Future Employment Support Programme

AKG, a leading provider of employment, skills, health and behaviour change programmes in the UK, is preparing to bid as a prime provider in the DWP's forthcoming commissioning of the Future Employment Support programme (a working title).

The range of support the programme will provide includes:

• Employability support, such as skills training or work experience opportunities for those with a lack of or no recent work experience.

• Matching Participants with employers through job trials, jobs fairs and job brokering.

• Intensive and repeated support with drafting of CVs, job applications and interviewing skills.

• Support in managing health conditions in the workplace (e.g. mental health; musculoskeletal/physical injury; chronic/systemic health conditions).

• Barrier-based support for complex issues (e.g. housing, transport, childcare).

• Specialist support (e.g. ESOL, addiction problems and neurodiversity).

Participant groups will include mandatory participation for:

• Long term unemployed 25+ access at 12 months on Universal Credit

• Young People 18-24 access at 6 months on Universal Credit

Voluntary participation at any point in their Universal Credit claim for:

• Lone Parents and lead carers

• Disadvantaged Groups

Disadvantaged groups include:

Ex-offenders, including person serving community sentence; ex-carers; those experienced, experiencing or at risk of homelessness; veterans; those with current or previous drug/alcohol dependency; care leavers; refugees; victims of domestic abuse; young people involved in or at risk of serious violence; victims of modern slavery

Although subject to further confirmation based on ongoing market engagement events being held by DWP over the coming months, the indicative Contract Package Areas that AKG is currently considering include:

• CPA 1: Central and West London

• CPA 2: South and Local London

• CPA 4: West Midlands, Staffordshire, Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Shropshire and Warwickshire

• CPA 6: York and North Yorkshire, Hull and East Yorkshire and Greater Lincolnshire

• CPA 8: East Midlands (EMCCA), Northamptonshire, Rutland, Leicestershire

• CPA 11: Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, Kent, Surrey and Sussex and Brighton; and

• CPA12: Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk, Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, Bedfordshire

We would like to engage providers with diverse specialisms, expertise and experience to support the delivery of a high quality person-centred programme which will enable individuals to access sustainable employment and thrive in work.

If you are interested in this opportunity and would like AKG to consider your organisation as a potential delivery partner for this service, please complete our Expression of Interest which can be found here. https://akguk.co.uk/partnership-portal/ the deadline for responding to the EOI is 28th August 2026 @ 23:00. If you have any questions about completing the EOI, please contact BD@akguk.co.uk