The Partners

Skills Development Scotland

Skills Development Scotland brings together – and replaces – Careers Scotland, the Scottish University for Industry (SUfI) and the skills and training functions of Highlands and Islands and Scottish Enterprise.

The role of Skills Development Scotland is to:

• promote the availability of access to and create demand for, relevant, high quality and innovative learning and skills development for the Scottish population
• advance education and skills development and the promotion of lifelong learning and skills development amongst individuals and businesses
• provide information, advice and guidance, including guidance relating to career and learning choices, to people of all ages
• provide support and funding to individuals for learning and skills development
• advance and provide training programmes to build employability skills and to provide information and support to employers to develop the skills of employees
• promote and facilitate local lifelong learning opportunities and the local development of skills
• foster collaborative partnerships in lifelong learning and skills development
• promote and deliver equality of access and opportunity in service delivery and the wider lifelong learning landscape.

Job Centre Scotland

Jobcentre Plus is a government agency supporting people of working age from welfare into work, and helping employers to fill their vacancies.  They are part of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and play a major role in supporting the Department’s aim to ‘promote opportunity and independence for all through modern, customer-focused services’.

Their key objectives are to:

• Increase the effective supply of labour by promoting work as the best form of welfare and helping unemployed and economically inactive people move into employment
• Work towards parity of outcomes for ethnic minority customers
• Pay customers the correct benefit at the right time and protect the benefit system from fraud, error and abuse
• Provide high-quality and demand-led services to employers, which help fill job vacancies quickly and effectively with well-prepared and motivated employees
• Help people facing the greatest barriers to employment to compete effectively in the labour market and move into and remain in work
• Improve continuously the quality, accessibility and delivery of services to all customers
• Ensure that people receiving working age benefits fulfil their responsibilities while providing appropriate help and support for those without work
• Increase Jobcentre Plus’ overall productivity, efficiency and effectiveness

Highland Employer Coalition

Led by local employers and responsive to the needs of the local labour market, the Coalition develops initiatives to provide employers with improved access to labour sources and in turn help increase the opportunities for disadvantaged and unemployed people to gain employment. The Coalition aims to increase employer involvement in New Deal and other Welfare to Work initiatives in order to help employers fill their vacancies.

The Coalition membership reflects a balance of people from strategic and operational positions representing both large employers and smaller family businesses. Coalition members bring a broad range of skills and experience as well as a genuine interest in offering support to those who need assistance to join the workforce.