West Midlands Collaboration Partnership
The West Midlands: working together to build a fairer education, skills and employment system
The West Midlands has the highest rate of youth unemployment in the country. The causes are complex and deeply intersectional – factors such as poverty, health, educational attainment, the labour market and youth services all play a part. The network of agencies interacting with young people who are NEET is complex too, and frequently hard to navigate. As the Interim Milburn Review put it, today’s young people “are not passive. They are exhausted.”
Our partnership
Recognising this complexity, the partnership will focus on re-engaging young people aged 16–24 who are already not in education, employment or training. In two diverse West Midlands neighbourhoods, it will co-design and test relational, community-centred approaches with young people, families, communities and local services. Many of the young people involved face multiple barriers, including health conditions, low confidence and difficulty navigating services. The partnership will test how trusted relationships and shared responsibility across the system can help them return to education, employment or training and receive consistent support throughout their journey, rather than having to start again with each service.
The West Midlands is well positioned to demonstrate what a devolved systems-change approach to supporting young people into education, employment and training looks like in practice. Evidence and learning from the two neighbourhoods will be shared across the region and used to inform national approaches to youth unemployment and other persistent, interconnected issues.
A regional community of practice will bring together stakeholders from education, local government, employers and the voluntary, community and social enterprise sector. It will strengthen connections across the system, provide access to shared learning from subject-matter experts and create a route for evidence and insights from the two neighbourhoods to inform practice across the West Midlands.
The West Midlands in numbers
2.9 million
residents across seven local authority areas
92
Fair Education Alliance members supporting children and young people
1,151
education settings supported by Fair Education Alliance members
“I want young people to have the best start in life, no matter their background, and the backing of the Fair Education Alliance is a vote of confidence in our region that supports my mission to deliver just that. Investing in our young people in this way gives them the chance to achieve their full potential and help build our region’s future prosperity.”
“Bloomberg is committed to expanding opportunities for young people, and the Neighbourhood to National Strategy reflects the kind of place-based leadership needed to drive lasting change. We’re proud to support the Fair Education Alliance and work alongside Mayors who are championing better outcomes for children and young people in the communities that need it most.”
Neighbourhood to National
The West Midlands Collaboration Partnership is part of the FEA’s Neighbourhood to National strategy. Insights from this work will feed into the Mayoral Strategic Authority Network, a forum for all Metro Mayors and strategic authority teams to share learning, align strategies, and act collectively with and for young people.
Get involved
Want to learn more about our place-based partnerships or connect with the place-based Network?
With a strong track record of partnering with cities across the UK and globally, Bloomberg brings unique expertise in convening leaders and stakeholders to accelerate systemic change. Bloomberg is joined by founding funder UBS, whose support for place-based change has been pivotal in progress for children and young people. Long-term FEA supporters A&O Shearman, Barclays LifeSkills, IG Group, Mission 44, and Paul Hamlyn Foundation are joined by The Dulverton Trust and Stratton Chase Foundation to ensure the success of this ambitious strategy .