1. Joint Introduction
In September 2024, Scottish Government and COSLA set out our strategic priorities, and the actions we will take to deliver on them in our Employability Strategic Plan 2024-27. This first annual report demonstrates how we are working in partnership, harnessing the expertise of organisations taking a cross-sectoral, collaborative approach to delivering improvements to Scotland’s employability services.
We would like to thank our partners who have whole-heartedly embraced the opportunity to work with us to deliver on our priorities. Key achievements from the past year have included:
The publication of a refreshed Local Employability Partnership (LEP) Framework which sets out clear roles and responsibilities for partners.
The delivery of Specialist Employability Support across all 32 Local Authority areas to enhance existing provision and make an important contribution to the Scottish Government’s ambition to halve the disability employment gap by 2030.
We remain focused on continued partnership working at a strategic and political level. We will continue to progress the strategic actions and continue to measure their impact over the next year, with a focus on the medium and long-term actions.
The integration and alignment of employability support with other key public services is important in providing holistic support for individuals and families to access and sustain fair work opportunities. We must also do more to address economic inactivity in recognition that growing our economy, requires us to remove barriers to employment to make full use of our potential workforce. The actions we continue to progress in this plan will align with the forthcoming Health and Work Action Plan.
With a focus on continued joint working at a strategic and political level, we can continue to build on the progress made so far and ensure that people who remain furthest from Scotland’s labour market are supported to move into fair and sustainable work.
Richard Lochhead MSP Minister for Business and Employment
Cllr Maureen Chalmers COSLA Spokesperson for Community Wellbeing