Insight: Five years of the Restart Scheme - shaping the future of employment support

As we celebrate five years of the Department for Work and Pensions Restart Scheme, Donna Murrell, Managing Director of Reed in Partnership, reflects on what the service has achieved and the insights it offers for the future of employment support:

Andy Burnham has made delivering good growth in every postcode a defining mission of his new government, ensuring that every place and every person can contribute to, and benefit from, a stronger economy.

Delivering that ambition means creating the conditions in which employers can invest, grow and create jobs, while ensuring people have the support they need to access those opportunities.

As a top-performing prime provider on the Restart Scheme, Reed in Partnership has shown what effective employment support can achieve at scale. Across our Home Counties and North East and Humberside contract areas, we have helped more than 54,000 people secure work since 2021.

That performance reflects the strength of the model behind it: personalised support, skilled colleagues, strong employer relationships and close local partnerships. Each outcome represents someone overcoming barriers, accessing opportunity and moving towards a more secure future.

The people behind the performance

One of the defining strengths of the Restart Scheme has been the relationship between participants and their Employment Advisers.

Our colleagues support people whose ability to secure work may be affected by long-term unemployment, poor health, caring responsibilities, financial pressures or low confidence. They take time to understand each participant and build a realistic route towards sustainable employment.

That requires dedication, expertise and empathy, as well as belief in each person’s potential.

Throughout this anniversary series, we have shared stories of people returning to work and overcoming significant challenges. Their achievements are the real measure of the Restart Scheme’s impact.

Partnership in action

The Restart Scheme demonstrates the value of bringing together Jobcentre Plus, employers, local authorities, charities, training providers and community organisations to overcome barriers to work.

Our place-based partnerships help us respond to challenges that differ between communities. Across the North East, Community Corners bring trusted organisations into Restart Scheme offices, helping participants access support with housing, debt, language and digital inclusion.

Employer relationships are equally crucial. Our Employer Services teams work with organisations of every size, helping them identify suitable candidates and creating opportunities for people who might otherwise be overlooked. Candidate matching, in-work support and help with reasonable adjustments can also support people to stay in work.

Our anniversary celebrations in Peterborough and Watford this month reflected this collective effort, bringing together participants, employers, local leaders, partners and colleagues to recognise what has been achieved.

Adapting as needs change

The labour market today looks different from the one the Restart Scheme was established to address in 2021. Participant needs have evolved, employer demand has changed and challenges including economic inactivity, physical and mental ill health and youth unemployment have become increasingly prominent.

Our delivery has evolved in response. We have used participant feedback, frontline insight and performance data to test new approaches and scale those that work.

Throughout this series, colleagues have described how the Restart Scheme has developed through innovation, whole-person support, place-based partnerships and employer engagement. This has included specialist adviser models, employer-led pathways and new technology that gives Employment Advisers more time for meaningful conversations.

Innovation matters, but it must always serve the relationship between participant and adviser. Technology, data and specialist interventions are most valuable when they strengthen personalised support rather than replace it.

Building on what works

The Restart Scheme has shown that effective employment support requires clear standards, strong accountability and the flexibility to respond to individual needs, employer requirements and different labour markets.

Successful delivery depends on skilled frontline teams, strong local knowledge, close employer and partner relationships, and access to wider skills, health and community support.

As the employment support landscape evolves, future provision should preserve these strengths alongside consistent quality, transparent outcomes and rigorous performance management.

That will be essential if good growth is to reach every postcode. Creating opportunities is only part of the task. People must be supported to access them, employers need help to find and develop talent, and services must respond to changing local and national economic needs.

Shaping the future

Reaching the fifth anniversary of the Restart Scheme is a milestone worth celebrating. It is also an opportunity to recognise everyone who has made the programme a success: our participants, colleagues, employers, partners and commissioners.

Most of all, it is a reminder of what can be achieved when people receive the right support, at the right time, from someone who believes in their potential.

The labour market will continue to change, but high-quality employment support will remain central to individual opportunity, good local growth and employers’ workforce needs.

We are proud of what has been achieved through the Restart Scheme over the past five years and look forward to delivering more positive impact in the months ahead. It is vital that we use these insights to help shape the next generation of employment support and ensure that high-quality provision continues to transform people and their communities.