The Provision of a Young Persons Engagement Service 2017 (Part of the ESF Ways to Work Programme)

St Helens Council ("the Council") is seeking to procure an Engagement Service.

The purpose of this service is to increase the engagement through information, advice, guidance and coaching of disengaged and Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) young people from vulnerable and disadvantaged backgrounds who require additional support to access learning and employment opportunities. Target cohorts include but are not limited to those who are care leavers, teenage parents, young offenders or those who have learning difficulties and / or disabilities. The service will reflect localised needs and requirements and will work closely with other local authority teams and other agencies supporting these young people.

The primary focus of this service will be support to key vulnerable groups (defined in section 2) to ensure that those young people who are furthest from the labour market and face significant barriers in being able to access education, training and employment are able to make informed choices about their education, employment or training options based on all available impartial information.

This specification will be part of a range of support services that will enable the Council to provide key ongoing support to vulnerable young people, below the age of 19 and relevant young adults (i.e. those aged 19 and over but under 25 with learning difficulties and/or disabilities). The National Careers Service along with other existing engagement initiatives such as the Youth Contract and New Horizons will function as a support not duplication to this engagement service.

This service will support the Council by providing information on gaps in appropriate and suitable education and training provision. The service will also provide a monitoring role to all young people in years 11 and 12 receive an offer of learning by September. In addition a further requirement will be to illustrate the destination of all young people post 16.

This service is intended to be an integral part of the Ways To Work programme, which is part-funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Youth Employment Initiative (YEI). Ways To Work will be a comprehensive employment support programme delivered in St Helens and across all boroughs in the Liverpool City Region.