people who are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) or at risk of becoming NEET, refugees and asylum seekers, carers, and veterans. The Hub also supports young people who are still in education.  

How does the Hub work with employers? 

The Employment and Skills Hub supports employers around recruitment practices and supporting people who are in work. Uniquely, the Hub offers a fully supportive package, tailor-made to both the employer and the customer seeking employment. This includes ongoing support once a job offer has been made and advice on recruitment and retention processes. 

Why would we like you to hire employees through the Hub? 

Many customers of the Hub have already gone through a programme of employability training and capacity building. They come fully assessed and ready for a role. As a result of the range of customers we support, we can help you achieve employment outcomes by connecting your organisation with the relevant target audiences e.g. long-term unemployed, NEET, etc. The Hub actively seeks to work in collaboration with other local organisations and can pull in relevant partner organisations including Job Centre Plus.  

Specific programmes being delivered by the Hub

Work placements

Employer Routeway – this is a brief programme of employability training with employer input and a guaranteed interview for an available vacancy, tailored to the employer’s needs. Employers can be actively involved in designing the course with our Adult Education and/or Hub teams. 

Employ Me – this programme looks at what skills an individual can bring to an organisation and how they can develop life skills into transferrable skills and helps them to articulate their abilities. 

Young people’s offer 

Supported Internships 

A supported internship is based on 3 days in a work placement per week over the academic year. This is an unpaid internship and allows the student to gain skills they need to move into paid employment. The placement will be with an employer that would possibly have an opportunity for the young person at the end of the course (June). 

Life Skills Forum 

The Life Skills Forum is currently being run monthly in different locations around the county. The course runs for four days and supports young people to work on a task, helping them develop independent life skills and understand what they need to be able to move into employment. This is a relatively new initiative and we are currently reaching out to employers that could offer a space, group opportunity or can help out with mock interviews. 

Step Forwards 

Employment specialists work with young people who are care leavers or care experienced, exploring options of paid employment. 

Works for Me 

Employment specialist working 1:1 with young people who are NEET, encouraging reengagement into education, employment or training pathways. We also work with employers to help them understand how to support young people into work and some of the barriers that they may be facing, including a lack of qualifications. We encourage employers to make reasonable adjustments to help young people who are starting out and learning workplace expectations. 

How to get in touch

For any enquiries on supported internships, or the Life Skills Forum, Step Forwards or Works For Me programmes, please contact forwardseducation@gloucestershire.gov.uk . 

For any other enquiries, please contact employers@gloucestershire.gov.uk 

You can also find more information on the below websites:   

Outcome 2: Creating equal employment opportunities
Ref Measure Unit
NT3 Long-term unemployed people recruited no. people FTE
NT3a Long-term unemployed armed forces veterans recruited no. people FTE
NT4 Employees recruited who are Not in Education Employment or Training (16- 24 y.o.) no. people FTE
NT4a Unemployed 16-25 year old care leavers recruited no. people FTE
NT5 Unemployed ex-offenders aged 18 and over recruited no. people FTE
NT6 Unemployed individuals with disabilities recruited no. people FTE
NT128 Local people with disabilities employed or retained no. people FTE

Please work with our Employment and Skills Hub to achieve this outcome.

Gloucestershire Employment and Skills Hub acts as a source of support, information and guidance for any resident and employer within Gloucestershire. 

Who does the Hub support?

Within the Hub there are a range of specialist programmes that support people who have barriers to entering the labour market. That includes those with health conditions and disabilities, care leavers, young people who are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) or at risk of becoming NEET, refugees and asylum seekers, carers, and veterans. The Hub also supports young people who are still in education.  

How does the Hub work with employers? 

The Employment and Skills Hub supports employers around recruitment practices and supporting people who are in work. Uniquely, the Hub offers a fully supportive package, tailor-made to both the employer and the customer seeking employment. This includes ongoing support once a job offer has been made and advice on recruitment and retention processes. 

Why would we like you to hire employees through the Hub? 

