Connect to Work - Individual Placement and Support Pathway Oxfordshire

Enterprise Oxfordshire, alongside Oxfordshire Employment, is supporting the Oxfordshire Connect to Work programme, together with Oxfordshire County Council, with funding provided from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). The Connect to Work programme will take a collaborative, locally-led approach to tackling 'hidden unemployment'.

It will help connect local work, health and skills support. The funding provides a coherent, systematic and joined up approach to maximise the benefits available for individuals and local communities.

Connect to Work is the first major element in the new Get Britain Working Strategy which aims to support people into good, sustainable work. It is a voluntary programme to help tackle economic inactivity by providing a specific form of support targeted at the right people at the right time, based on their individual circumstances.

Enterprise Oxfordshire will be responsible for the delivery of the Individual Placement Support (IPS) pathway in conjunction with local-centric delivery partner(s) who will be procured and managed by Enterprise Oxfordshire through this procurement. Enterprise Oxfordshire will manage fidelity on behalf of its own delivery and that of its delivery partner(s), retaining team leader and programme manager resource to ensure quality and project and participant management as well as being responsible for finance, administration, compliance, etc. for the IPS pathway.

We anticipate that 1,400 to 1,500 participants will be supported through the IPS pathway over the duration of the project. Enterprise Oxfordshire has £3,657,233 to procure the IPS pathway Employment Advisor delivery.

Contracts will run from November 2025 to 31 March 2030, with an optional 12 to 24 month extension period. N.B. Support to participants is expected to commence in January 2026.