Connect to Work Programme · Buckinghamshire Council (Feb 2025)

Are you passionate about making a difference in the community? Buckinghamshire Council is excited to announce an incredible opportunity to partner with us on the Connect to Work programme. This initiative aims to break down barriers to employment and provide sustainable job opportunities for individuals with complex needs. By joining forces with us, you'll not only help transform lives but also contribute to the growth and productivity of our local economy. Don't miss out on the chance to be part of this impactful project!

Connect to Work is a key pillar in delivering the Skills and Employment Strategy 2024-29 vision:

Buckinghamshire: A place with a future-focused, agile and dynamic employment and skills system that assures the needs of employers, individuals and communities are met in order to contribute to the growth and productivity of the local economy.

What is Connect to Work?

The Get Britain Working White Paper, released in November 2024, introduced the key supported employment programme Connect to Work, which aims to help eligible individuals secure sustainable, long-term employment. Currently, it is estimated that there are about 3million economically inactive people in the UK, of whom 1.9million people would like to work, but require support to do so.

In 2023, 9,600 Buckinghamshire residents were economically inactive and wished to work but required support to do so.

Buckinghamshire Council is expected to support 700 individuals (at the peak) at an anticipated cost of £2.9million per year, delivered over an initial three-year period, with the opportunity to extend to 5 years.

Connect to Work will help connect local work, health and skills support and help eligible participants to secure sustainable work through a voluntary supported employment model, adhering to Individual Placement & Support (IPS) and Supported Employment Quality Framework (SEQF) frameworks. Through this, Connect to Work will expand the use of the proven five stage Supported Employment model of 'place, train and maintain'.

How will it be managed and delivered?

Buckinghamshire Council is the Accountable Body for Connect to Work. Working with the Department for Work and Pensions, Buckinghamshire Council will oversee the Connect to Work programme including procuring and managing delivery partner(s) to provide sufficient high-quality support to participants and employers to make the programme a success.

Our ambition is to deliver this programme in partnership with one or more high-quality provider(s), who are able to meet set targets for supporting economically inactive adults in Buckinghamshire into work.

We are looking for delivery partner(s) with considerable and demonstrable experience of providing supported employment programmes which deliver to both individuals with complex barriers, and employers who will provide the sustainable jobs. All partner(s) that succeed in the selection process, must either already deliver IPS and SEQF, have robust training plans or intend to deliver both models in a consortium or subcontracting model which is clearly demonstrated in the application process.

Further, the successful bidders must show developed relationships with employers within Buckinghamshire (or a commutable distance given the target audience) with the ability to identify employment opportunities and support employers to provide successful, sustainable job outcomes.

Further information about the programme and monitoring arrangements which will be required of partners can be found in the:

Connect to Work: Grant Guidance for England - GOV.UK www.gov.uk/government/publicati… ↗

Further information regarding IPS and SEQF delivery models is available below:

IPS Grow provides more information about the IPS model, its approach and impact: About IPS - IPS Grow- ipsgrow.org.uk/about/ ↗

BASE provides more information on the SEQF fidelity model, it’s approach and impact here: Quality in Supported Employment Delivery | British Association for Supported Employment -

www.base-uk.org/SEQF_Model_Fidelity ↗.

The Council is conducting the procurement under the "Open Regime" in the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 (PCR 2015).

This tender aim is to provide the full tender documentation suite by the 21st April 2025 on the Council's portal www.supplybucksbusiness.org.uk ↗.

Please note that this will allow bidders at least 30 days to review, ask clarification questions and submit their bids timely by the bid submission deadline of 5th June 2025.

If there are any further delays in making the full tender documentation available we will in due course delay the bid submission deadline accordingly to ensure that bidders have at least 30 days to allow them to review, ask clarifications and submit their bids.