Many customers of the Hub have already gone through a programme of employability training and capacity building. They come fully assessed and ready for a role. As a result of the range of customers we support, we can help you achieve employment outcomes by connecting your organisation with the relevant target audiences e.g. long-term unemployed, NEET, etc. The Hub actively seeks to work in collaboration with other local organisations and can pull in relevant partner organisations including Job Centre Plus.  

Specific programmes being delivered by the Hub

Work placements

Employer Routeway – this is a brief programme of employability training with employer input and a guaranteed interview for an available vacancy, tailored to the employer’s needs. Employers can be actively involved in designing the course with our Adult Education and/or Hub teams. 

Employ Me – this programme looks at what skills an individual can bring to an organisation and how they can develop life skills into transferrable skills and helps them to articulate their abilities. 

Young people’s offer 

Supported Internships 

A supported internship is based on 3 days in a work placement per week over the academic year. This is an unpaid internship and allows the student to gain skills they need to move into paid employment. The placement will be with an employer that would possibly have an opportunity for the young person at the end of the course (June). 

Life Skills Forum 

The Life Skills Forum is currently being run monthly in different locations around the county. The course runs for four days and supports young people to work on a task, helping them develop independent life skills and understand what they need to be able to move into employment. This is a relatively new initiative and we are currently reaching out to employers that could offer a space, group opportunity or can help out with mock interviews. 

Step Forwards 

Employment specialists work with young people who are care leavers or care experienced, exploring options of paid employment. 

Works for Me 

Employment specialist working 1:1 with young people who are NEET, encouraging reengagement into education, employment or training pathways. We also work with employers to help them understand how to support young people into work and some of the barriers that they may be facing, including a lack of qualifications. We encourage employers to make reasonable adjustments to help young people who are starting out and learning workplace expectations. 

How to get in touch

For any enquiries on supported internships, or the Life Skills Forum, Step Forwards or Works For Me programmes, please contact forwardseducation@gloucestershire.gov.uk . 

For any other enquiries, please contact employers@gloucestershire.gov.uk 

You can also find more information on the below websites:   

Outcome 3: Developing skills and experience for future work
Ref Measure Unit
NT8 Support for students at local educational institutions no. staff volunteering hours
NT99 Support for enabling visits of school children or local residents no. staff volunteering hours
NT100 Employment taster days (project related, sector or industry)

£ invested inc. time, materials, equipment etc

Please work with our Careers Hub to achieve this outcome.

The Gloucestershire Careers Hub provides free support to all state-funded secondary schools, further education colleges, alternative provision settings and special schools in Gloucestershire. Collaborating with employers, independent training providers, and the voluntary sector, the Careers Hub brokers sustainable partnerships between the education sector and the world of industry to inform and help develop schools’ and colleges’ strategic careers planning.

The Career Hub’s mission is to ensure all students have access to high quality careers advice and guidance to inform their decisions about next steps leading to positive destinations.

Employers are key to shaping the future workforce: when young people connect with a range of employers in meaningful ways, they acquire essential skills, expand their networks, and gain insights into the evolving job market. The Careers Hub team are therefore very keen to work with you to help you connect with the careers leads in the schools that could most benefit from your support. Please do not contact individual schools directly.

The benefits to your organisation of engaging with our Careers Hub

Effective education outreach helps to close skills gaps and diversify talent pipelines - both of which are essential in addressing skills shortages and opportunities, especially in growth sectors. We can see that employers that invest over the long-term in well-structured, high-quality outreach gain a significant advantage by supporting the development of a skilled and diverse workforce and saving on recruitment costs.

As a business delivering a contract in Gloucestershire, you can play a role in informing young people about their career choices. This commitment can be from as little as 30 minutes to deliver a talk to students, to a few days every month or year to provide more strategic support. The students tend to be between the ages of 11 and 18.

There are lots of ways you can contribute to inspire students in the county including: 

Undertake the employer standards self-assessment 

We provide a free framework with an easy-to-use online tool that allows employers to identify, compare and improve engagement and performance against the 9 Employer Standards for careers education.

