Appendix 2: Risk Mitigation

RISK	MITIGATION
Not being able to recruit sufficient participants to the programme	Project builds on existing programmes and an April 2025 start means that momentum can be maintained from current programmes. Marketing, outreach staff, referral pathways and promotional opportunities with clinical/Integrated Care Board (ICB)/community partners, multiple external contractors recruiting from defined cohorts are all routes that will be deployed to support the provision.
Lack of vacancies identified (job outcomes)	Employer engagement staff and marketing funded as part of project management overheads. Partners expected to support job identification and matching. Close working links with local DWP offices to support vacancy finding and with social value contractors, and via job fairs.
Participants do not sustain work	Employment Specialists employed to work closely with employers and employees. Training for these staff to ensure high quality support offers. Links made with specific training opportunities. Links made with specialist referral support agencies (e.g. mental health). Join up with other programmes – Bootcamps, ACL provision to support upskilling and retention.
Underperformance of external delivery partners	Based on prior experience, will have several delivery contracts, so that volumes can be transferred from lower performing to higher performing partners if required.  Careful data monitoring, project planning and engagement/recruitment will mean that we track performance monthly and identify people who are more ready to move into work alongside those who need additional support to ensure that we meet our outcomes. Our core project costings will include costs for training of partners to assure quality delivery. We will include funding for job fairs, confidence building workshops and other wrap around measures which we know from experience boost outcomes for individuals and the wider project.
Withdrawal of funding due to Government Spending Review decisions or poor performance	This is unlikely, but we will ensure that contracts reflect this possibility. Should this happen, Government is committed to enabling those on programme to complete their programme over an allotted 12-month period, and although new starts would not be permitted, costs for delivery and project management would still be accessible to enable projects to wind down.