London, United Kingdom—
The West London Alliance, United Kingdom has developed the Skills Escalator – a personalised service to support people on low-paid jobs to move into better and more stable employment.
The service has proved effective in supporting the transition of people into new jobs resulting in increased earnings, improved self-esteem, self-confidence and improved job performance.
The key objective of the Skills Escalator programme is to provide upskilling and reskilling opportunities for people working in low-paid jobs in the boroughs of West London through targeted adult learning programmes and career guidance free of charge for participants. By overcoming barriers to progression and increasing earnings, the objective was also to reduce or end residents’ dependency on in-work benefits, releasing savings to the public purse.
The Skills Escalator programme was first piloted in the London boroughs of Harrow and Hounslow from November 2014 to date, with funding from the Transformation Challenge Award. Subsequently, two additional years of funding were secured from the European Social Fund (ESF) to continue delivery in Harrow and Hounslow from 2017, and to extend delivery into the London boroughs of Ealing and Barnet.
The programme targets workers aged 25 years or above who are residents in the boroughs, receive housing benefits and live in council, privately rented or temporary accommodation. The programme adopts an integrated approach and provides the following type of support: i) one-to-one meetings with a career advisor to assess peoples’ situation and develop an action plan, ii) financial support to participate in existing skills development opportunities; iii) wrap-around support from other existing services and iv) support to engage with local employers. The programme also included direct marketing of the programme/outreach to eligible individuals using Housing Benefit data.
The Skills Escalator is part of the West London Alliance Skills programme that supports the broader West London Alliance Vision for Growth by focusing specifically on boosting productivity, delivering the skills the economy needs to grow and supporting people of all backgrounds into work. Among the other initiatives in the skills programme are the Working People, Working Places models (which seeks to tackle persistent worklessness in specific localities), the supported internships model (for young people with special education needs and disabilities) and the Opportunities for Young People programme (supporting those who are at risk of becoming NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training).
In 2017, an evaluation showed that over an 18-month period, the programme supported 361 people, with over one third taking up training. This resulted in increased earnings, improved self-esteem, self-confidence, and job performance. One in five participants increased their earnings, by securing a new job or a promotion. A cost-benefit analysis of the programme suggested that when taking into account the full range of public benefits, including the economic benefits of earning increases and the benefits of well-being improvements, the public return on investment was GBP 3.41 for every GBP spent on the programme. Thanks to its success the programme has been adopted in other London boroughs.
The value of this programme is to effectively respond to the ambitions of people in low-paid jobs who want to upskill but cannot afford the costs of training courses. Results are promising thanks to its individualised support and focus on clients’ needs. In addition to improving people’s earnings and well-being, it also reduces public expenditures on housing benefits.
OECD (2022), "Future-proofing adult learning systems in cities and regions: A policy manual for local governments", OECD Local Economic and Employment Development (LEED) Papers, No. 2022/03, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/11fa26cc-en.
