Page 156 - Socially-responsible-restructuring-Effective-strategies-for-supporting-redundant-workers

Socially responsible restructuring
Effective strategies for supporting redundant workers

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The Better West Midlands project ( ) goes further and offers a more holistic
support to those facing redundancy. The project was set up in 2006 with funding
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through the regional offices of the Learning and Skills Council ( ) and the
regional Government Office, using ESF. It was initially focused on the rapidly
declining ceramics industry in Staffordshire but, since the model was successful,
it was later extended to other sectors with an improved budget. The rules
governing the use of mainstream funding for training and retraining, mostly
channelled through the Learning and Skills Council, were significantly relaxed so
that training did not have to lead to a recognised qualification. This meant that
much of the delivery could be geared to the needs of the employers, employees
and the jobs available, though accredited training was also supported.
A key feature of the project is the emphasis on partnership in offering support
to those facing redundancy, involving employers, worker representatives and key
agencies, such as Jobcentre Plus and Nextstep. The pivotal role of the trade
unions is both innovative and crucial. The Better West Midlands project offers a
wide range of possible interventions, the mix of which is determined by the local
needs, but includes:
(a) initial assessment and skills for life screening;
(b) one-to-one confidential advice given by qualified career advice and guidance
staff, and the development of a career action plan, before considering how
learning can support individual short and longer term aims;
(c) opportunities to retrain or reskill;
(d) access to advice on benefit, allowances, debt counselling, self employment
opportunities, etc.;
(e) continuing support, mentoring and tracking;
(f) job search and support to employment.
Since not all of those facing redundancy will require all of these elements, the
customisation of provision to individual needs is an important feature of the
service. A key success factor is the establishment of an individual action plan
with documented activities and timeframe. This is backed up by personal support
throughout the period prior to getting back into work and for 13 weeks afterwards.
The Better West Midlands project does not only offer initial advice and
guidance, but it also funds retraining activities that many enterprises could not
fund, particularly in the throes of a recession. This is an important advantage

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( ) The project grew from the special task force set up in 2004 to deal with the mass redundancies
at the Rover car plant in Birmingham. This involved the redundancy of 5 000 directly employed
staff on one site plus indirect job losses in the many supplier companies. Substantial resources
were allocated to provide IAG, job search and training support, some of it from the ESF.
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( ) Different funding arrangements and agencies to administer them are found in Northern Ireland,
Scotland and Wales.

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