Become an Enterprise Adviser

We have a committed team of Enterprise Advisers (EAs), who come from a wide range of industries and backgrounds. Each Enterprise Adviser works strategically with a different school or college, supporting them to deliver high-quality careers education and connect students with workplace experiences. We would welcome members of staff from your organisation becoming Enterprise Advisers, especially if they live/work in Gloucestershire and are able to commit to building a relationship with a school over a year or more.

Find out more about becoming an Enterprise Adviser here 

Become a Cornerstone Employer

A Cornerstone Employer is a business of any size that provides high quality careers outreach and opportunities for young people aligned to the local economy.

Cornerstone Employer Groups work together within a geographical area to target disadvantage, promote pathways, upskill and inform educators, parents and carers and drive better outcomes for young people. Find out more about becoming a Cornerstone Employer Here.

At Gloucestershire Careers Hub our dedicated team are available to help your business connect with the local education landscape. 

Contact us: 

Careershub@Gloucestershire.gov.uk 

Websites:

Outcome 3: Developing skills and experience for future work
Ref Measure Unit
NT8 Support for students at local educational institutions no. staff volunteering hours
NT99 Support for enabling visits of school children or local residents no. staff volunteering hours
NT100 Employment taster days (project related, sector or industry)

£ invested inc. time, materials, equipment etc

Please work with our Careers Hub to achieve this outcome.

The Gloucestershire Careers Hub provides free support to all state-funded secondary schools, further education colleges, alternative provision settings and special schools in Gloucestershire. Collaborating with employers, independent training providers, and the voluntary sector, the Careers Hub brokers sustainable partnerships between the education sector and the world of industry to inform and help develop schools’ and colleges’ strategic careers planning.

The Career Hub’s mission is to ensure all students have access to high quality careers advice and guidance to inform their decisions about next steps leading to positive destinations.

Employers are key to shaping the future workforce: when young people connect with a range of employers in meaningful ways, they acquire essential skills, expand their networks, and gain insights into the evolving job market. The Careers Hub team are therefore very keen to work with you to help you connect with the careers leads in the schools that could most benefit from your support. Please do not contact individual schools directly.

The benefits to your organisation of engaging with our Careers Hub

Effective education outreach helps to close skills gaps and diversify talent pipelines - both of which are essential in addressing skills shortages and opportunities, especially in growth sectors. We can see that employers that invest over the long-term in well-structured, high-quality outreach gain a significant advantage by supporting the development of a skilled and diverse workforce and saving on recruitment costs.

As a business delivering a contract in Gloucestershire, you can play a role in informing young people about their career choices. This commitment can be from as little as 30 minutes to deliver a talk to students, to a few days every month or year to provide more strategic support. The students tend to be between the ages of 11 and 18.

There are lots of ways you can contribute to inspire students in the county including: 

Undertake the employer standards self-assessment 

We provide a free framework with an easy-to-use online tool that allows employers to identify, compare and improve engagement and performance against the 9 Employer Standards for careers education.

Become an Enterprise Adviser

We have a committed team of Enterprise Advisers (EAs), who come from a wide range of industries and backgrounds. Each Enterprise Adviser works strategically with a different school or college, supporting them to deliver high-quality careers education and connect students with workplace experiences. We would welcome members of staff from your organisation becoming Enterprise Advisers, especially if they live/work in Gloucestershire and are able to commit to building a relationship with a school over a year or more.

Find out more about becoming an Enterprise Adviser here 

Become a Cornerstone Employer

A Cornerstone Employer is a business of any size that provides high quality careers outreach and opportunities for young people aligned to the local economy.

Cornerstone Employer Groups work together within a geographical area to target disadvantage, promote pathways, upskill and inform educators, parents and carers and drive better outcomes for young people. Find out more about becoming a Cornerstone Employer Here.

At Gloucestershire Careers Hub our dedicated team are available to help your business connect with the local education landscape. 

