• The region has low unemployment with localised pockets of long-term unemployment and worklessness. 19.4% of the working age population is inactive. Training is likely to be needed to enable many of these claimants to find and maintain employment.

• Lone parents, those from some ethnic minority groups, the low-skilled and people with disabilities experience lower employment rates. People in groups identified as disadvantaged in labour market terms often have to deal with multiple problems, compounded by low or no skills.

• Much of the South West area is polarised in terms of deprivation, with most areas being either end of the deprivation scale. The West of England LSC has the greatest proportion of its area in the most educationally deprived 20% of England at 17.5%. Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole LLSC has the lowest proportion at 6.5%.

• ESF funding may be necessary to underpin initiatives aimed at supporting these groups back to work.

• The evidence suggests that there is much to be gained by ensuring a strong integration between skills and employment if job retention is to be achieved and if a solution is to be found to increasing unemployment amongst the low-skilled.

• Evidence also supports pre-employment and post-employment support activities as a way of improving job retention. Many people seeking employment lack the generic skills to function appropriately in the workplace. This problem is acute amongst younger people. The issues are common to most sectors. There is limited funding available for this activity and that which takes place is heavily reliant on ESF funding. This should form an important part of the ESF framework for the region.

• The RSP needs to consider how it can help add value to either existing partners’ provision through joint planning.

• Pre-employment activities need to be enhanced to include employability skills to ensure those flowing into the labour market have a full understanding of the workplace.

• It is critical that the RSP addresses the inequalities that certain groups face in relation to the access of training and employment. The RSP needs to develop employability skills frameworks, which are appropriate to different sectors (and localities) in order to share good practice in the teaching, learning and assessment of generic employability skills.

• Worklessness is a priority of the new European programme. The RSP needs to ensure that the ESF strategy targets disadvantaged groups and deprived areas. ESF should provide support and interventions to support entry into the labour market, but also to maximise the opportunity for retention.