Understanding what works: lessons from JobsPlus partnerships

JobsPlus is a voluntary community-led, hyperlocal employment support programme designed to help people in social housing communities find work. It is adapted from the United States model which has demonstrated positive, sustained impacts on employment and earnings for residents and their children. It does this through onsite employment services, community involvement, and financial incentives.

The programme aligns with Government priorities set out in the Get Britain Working and Pathways to Work papers, Keep Britain Working Mayfield review, the Pride in Place Strategy, and the Child Poverty Strategy, all of which emphasise decentralised, tailored support to tackle economic inactivity, improve skills, and strengthen disadvantaged neighbourhoods. This focus on locally delivered, tailored support is consistent with evidence from the US model, which has shown that strong partnerships among landlords, tenants, and local service providers can lead to sustainable, long-term employment outcomes for residents.

JobsPlus has been developed to support participants who are often a considerable distance from the labour market. For many, progress towards employment is non-linear and involves improvements in wellbeing, confidence and skills as necessary stepping stones to sustained employment.

This partnership paper, downloadable from the right hand column below, presents the findings from the JobsPlus pilot evaluation which relate to working with local partners, summarising the wide-spread benefits of this approach.

Acknowledgements:
With thanks to Clare Rainey for the design work, and to Elizabeth Gerard and Rakhee Patel for their comments and feedback.