Employability & Skills Adviser – NEET

Permanent, Full Time

£32,701 to £38,471 per annum

Location: Basildon

Working Style: Community-based worker

Essex is a diverse county with some of the highest levels of deprivation in the country through to highly affluent communities, which gives us a wide variance in life expectancy and quality. In support of the delivery of Inclusive Economic Growth, ECC’s work on the skills system will aid increased employment rates in higher quality roles for Essex residents, demonstrate the benefits of Essex’s strategic location to large employers and enable increased quality of life and wellbeing for residents.

The Employability & Skills Adviser work with young people either one to one or in a group setting to upskill and support with the transition from NEET (youth not in employment, education or training) to EET (Education, Employment, and Training). Offering impartial information, advice and guidance to raise aspirations and to make informed decisions for the future career choices.

Accountabilities

• Responsible for assisting young people to overcome barriers to learning and employment through a self-referral process. Providing impartial careers information and guidance, supportive of person-centred career planning, i.e. CV writing, job applications, interview techniques, delivery of group work sessions and large-scale presentations.
• Responsible for managing individual caseloads and maintaining accuracy of individual client records, in conjunction DfE guidance.
• Discharge the Council’s statutory responsibility to engage with all under 18 benefit claimants for DWP registration and child benefit registrations with HMRC.
• Responsible for brokering opportunities between providers and young people to enable them to engage in preparation for the world of work and search for employment opportunities. Including the promotion of the 8 Gatsby benchmarks as set out in the government’s careers strategy.
• Influence and negotiate the level and type of provision available, to meet economic and young people’s needs and identify and inform gaps in education and training provision. Collate and disseminate information in respect of current training opportunities, working closely with training providers
• Support implementation of the future RPA strategy, including advocating for young people, to enable them to make and implement effective decisions in the areas of learning, employment, personal development and successful transition to adult life.
• Working in collaboration with stakeholders including senior school-based staff, social care, SEND, Youth Offending, Housing and partner agencies, at senior management level, to provide wider support to young people with regard to training and employment.
• Responsible for developing and delivering large scale recruitment events, advocating with parents/carers and other professionals, to achieve the best outcomes for young people.
• Specific individual and shared targets and objectives are defined annually within the performance management framework.

The Experience You Will Bring

• Possesses an IAG Qualification, Dip CG, QCG or (minimum NVQ 4) level preferably working towards level 6 LDDS, or equivalent by experience.
• Evidence of continuing professional development and expert knowledge in relevant professional area.
• Advanced communication skills and solution focused approach to identify and understand the needs of hard-to-reach young people, with the ability to coach and instil confidence, resilience and life skills.
• Proven track record of progressing young people into education, training and employment opportunities.
• A broad understanding of the issues affecting young people, opportunities for learning and the services provided by partner organisations. Maintains currency with labour market information and developments within education.
• Ability to build working relationships with stakeholders and partner agencies which are collaborative and engender delivery.
• Advocating on behalf of young people with providers and partner organisations with an ability to negotiate with schools, colleges, employers and other agencies.
• Experience of analysing and interpreting data sets.

Please note that the job role requires you to be mobile throughout an operational area. Therefore, the post holder will need to have a driving licence and access to a vehicle, or the ability to meet the mobility requirements of the role through other means.

To read more about our business area, please visit: Education

Why Essex?

As one of the largest and most dynamic UK local authorities, Essex offers a stimulating public service environment. Covering over 1,420 square miles and serving 1.8 million residents, we’re committed to transformational change and delivering better quality at lower cost. Recognised in the top three of the latest IMPOWER index for productivity, we ensure everyone matters in Everyone’s Essex. With flexible working options and a focus on innovation, whether you are looking to develop your career or contribute to the local community, Essex is the ideal place for you.

In February 2025, Greater Essex was accepted onto the Government’s devolution priority programme, which will see local authorities in Essex work towards establishing a Mayoral Combined County Authority by May 2026. You can read more about devolution and local government reorganisation (LGR) on our careers site.

Essex County Council is proud to be a Disability Confident Leader. We’re committed to interview all disabled applicants who choose to apply under our Job Interview Scheme if they meet the minimum requirements of the job. Please speak to our Recruiters if you require any reasonable adjustments during the process. We’re also committed to interview all veterans and care leavers, who meet the minimum requirements of the role for which they are applying.

Once you’ve secured your role within Essex County Council you will receive many great employee benefits, including support for unpaid carers and flexible working arrangements to accommodate their needs.

At Essex County Council, we value integrity and ethical behaviour. We kindly ask that you embrace our code of conduct and the Nolan principles, including throughout the recruitment process. Your commitment to these standards helps us maintain a positive and respectful workplace for everyone.

As part of employment with Essex County Council (ECC) should your role require a DBS check you will be required to register with the DBS update service. The DBS update service ensures all registered DBS certificates are kept up to date and allows authorised parties to view the status of your certificate. This is an annual subscription, and you will be responsible for ensuring this is maintained. For further information on the DBS update service please go to https://www.gov.uk/dbs-update-service

Essex County Council is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, and expects all employees and volunteers to share this commitment.

If you would like to be kept up to date on other relevant opportunities, blogs, news, events and industry related news at Essex County Council, please join The Essex Talent Community

If you have queries on this role or require anything further, please email resourcing.team@essex.gov.uk

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