Contact us: 

Careershub@Gloucestershire.gov.uk 

Websites:

Outcome 4: Providing skills and experience for good work
Ref Measure Unit
NT9 Accredited training for new employees no. weeks
NT10 Employment of new apprentices no. weeks
NT9a Accredited training for new employees from designated groups no. weeks
NT10a Employment of new apprentices from designated groups no. weeks

All social value initiatives delivered for the Council must be within Gloucestershire, therefore our focus is on newly recruited apprenticeships, and apprenticeships or training opportunities that are provided in the county, as opposed to via a head office elsewhere in the country.

We particularly encourage you to focus on offering apprenticeships for NEET and care-experienced young people in Gloucestershire. To reach these young people, please work with our Employment & Skills Hub team.

If you do not have capacity to deliver accredited training to new employees (NT9 and NT9a), our Adult Education Service can deliver this, at cost, on your behalf.

Outcome 4: Providing skills and experience for good work
Ref Measure Unit
NT9 Accredited training for new employees no. weeks
NT10 Employment of new apprentices no. weeks
NT9a Accredited training for new employees from designated groups no. weeks
NT10a Employment of new apprentices from designated groups no. weeks

All social value initiatives delivered for the Council must be within Gloucestershire, therefore our focus is on newly recruited apprenticeships, and apprenticeships or training opportunities that are provided in the county, as opposed to via a head office elsewhere in the country.

We particularly encourage you to focus on offering apprenticeships for NEET and care-experienced young people in Gloucestershire. To reach these young people, please work with our Employment & Skills Hub team.

If you do not have capacity to deliver accredited training to new employees (NT9 and NT9a), our Adult Education Service can deliver this, at cost, on your behalf.

Outcome 5: Providing good work opportunities
Ref Measure Unit
NT12 >Meaningful unpaid work placements while Not in Employment Education or Training no. weeks
NT13 Meaningful paid work placements no. weeks

What kind of work experience are we looking for?

Meaningful modern work experience looks to guarantee every young person or adult access to high-quality, multiple workplace experiences, throughout their secondary education and beyond. Experiences can be remote or in person and can consist of anything from a couple of hours, to a week-long programme of activity.

This approach looks for a variety of experiences starting early, connecting education and young people with industry and unlocking the skills and opportunities of the future workforce. We are looking for workplace experiences that are flexible, and tailored to the needs of individual students, with key learning outcomes such as developing speaking, listening, or problem-solving skills.  You can find out more about the national vision for modern work experience here: https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/modern-work-experience/  Specific programmes we want you to work with us on:

100 Futures

The 100 Futures initiative aims to support 100 young people (16+) by securing them 6-week work placements to boost their employability skills. The placement will be 16 hours per week for 6 weeks. The work placement forms part of a wider programme of support from Job Centre Plus and the Employment and Skills Hub.

100 Futures is currently scheduled to run until January 2026. 

Be part of 100 Futures by helping us provide young people with valuable work experience. If you would like more information please email: employers@gloucestershire.gov.uk or visit 100 Futures | Forwards.

Work placements for Adult Education learners who need to build their experience of the workplace

At any one time, our Adult Education team is working with groups of learners who would benefit from greater experience of the workplace and different job roles. If you can offer such placements, we can help match these learners wo what you can offer. This in turn, will save you time and resource in identifying, contacting and following-up with these individuals.

Employer benefits:

  • Gives existing staff the opportunity to gain management and mentoring skills
  • Access a talent pool of young people who can help grow the business and fill skill gaps
  • Contribute to the company’s social responsibility and diversity and inclusion activity
  • Work with care experienced young people who are building independence, resilience and adaptability
Outcome 5: Providing good work opportunities
Ref Measure Unit
NT12 >Meaningful unpaid work placements while Not in Employment Education or Training no. weeks
NT13 Meaningful paid work placements no. weeks

What kind of work experience are we looking for?

