Decision Maker:

Outcome: Recommendations Approved

Is Key Decision?: No

Is Callable In?: No

Date of Decision: October 23, 2025

Purpose:

Content: 9.1 The Head of Employment, Skills and Economy, the Consultant in Public Health and the Head of Lifelong Learning were in attendance to bring a report on integrating skills, employment and health provision through Pathways to Work. The report provided an overview of the linkages and integration of employment, skills and health programmes for consideration by the Committee when undertaking policy development.     9.2 RESOLVED UNANIMOUSLY: That Economic Development, Skills and Culture Policy Committee:-   a)    Note the importance of skills provision and good jobs to both the local economy and the health and wellbeing of the city population and pledge to support employer campaigns in order to recruit inclusively, offer good work and enable employees to progress in the workplace b)    Note the inextricable links between skills, employment and health and endorse the collaborative, cross-portfolio approach to service delivery adopted by Lifelong Learning, Employment, Skills & Economy, and Public Health c)    Note the importance of partnership working, shared strategic goals and longer-term funding arrangements for delivery of a simpler, better integrated and more navigable skills, employment and health landscape d)    Note the complexity of the skills, employment and health landscape in Sheffield and ongoing efforts with regional partners to create a simpler, better integrated and more navigable system through Pathways to Work activity e)    Support the relevant services in their work by:                                                  i.     Promoting the Local Authority offer for residents in skills, employment and health, including the newly launched Pathways to Work Triage service for skills, employment and health referrals                                               ii.     Advocating for longer-term, less prescriptive programmes in policy and funding conversations, and                                             iii.     Enabling dialogue with residents, employers and service providers in electoral wards and communities across the city         9.3 Reasons for Decision     9.3.1 Adoption of the recommendations will support the ongoing, collaborative work of the Lifelong Learning, Employment, Skills & Economy, and Public Health services and assist efforts to improve individual and collective outcomes. Committee support for the respective services and activity in the skills, employment and health arena will support the successful delivery of major programmes including the Economic Inactivity Trailblazer and Connect to Work.     9.4 Alternatives Considered and Rejected     9.4.1   Alternative Option 1: Deliver in silo / do not co-ordinate   The interwoven nature of skills, employment and health means there are various points where the remits of the respective Council services converge and there is mutual interest in co-production and co-ordinated activity. Operating in silo and not benefitting from others’ expertise would prove a more costly and less effective way of designing, commissioning and delivering Council services. With SYMCA having a mandate from Government, through Pathways to Work funding, to deliver system change in this arena, failing to support the initiative would carry reputational risk.     9.4.2 Alternative Option 2: Two-way, rather than three-way, collaboration       In this scenario, two of the services may work closely together (e.g. Skills and Employment, or Employment and Health), but without involving the third. The skills, employment and health cycle illustrates the risks of failing to take a whole-person view when delivering support. There are clear dependencies between skills, employment and health which cannot be selectively considered when designing Local Authority responses.