Friday June 12th 2026
Council staff offered advice on career opportunities at the jobs fair held last month (copyright: West Lothian Council)
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Stuart Sommerville
West Lothian Council will spend almost £3m in the next year on a range of Holyrood sponsored employment initiatives.
The No One Left Behind funding is aimed at hard to reach groups including young people, parents and those with disabilities.
Key to different projects is removing barriers to work for those who have previously struggled because of disadvantages.
In a report to the Economy, Community Empowerment and Wealth Building PDSP the council’s Employability Manager, Alexa Davey said: “No One Left Behind is a Scottish Government employability Programme designed to help people of all ages who face barriers to work move towards, into, and stay in fair, sustainable jobs.
“The main objectives of the programme are to reduce inequality by providing employability services to those who are unemployed and furthest removed from the labour market and to reduce levels of child poverty by supporting parents to increase their income from employment.
“This must include support for out-of-work parents as well as support for parents who are in low-income employment.”
In 2026/27 West Lothian Council will receive a total of £2,823,872.75, over three areas, all age employability support, specialist employability support and tracking child poverty .
The funding covers a range of activities from education to work placement and training days provided by the council and other organisations in the Local Employability Partnership.
The Partnership is made up of key employability partners, services supporting the delivery of employability and the West Lothian Voluntary Sector. The membership of the LEP is wide ranging and chosen based on relevant knowledge and experience of the employability challenges in West Lothian that No One Left Behind is looking to address.
Representation on the LEP Board is drawn from West Lothian Council Economic Development, Anti-Poverty Service, Education, CLD Youth Services, Department of Work and Pensions, Skills Development Scotland, West Lothian College, Delivering Young Workforce, NHS, Public Health and the Third Sector.
The council has already had success with its Access2Employment schemes in providing training. The Advice Shop also offers practical help to families increasing parental engagement with employability provision and provides tailored Better Off in Work benefit assessments. These will outline potential changes to income, benefits, and household finances when entering or progressing in employment.
Ms Davey said: “No One Left Behind Funding provides a significant opportunity locally to deliver a range of employability services and interventions aligned to local need. The nature of the funding and process for allocating it, via the Local Employability Partnership, means that provision is tailored to have the biggest impact and support those furthest from the labour market to engage and progress.”
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