NIACRO works to reduce crime and its impact on people and communities

HJJ93784

                                            

NIACRO’S RESPONSE

TO DEL CONSULTATION PAPER

A CAREERS EDUCATION, INFORMATION, ADVICE AND GUIDANCE STRATEGY FOR NORTHERN IRELAND

 

December 2007

1.         INTRODUCTION

NIACRO, the Northern Ireland Association for the Care and Resettlement of Offenders, is a voluntary organisation, working for 35 years to reduce crime and its impact on people and communities.  NIACRO provides services under the headings of: promoting safer communities; working with children and young people who offend; providing services to families and children of offenders; supporting offenders and ex-prisoners in the community; working with prisoners. 

NIACRO works in partnership with all the main criminal justice agencies in Northern Ireland. 

We welcome the opportunity to respond to DEL’s consultation document “A Careers Education, Information, Advice and Guidance Strategy for Northern Ireland”.

NIACRO has over 30 years experience in working with service users and relevant organisations in the field of training and employment. This work is core to the organisations crime reduction strategy and is based on substantial research that clearly demonstrates the relationship between unemployment and offending behaviour. 

 The experience from both adult and youth employability programmes demonstrates the importance of flexible, individual needs- led models which offer a range of interventions to support individual progression. Such an approach has proven successful in recruiting and sustaining offenders and those at risk of offending who are disproportionately represented within the most socially excluded, low skilled, long term unemployed.

NIACRO currently operate YOUTH EMPLOYABILITY, an employability programme targeting young people aged 15-17 who have been involved with the Criminal justice System in partnership with the NIO, PBNI & YJA.

AIM: “to increase the employability of Youth Offenders”.

The primary objective of Youth Employability is to provide appropriate/ relevant assessment of need/motivation/ability and offer intensive support to progress participants onto a range of training and/or employment opportunities. The partnership agencies view this approach as crucial given the negative experiences many young offenders have of formal education and training. In essence our experience is that young people coming through the criminal justice system will not immediately engage with or are unable to sustain mainstream programmes. Instead there requires a more flexible and phased approach to engagement and progression.

Youth Employability has developed very positive and productive working arrangements with careers staff within the Greater Belfast area. This has provided brokering opportunities that encouraged and enabled programme participants to connect with this service and supported careers staff in developing both an understanding of working with offenders and the confidence to do so.

Whilst NIACRO is concerned in general at the inadequacies of the existing arrangements for young people who are unemployed its main focus of concern, and the basis of this response, will be in relation to a particular target group i.e. offenders and young people involved in the criminal justice system.

2.         RESPONSE TO CONSULTATION

2.1     Do the proposals to develop Labour Market Information and to develop the Careers Service website as an information hub, meet the needs of clients and the CEIAG community? (pages 24–26)

The development of a website as an information hub is to be welcomed as a mechanism to centralise and formalise the access of information. It is imperative that this facility is accessible by all and especially those who are disconnected from current services. NIACRO would expect that this provision will be made available to all agencies working with the particular target group and that this would be a central component of our current work with careers staff within our Belfast location.

There may be the need to develop elements of training in internet use for those who have no knowledge or previous access to this facility with a user friendly aspect for those with essential skills needs.

2.2    What are your views on the proposals in relation to the provision of Careers Advice and Guidance for Young People? (pages 26-28)

A more co-ordinated and informed delivery of guidance is welcomed as is the desire to ensure a quality controlled service. One of the main stated aims of the consultation is to target young people at risk of social exclusion. A more detailed exploration on how this could be achieved would be welcomed. It is noted that “DEL Career Advisors are set a target to re-engage 30% of those in the current years leaver group who are recorded as disengaged” and that this is inadequate.

NIACRO consider this target as totally inadequate. The Careers Service has primary responsibility for the guidance and support of young people leaving school and those who have disengaged. It is our experience that young people who have left school early and have had particular negative experiences are most unlikely or indeed unable to progress into mainstream training/employment programmes and inevitably become more socially excluded adults.

2.3    Do you support the proposals to provide different levels of service in Careers Resource Services, depending on client need i.e. self-help, brief staff assist and individual case-managed services? (pages 28-31)

It would appear sensible that a range of methods are developed and implemented to encourage up date of advice and guidance. Considering the high level of the population who have no qualifications (24%) the effectiveness of each method should be recorded and evaluated with particular emphasis of accessing what works best with those with little or no qualifications and the socially excluded.

