Developing employment and skills through social value
Social value
Social value isn't new in public procurement. For many years, suppliers to the council have been providing apprenticeships, community value, and engaging with skills initiatives. Since at least 1996, procurement regulations have allowed authorities to consider social, economic, and environmental factors. In 2012, the government passed the Public Services (Social Value) Act to ensure these benefits are considered when commissioning and procuring services.
East Sussex Priorities and the Social Value Themes
East Sussex focuses on three main themes: Economic, Social, and Environmental. These themes help the county address its current needs and activities. The Social Value Review Group, which includes senior managers from Procurement and staff from various departments, regularly reviews these needs and priorities.
Supporting suppliers (employers) to support local employment and skills through social value
A Growth Strategy for East Sussex has been drafted by Team East Sussex (TES) and sets out some new priorities for skills for business.
- Ensuring that people can afford to live in the county (higher skills and salaries and better housing availability)
- Understanding and responding to industry demand (for skills)
- Supporting in work progression
- Accommodating changes to the world of work (AI and technology for example)
Alongside the TES strategy, Skills & Employment East Sussex, the strategic multi-agency body for employment and skills, which is led by ESCC, has identified a set of key strategic priorities which are adhered to by the employment and skills lead organisations in East Sussex:
SES has agreed the following six strategic priorities for 2021-2030:
- Priority 1: Ensuring that national policy and funding supports the delivery of learning and skills in East Sussex
- Priority 2: Enabling our Further Education (FE)/Higher Education (HE) establishments to recruit excellent educators with specialist technical knowledge
- Priority 3: Improving our digital skills, use of Artificial Intelligence and digital inclusion
- Priority 4: Upskilling our workforce to increase regional productivity
- Priority 5: Supporting the unemployed and unqualified
- Priority 6: Skills for a Net Zero future,
Supporting Young People and Adults
The council supports young people, including those in care, care leavers and those with special educational needs, to ensure they have access to work, work experience, and training. For adults, the council oversees initiatives that help the long-term unemployed, insecurely employed, homeless, ex-offenders, those with mental health needs or disabilities, refugees, and more. The council also coordinates adult learning programs to upskill the local workforce