Explainers
Employability Services
Employability services are designed to help people with disabilities or who are at risk of long-term unemployment find sustained employment. The main service, Fair Start Scotland, started in April 2018. Work Able Scotland and Work First Scotland were transitional services, which accepted referrals during 2017-18, while preparations for Fair Start Scotland were completed.
Participation is voluntary and the Scottish Government has contracted specialist employability providers to deliver the services. Payments to providers are performance related and depend on how successful they are at supporting participants to find sustained employment.
Latest forecasts
Forecast spending for Employability Services- February 2020
| £ million | 2018-19 | 2019-20 | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spending on employability services | 19 | 15 | 18 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 0 |