Meaningful modern work experience looks to guarantee every young person or adult access to high-quality, multiple workplace experiences, throughout their secondary education and beyond. Experiences can be remote or in person and can consist of anything from a couple of hours, to a week-long programme of activity.

This approach looks for a variety of experiences starting early, connecting education and young people with industry and unlocking the skills and opportunities of the future workforce. We are looking for workplace experiences that are flexible, and tailored to the needs of individual students, with key learning outcomes such as developing speaking, listening, or problem-solving skills.  You can find out more about the national vision for modern work experience here: https://www.careersandenterprise.co.uk/modern-work-experience/  Specific programmes we want you to work with us on:

100 Futures

The 100 Futures initiative aims to support 100 young people (16+) by securing them 6-week work placements to boost their employability skills. The placement will be 16 hours per week for 6 weeks. The work placement forms part of a wider programme of support from Job Centre Plus and the Employment and Skills Hub.

100 Futures is currently scheduled to run until January 2026. 

Be part of 100 Futures by helping us provide young people with valuable work experience. If you would like more information please email: employers@gloucestershire.gov.uk or visit 100 Futures | Forwards.

Work placements for Adult Education learners who need to build their experience of the workplace

At any one time, our Adult Education team is working with groups of learners who would benefit from greater experience of the workplace and different job roles. If you can offer such placements, we can help match these learners wo what you can offer. This in turn, will save you time and resource in identifying, contacting and following-up with these individuals.

Employer benefits:

  • Gives existing staff the opportunity to gain management and mentoring skills
  • Access a talent pool of young people who can help grow the business and fill skill gaps
  • Contribute to the company’s social responsibility and diversity and inclusion activity
  • Work with care experienced young people who are building independence, resilience and adaptability
Outcome 6: Developing life and business skills
Ref Measure Unit
NT97 Digital literacy support for designated groups no. staff volunteering hours

Read about the importance of digital inclusion to GCC, and local initiatives aiming to bridge the digital divide, here: Digital inclusion | Gloucestershire County Council

You can also support digital literacy in Gloucestershire by donating used IT equipment to ITSA Digital Trust (record equivalent value of donations under NT16). Read more about ITSA under the Growth theme of this Toolkit.

Outcome 6: Developing life and business skills
Ref Measure Unit
NT97 Digital literacy support for designated groups no. staff volunteering hours

Read about the importance of digital inclusion to GCC, and local initiatives aiming to bridge the digital divide, here: Digital inclusion | Gloucestershire County Council

You can also support digital literacy in Gloucestershire by donating used IT equipment to ITSA Digital Trust (record equivalent value of donations under NT16). Read more about ITSA under the Growth theme of this Toolkit.

Outcome 7: Pioneering approaches to increasing local skills and employment
Ref Measure Unit
NT50 Initiatives to promote local skills and employment

£ invested inc. time, materials, equipment etc

This Measure covers support for a range of initiatives to increase skills and employment opportunities for local people and create sustainable employment opportunities in response to need, co-designed and co-produced with the community, through pioneering programmes that are scalable

Recorded hours of staff time can only include time spent preparing and conducting the activities.

Innovative approaches and interventions not covered by other measures can be recorded here.

If your organisation does not have the experience or capacity to deliver this measure and you would prefer to explore ways in which you could achieve this measure by working with our Adult Education Service, then please contact our Adult Education team.

Outcome 7: Pioneering approaches to increasing local skills and employment
Ref Measure Unit
NT50 Initiatives to promote local skills and employment

£ invested inc. time, materials, equipment etc

This Measure covers support for a range of initiatives to increase skills and employment opportunities for local people and create sustainable employment opportunities in response to need, co-designed and co-produced with the community, through pioneering programmes that are scalable

Recorded hours of staff time can only include time spent preparing and conducting the activities.

Innovative approaches and interventions not covered by other measures can be recorded here.

If your organisation does not have the experience or capacity to deliver this measure and you would prefer to explore ways in which you could achieve this measure by working with our Adult Education Service, then please contact our Adult Education team.