To the outside world, Buckinghamshire is viewed as an affluent and thriving county, nestled in the picturesque Chiltern Hills. While this description is not inaccurate, what most people don't realise is that Buckinghamshire is also home to a number of disadvantaged neighbourhoods where life outcomes fall far below both the county and national average.
One of our key priorities here at Buckinghamshire Council is to create positive change for all our residents, strengthening our communities and ensuring equal opportunities for all. To address this relative disparity across the county, two years ago we set up the Opportunity Bucks initiative, our local approach to levelling up. Working closely with partners and the voluntary and community sector (VCS), the overarching purpose is to improve outcomes for our residents experiencing the most hardship.
One strand of the Opportunity Bucks programme focuses entirely on jobs, employability and skills, with the aim of reducing unemployment and improving job and employment opportunities for residents in the target wards. Within this theme we are designing and delivering initiatives addressing the barriers to finding and staying in employment, experienced by many residents.
Horizons, funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, is aimed at supporting residents experiencing barriers to work. It offers six-month work placements within the council to the Horizons trainees to develop skills and gain practical workplace experience to support them in finding future employment
Recognising that barriers to employment can start from a young age, our personal career and apprenticeship mentor (PCAM) scheme is designed to support those at risk of becoming NEET (not in education, employment or training). It works by placing mentors within further education settings, offering one to one support, advice and practical assistance. The mentors have proved invaluable in engaging directly with the young people and helping to provide tailored direction and coaching where previously none existed. Around 160 students have been supported through the scheme and in the first eight months of the programme the proportion of young people leaving college to progress onto further education, an apprenticeship or employment has increased by 19%.
While as a council we have set aside funds to implement Opportunity Bucks, we have also worked hard to identify and secure additional external funding that is being used to deliver the initiative and this enables us to carry out additional projects. Examples of this include our in-house Horizons programme and the national Skills Bootcamp programme.
Horizons, funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, is aimed at supporting residents experiencing barriers to work. It offers six-month work placements within the council to the Horizons trainees to develop skills and gain practical workplace experience to support them in finding future employment. To date a total of 51 people have taken part, with 20 going on to secure further employment or education, including 16 who have successfully gained jobs within the council. A new cohort of 15-20 placements is planned for September 2025.
Skills Bootcamps are another example of tapping into an existing funding stream – the National Skills Fund, from the Department for Education – to offer free training courses for adults to improve their skills or learn new skills to aid employability.
Our Building Futures programme is delivered by a VCS partner. This scheme provides employability and skills support to those who are unemployed or who have significant barriers to work. Individuals are referred to the scheme via the job centre or other agencies and tailored support is provided to help individuals to enter or re-enter the workforce. This support is provided through intensive one to one careers and employability outreach support. To date 130 individuals from Opportunity Bucks wards have been supported.
Our schemes are evolving all the time. Where stumbling blocks are identified, we adapt and change focus to ensure we are meeting the needs of those we are trying to help. Extra focus has been put into supporting college goers with developing CVs, improving interview skills and navigating application processes when it became clear this was needed. Equally where sign-ups for Skills Bootcamp courses were lacking, we changed tack.
Recognising that the level of courses offered might be too advanced for those who have been long-term unemployed or are just starting out, we have worked closely with adult learning colleagues to promote their entry level programmes. As a result, take up of adult learning courses from those living in Opportunity Bucks areas has steadily increased. Our ultimate goal is to see these residents build their confidence to advance to the next level of learning offered.
Integral to the ongoing success of the whole programme has been the strong support from our partners, the in-depth level of research carried out to help determine where best to focus our efforts and our continued willingness to adapt and shape the programme to ensure continued success. We are ambitious for the future and are continually developing and expanding work programmes to support our residents, improve their quality of life and ensure that everyone has the opportunity to succeed.
Sarah Murphy-Brookman is corporate director resources at Buckinghamshire Council
