Equal - Digital Repository

Background 

The South East has the lowest International Labour Organisation (ILO) unemployment rate in the UK, yet the region also has the second highest number of people registered as unemployed, second only to London. As the ILO rate considers only those who are 'economically active' (looking for work and available for work) this indicates that a significant number of people in the region are unemployed and do not consider themselves able to work. Breakdown of the statistics shows a high proportion of exclusionary factors among the region's unemployed: disability claimants, long-term unemployed both in the 16-24 age group and those over 50, carers, those in areas of multiple deprivation, and certain ethnic groups. Purely private or public sectors solutions have been insufficient in dealing with the combined issues affecting employment for these groups.

Cultural Shift South East was instigated by the South East England Development Agency (SEEDA) to address these barriers, employing a new enterprise and employment framework for excluded groups. A core element of the partnership is the multi-stakeholder participation in service design and delivery, supporting action-based learning and mentoring towards developing entrepreneurial solutions for inclusive employment.

Aims

• Develop and employ inclusive employment models delivered through independent social enterprises
• Create new protocols for entrepreneurial partnerships between mainstream public sector providers and social enterprises in the South East.

Objectives

• Testing innovative models of inclusive employment support through the design and delivery stages of five demonstration projects operating in the region
• Creating a model for participative, multi-stakeholder social enterprise based, service design and delivery
• Working closely with local and regional service providers and policy makers in five opportunity sectors to raise their awareness of the possibilities for service improvement through partnership, developing policy relating to social enterprise and seeking demonstration projects
• Developing five sustainable social enterprises in partnership with mainstream service providers through which at least 24 inclusive employment opportunities will be offered
• Delivering new regulatory and cultural protocols to support the development of social enterprise models.

Target groups

• Ex-offenders
• Disability claimants
• Long-term unemployed both in the 16-24 age group and those over 50
• Carers
• Those living in areas of multiple deprivation
• Certain ethnic groups