This is of particular importance to offenders as the percentage of those with no qualifications or qualifications below level 1 increases to 68% therefore an individual’s needs-led approach should be developed and support.

2.4    What are your views on the proposals in relation to the provision of Careers Advice and Guidance for Adults? (pages 28-31)

NIACRO welcomes the extension of Careers Advice to adults as it is an area that is needed though previously under utilised. This could and should provide an opportunity for significant impact. The ability to provide a co-ordinated service through early intervention at school to adult life should be welcomed and developed. 

The service should be aggressively promoted to adults throughout Northern Ireland with potential to deliver services within custodial settings as an integral part of employment-led resettlement strategy. It must also establish targets that are SMART with suggested outcomes that include addressing the needs of socially excluded.

2.5   What are your views on the proposals in relation to the provision   of Career Advice and Guidance for Young People and Adults vulnerable to social exclusion? (pages 31-32)

NIACRO as an organisation has particular interest in this area as offenders, prisoners and their families are disproportionately represented amongst the socially excluded therefore NIACRO would support and encourage the promise of a more concerted effort to deliver improved services to this target group.

NIACRO also welcomes the statement of purpose and intent that “the CEIAG needs of young people and adults vulnerable to social exclusion should be given priority focus” (Futuresearch action plan). This gives clear direction and should lead to a more informed and sympathetic approach to addressing social need.

6.        Do you consider that the proposals in relation to the implementation of quality assurance indicators and the matrix Standard will address concerns about the quality of CEIAG provision? (pages 32-34)

As recognised in the consultation document the level and quality of guidance varies between schools, training organisations, colleges, community organisation and universities. The development of common standards that aim for consistency of service and quality measures can only improve existing and future provision

7.        Do you support the formation of a forum of CEIAG delivery partners? (page 35)

Much of the work of NIACRO is based on a partnership approach. As an NGO NIACRO has developed a range of partnerships with statutory and non statutory agencies including the Northern Ireland Prison Service, Probation Board for Northern Ireland, Social Services, Housing Executive and Health Trusts as well as a range of training /employment organisations and Careers service itself.  NIACRCO views partnerships as an effective model in working with individuals with multiple needs and often chaotic lifestyles as a range of agencies can bring informed experience that would not be readily available within one organisation.

The expertise from organisations working with specialist groups i.e. offenders, homeless people, those with drug and alcohol issues and mental health problems should be integral to any strategy in working with socially excluded and core to service development and delivery.

8.        What are your views on the proposals to develop flagship Careers Resource Centres and offer services under the Extended School provision? (pages 36-38)

As stated in the consultation document the present Career Advice provision is not ideally placed to provide the most effect service. The access to advisors, offices and resources is limited and the provision to adults has never been promoted or encouraged. The physical surroundings have not been ideal and there is a need for a more user friendly approach. The establishment of well targeted Careers Resource Centres will provide a more coherent focused service that can be easily identified and accessed by user. Centres should be developed with the needs of the socially excluded given priority when considering location and structure.

Again, NIACRO would advocate that this service be located within both community and custodial settings.

9.        Do you agree that a review of the provision of work-based learning opportunities, for staff involved in career provision, is required? (pages 38-40)

NIACRO supports the opportunity for staff development as part of a continuous learning process. Our experience with the Careers Service demonstrates very clearly the need for ongoing development for such staff in order to keep abreast of legislative changes. NIACRO delivered training on “Fair Recruitment of People with Convictions” to over 170 staff and managers in 2006-07 that has resulted in an increased number of operational queries coming through the NIACRO advice line. This clearly demonstrates the positive impact of focussed, targeted staff development. In addition if staff had opportunities to keep abreast of educational and economic developments and foster closer working relationships with employers the result would be an improved level of informed guidance available to all.

10.       Do the proposals adequately address concerns about the alignment of impartial careers information, advice and guidance and the needs of the economy? (pages 20-40) 

The consultation document sets out clearly what are perceived to be the present strengths and weaknesses of the service and the issues that need to be addressed. It has clearly defined what needs to be developed and identified the need for increased and targeted resources.

NIACRO welcomes the opportunity to present its views on behalf of its service users. Offenders, ex-prisoners and their families face significant disadvantage and multiple barriers on a range of issues. Access to appropriate education / training and employment is core to reducing offending therefore any strategy which seeks to address the barriers faced is welcomed.

NIACRO hopes that the points presented are a useful contribution in this debate and would welcome a further engagement to elaborate on the points made.