Inclusive growth lies at the heart of Ayrshire Growth Deal, by tackling inequality through growing local talent, creating new connections with the world and providing new opportunities and routes into employment for people across the region.
A new Regional Skills and Inclusion Programme will ensure that businesses and communities across Ayrshire are given the opportunity to engage with and benefit from the opportunities arising from the investments delivered through this Deal.
The programme is made up of two projects namely, an Ayrshire Skills Fund and the Working for a Healthy Economy project.
The Scottish Government are providing funding of £8.5 million for this programme.
Working for a Healthy Economy
The importance of public health and the need for a healthy and productive workforce has never been clearer. Ayrshire needs to reduce the number of residents who cannot contribute to the economy fully and maximise their own potential, through health barriers.
The links between health and economy are well evidenced. Health was assessed as the most significant barrier to Inclusive Growth in Ayrshire in the Inclusive Growth Diagnostic.
The Working for a Healthy Economy project will target large scale investment in occupational health services to ensure that Ayrshire has the requisite workforce to drive economic growth in the future.
The project will offer a criteria free, single access point to work focused health support across Ayrshire for both residents and employers. This project will serve to widen the labour pool and provide the basis for the maximisation of benefits arising from Ayrshire Growth Deal capital investments.
Key to this will be an all-Ayrshire delivery model which offers community engagement, pre-employability support, recruitment, in-work interventions and employability services, with links to employers to tailor investments to demand, and priority given to those struggling to maintain secure and meaningful work.
Ayrshire Skills Fund
The establishment of a responsive skills fund to drive Inclusive Growth to support skills interventions and associated management costs.
The fund will have core themes including: digital skills; in-work progression; route ways into Fair Work for excluded groups; skills support for inward investors; skills support for redundant workers; skills support aligned to AGD projects to ensure residents benefit; responses to demand identified in Regional Skills Assessment; and capacity building to ensure innovation in skills sector.
The priority given to each theme will change in line with the regional economy and demands that become evident. The fund Board will assess these aims on an annual basis, and prioritise them based on the available intelligence.
Fair Work and Skills films
Working alongside nine-year-old Charlie, the Fair Work Ayrshire Team visited employers across the region to find out more about the importance of fair work and skills investment in the workplace. In order to provide a youth perspective on how the investment and legacy of the Ayrshire Growth Deal will impact future generations the employers, many of whom have benefitted from funding from the Ayrshire Skills Investment Fund, were interviewed by Charlie on the themes of living wage, effective staff voice, skills development and women in engineering. The video series also captures how local employers and employees feel about the Ayrshire Growth Deal and what it’s like to work in Ayrshire during a period of investment and growth in the region.
What is Fair Work?
Fair work is work that offers all individuals an effective voice, opportunity, security, fulfilment and respect. It balances the rights and responsibilities of employers and workers.
What is Living Wage?
The real Living Wage is an independently calculated rate based on the cost of living and is paid voluntarily by employers. The rate is currently £12.60 and is calculated annually by The Resolution Foundation on an analysis of the wage that employees need to earn in order to afford the basket of goods required for a decent standard of living. This basket of goods includes housing, childcare, transport and heating costs.
What is Effective Voice?
Effective voice requires workers, their representatives and employers to work in partnership to make sure the right decisions are made to ensure workers are treated fairly and equitably.
What is Ayrshire Skills Investment Fund?
The £3.5million Ayrshire Skills Investment Fund (ASIF) is available to employers across Ayrshire who pay the real living wage.
The Skills Investment Fund offers a chance to apply for funding – a maximum of £1,800 per person this financial year – to help address skill gaps in the workforce.
The Fund is an Ayrshire Growth Deal project and has been established to target priority groups – young people, females, people with long term health conditions and people in low paid employment – to help them gain new skills and qualifications in existing and emerging growth sectors. The sectors targeted in the fund are engineering, digital, visitor economy and clean growth.
How can I get more information on Fair Work and Ayrshire Skills Investment Fund?
Please contact a member of the team at Fair Work & Skills Ayrshire on fairworkayrshire@north-ayrshire.gov.uk
Steven
Client Perspective
In this video, Steven describes the support he received via the Ayrshire Growth Deal Working for a Healthy Economy Service.
Employer
Care Home
Working for a Healthy Economy is an Ayrshire Growth Deal Initiative, delivering Case Management support for the working population of Ayrshire
with their health and wellbeing barriers with a view to them being able to attend work or return from absence. This video describes the benefits of our support from an employers perspective.
Alice
Client Perspective
In this video, Alice describes the support she received via the Ayrshire Growth Deal Working for a Healthy Economy Service
Combined Overview
Clients, referrers and business
Working for a Healthy Economy is an Ayrshire Growth Deal Initiative, delivering Case Management support for the working population of Ayrshire
with their health and wellbeing barriers with a view to them being able to attend work or return from absence. This video provides a brief overview of
the support available and the impact for our clients, referrers and the businesses we support.
Stuart
Working for a Healthy Economy Overview
Working for a Healthy Economy support is provided by Salus Return to Work Services and supports individuals living or working in Ayrshire to overcome
health and wellbeing barriers to gain or remain in work. This service is funded via the Ayrshire Growth Deal at no cost to Ayrshire citizens or business. This video provides a service overview.
Open Doors
Referrer perspective
We work in partnership with employment support providers across Ayrshire to support clients who are looking to improve with their health and
wellbeing to enable them to make progress to work. In this video, Open Doors, one of our partners describes the benefits of our support.
CEIS
Referrer perspective
We work in partnership with employment support providers across Ayrshire to support clients who are looking to improve with their health and wellbeing to enable them to make progress to work. In this video, CEIS, one of our partners describes the benefits of our support.