Number 15: End the Dispute as to Whether Soft or Hard Skills Provision is Best for Jobseekers
The resolution of this long running dispute is not one for DWP alone, but there is evidence that employers, when seeking new staff, rate soft skills over hard skills when deciding whom to employ. Therefore, arguably most of the money spent on hard skills training for those out of work does little or nothing to help them get into work. Why not, therefore, focus Government spending for those out of work on soft skills and, given that such provision is relatively cheap, plough the remainder of the money into supporting the development of skills in SMEs.
Incidentally, the Voluntary and Community Sector and niche private providers are well placed to deliver effective, flexible and personalised soft skills support in accessible, welcoming community venues, unlike the usual suspects.
Mike Sivier's blog 
“Incidentally, the Voluntary and Community Sector and niche private providers are well placed to deliver effective, flexible and personalised soft skills support in accessible, welcoming community venues, unlike the usual suspects.”
John D Turner is presumably not among those of us who want a return to the public sector provision of services? We used to have ‘niche providers’ of job support. They worked for the DSS in places called Job Centres (where they usually helped you get a job). They were civil servants. Then it was turned into the DWP and split up and sold off, like every other public service. Now they are not civil servants. And they don’t help you get a job. They are ‘private providers’. More of that? No thanks!