Updated 7 December 2012
Day One Support for Young People Trailblazer
Latest information
Update 7 December 2012
The procurement exercise has now ended. In line with Cabinet Office Guidance contracts information is now available on the Contracts Finder website and includes:
- specification
- draft terms and conditions
- invitation to tender and bidder guidance
- full details of the actual procurement timescales
- final terms and conditions and associated schedules
- winning tenderers’ bid
Update 11 October 2012
The DWP has completed the evaluation of bids submitted for Day One Support for Young People Trailblazer. Subject to contract award, successful bidders in each lot are:
- CPA 01: North London: Maximus Employment and Training Ltd
- CPA 02: South London: Careers Development Group (CDG)
The Specification, Invitation letter and Instructions to Bidders remain available for information through Contracts Finder. The contract documents will be published within recommended timescales.
Background
Young people on Jobseeker’s Allowance are eligible for the Work Programme from 9 months, or from 3 months if they face specific disadvantages in the labour market. The Work Programme provides personalised support to these young people, and helps them overcome barriers they have to finding employment.
However, we recognise that one of the key barriers many young people face is a lack of work history. If a young person has never worked, or has very little work history, it can be harder for them to move into employment, especially in a labour market where there are considerable numbers of jobseekers with more experience. If this is the key barrier that is preventing young people from moving into work, then there is a strong argument for addressing their lack of work history at the start of their claim.
In order to understand how we can best support young people with a poor work history we will trailblaze Day One Support for Young People from Autumn 2012. Day One Support for Young People Trailblazer will be time limited, and we would expect it to run around 11 months with 8 months referral. It will run in North and South London Districts.
Day One Support for Young People Trailblazer will be funded using DWP’s European Social Fund (ESF) Co-financing arrangements. These funds have been made available by the Greater London Authority (GLA), who returned a proportion of their ESF funding for reallocation to DWP.
A claimant’s work history is the criteria for whether or not they should be referred to the Day One Support for Young People trailblazer. 18-24 year old claimants who have less than 6 months work history since leaving full-time education will be referred to the programme.
From the start of their claim members of the target group will be required to undertake a 13 week work placement which has to be of benefit to the community with a private or community-sector organisation - alongside provider-led jobsearch.
This will equip jobseekers with a valuable period of experience in a work-based environment, enabling them to develop the disciplines and skills associated with employment, capitalise on experience gained and maintain an employment focus through additional provider-led jobsearch.
The Invitation to Tender for Day One Support for Young People Trailblazer was made available on the 9th August directly to eligible organisations on the Framework for the Provision of Employment Related Support Services (ERSS). This tender is limited to organisations on the ERSS Framework for Lot 3 (London) only.
Tender timetable
| DWP to invite selected suppliers to tender | 09/08/2012 |
|---|---|
| Final date for receipt of Tenders by DWP | 10:00am 17/09/2012 |
| Award of contract | October 2012 |
| Contract go live | November 2012 |
Additional information
Day One Support for Young People Trailblazer is one of a number of contracts to be called off the ERSS Framework. Other contracts that have been called off this framework include Work Programme, Mandatory Work Activity and European Social Fund 2011-13 (England) Support for Families with Multiple Problems.
The Employment Related Support Services (ERSS) Framework was established early in 2011 via open competition and as such under the EU regulations we are not able to accept new organisations onto the Framework.
For organisations seeking to provide services specifically regarding ESF it may be helpful to look at the list of framework organisations and make direct approaches to them to be considered for any supply chain opportunities they may have.
Additionally the Merlin Standard Website also provides information about current prime contractors to the Department for Work and Pensions, and includes a facility through which providers can exchange information with other providers, whether you are a prime contractor seeking subcontractors, or a potential subcontractor seeking to engage prime contractors.
Any supplier who has an interest in working with DWP should be aware of the DWP Commissioning approach and adhere to the DWP Code of Conduct. Additional information regarding the Code of Conduct and the Merlin Standard, which has been designed to recognise and promote sustainable excellence within supply chains and provide guidance to those seeking to achieve it, can be found on the DWP website.
