Following its Merlin assessment, which measures how well Work Programme prime providers support, manage and work with their supply chain, Careers Development Group (CDG), achieved a ‘Good’ grade with a score of 70%. This is the second best of four outcome categories – Excellent, Good, Satisfactory and Unsatisfactory.
CDG is one of only two charities delivering the Work Programme as a prime contractor (18 organisations in total) and was assessed in May 2012. In London East, where it is a prime contractor, the charity works with 14 end-to-end delivery partners including seven charities and two not-for-profit organisations. This is an expression of how the charity has led by example in supporting the third sector. It also works with a range of ‘menu’ partners – organisations who provide specialist support to Work Programme participants.
The Work Programme is the government’s flagship employment support scheme designed to help people who are unemployed find and then stay in work. The Merlin assessment is based on four key principles (supply chain design, commitment, conduct and review). The current round of assessments are the first under the Work Programme. Work Programme prime contractors must be re-assessed every two years to maintain accreditation.
Roy O’Shaughnessy, CDG’s Chief Executive, said: “This is a real vote of confidence, not just for the charity itself but also for the whole of the third sector. It shows that if charities combine a charitable heart with a commercial mind, they can succeed and deliver highly competitive government contracts alongside the private sector.
“The report showed that by placing our values as the yardstick for working with our supply chain, the charity has been able to support them and therefore support those the charity serves – people who want to find and stay in work.”
The positive assessment follows the charity’s success at the recent Department for Work and Pensions’ Supplier Excellence Awards, where it won the ‘best contribution from a third sector organisation’ award for its CDG Volunteers scheme and the work it has done to support the charity’s Work Programme delivery
ENDS
Notes to editors:
1. Further information about the Merlin Standard can be found at http://www.merlinstandard.co.uk/
2. A full copy of Careers Development Group’s Merlin Assessment is available at: http://www.merlinstandard.co.uk/view-organisation.php?organisation_id=261
Further information
Further information from CDG please contact Mark Brooks on 07766 197 727 or email mark.brooks@cdguk.org.
About Careers Development Group (CDG)
Careers Development Group (CDG) is a leading welfare to work charity with 30 years’ experience of helping people find and stay in work. It supported over 30,000 people on their journey into work in 2011 from centres across London and the South East. The charity has 350 staff and operates from 22 centres.
CDG is one of only two third sector prime providers in the UK delivering the Work Programme, the government’s back to work scheme (in London East). As a key part of a strategic alliance with MAXIMUS Employment & Training, it also delivers the Work Programme in London West and the South East (Thames Valley, Hampshire and the Isle of Wight), as well as being a delivery partner for Avanta in Sussex. CDG and WISE Ability jointly own CDG – WISE Ability which is the prime Work Choice provider in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight and CDG itself is a subcontractor.
As part of its charitable and public benefit, CDG launched the Expert Volunteer Initiative in 2010 and CDG Volunteers in 2011, to help give further support to people wanting to find and stay in work by tapping into the expertise of people wanting to give something back.
