What’s the Future of Work?, was the question posed at an event held by Southampton City Council on 31 January 2023, exploring the future of employment in our city alongside members of the private sector and public policy makers.
Our community sector plays a key role in so many issues discussed at this event. The challenges that face our workforce – an ageing population, living with an increasing number long term health conditions, issues around wellbeing at work, the crucial good start in life that all young people need – are issues that are addressed through the range of services and support that the community sector provides. And then there’s the challenges of climate change and our biodiversity crisis, poverty and inequality, and an urgent need to transition to a high-skilled, well paid workforce. There are many community sector organisations working in all of these areas, and many more areas beside. As my colleague Sam Goold says, “Whatever the issue, there is a community solution”.
Here at Southampton Voluntary Services, we would like to see big community conversations about the type of workforce we want to be. The workforce, those who are unable to access work due to various barriers and young people who are yet to join the workforce, need to be deciding what they want. Liz Batten, from Transition Southampton, said something to me that resonated: “Thriving requires first paying attention to what we value – for both people and the planet – and then acting accordingly.” A good place to start is to look at a Doughnut Economics approach, a concept from economist Kate Raworth that has built considerable traction across the world. What is the Doughnut? It is a compass for human prosperity in the 21st century, with the aim of meeting the needs of all people within the means of the living planet.
We would so love to see much better connections between private business and our sector. At the Future of Work event, we asked people to come and talk to us at Southampton Voluntary Service. We can do matchmaking between businesses and local community organisations. If employers tell us what they are interested in, we’ll signpost them to charities, social enterprises and community groups with shared interests. For more info, you can also check out our So:Linked Information Directory (known as SOLID).
If you ask an employee or entrepreneur what issues they are struggling with, then there will be a charity or community group out there that is at the forefront of addressing that challenge. So by connecting with the community sector, you will also be showing your colleagues that you care about the issues that matter to them.
There is also the issue of Social Value, something that Sarah Bogle, our Cabinet Member for Economic Development mentioned at the conference. So a question to businesses and the public sector – how you can procure your services from social enterprises and thereby help meet a triple bottom line where you show a commitment to social inclusion and our environment? This is an area where Southampton Voluntary Services and our diverse membership, can help with.
As Greg from the wonderful Drop the Mask Productions CIC said at the conference, it’s all about collaboration and partnership. We see a brilliant examples of collaboration when it comes to climate change and biodiversity. My colleague, Alex Ivancevic host’s a Green Network that is thriving, helping organisations to collaborate around green issues and learn from each other. Then there is the work of the Southampton Climate Action Network. I think Southampton is leading the way in terms of grassroots green initiatives. Check out Transition Southampton’s Sustainability Directory for a huge range of services on offer locally, driven by the power of local eco-entrepreneurship.
We talked about how we engage residents at an earlier age to improve digital literacy? Here at SVS, we would say, ask people what they need. They are the ones that have the answers. Come and support our project So:Lets Connect if digital connectivity is your passion, which is helping excluded people get online and overcome digital barriers.
In order to deal with the challenges that the local workforce face, we have to ask people with lived experience about their challenges to employment and make sure they are designing the solutions, not leaving it to a bunch of suits in a formal meeting room. Our community sector is doing some really exciting work around coproduction of public services and this is an area that could be really strengthened in the private sector too.
As the Saints representatives said at the Future of Work event, we need to hear more stories from the people who have achieved good, fulfilling work. We would say shine a light on the positive stories of change. This is something that organisations like Touch Network CIC are doing brilliantly. It is through sharing real life stories, that we can help understand and address the personal barriers that stop people achieving their potential.
I’m not sure whether we really came up with a vision for the Future of Work at January’s conference. We certainly need to hear more perspectives on what type of city do we want to be? How can we progress caring-friendly and wellbeing initiatives? What does it really mean to be a green economy that supports local business in a sustainable way? And what practices do we need to leave behind? And we haven’t even started talking about Living Wage Economy and issues around poverty in work.
Unless we involve everyone in this conversation, we won’t build the momentum for real, purposeful change. Let’s work together to make this happen. Please do share your perspectives on these issues.
Rebecca Kinge
Southampton Voluntary Services