Building Connect to Work together: reflections from AKG’s journey so far
Connect to Work can bring employment support closer to communities and make it work better for local people. Success means better support, lasting outcomes and a system in which commissioners, providers and partners turn national ambition into practical delivery.
The recent report from the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA) explores providers’ experiences of Connect to Work, highlighting both the potential and the challenges of delivery. At AKG, our experience so far shows how important it is to work through those challenges together.
AKG’s experience: collaboration beyond contract award
Connect to Work is a new service, and some commissioning and delivery teams may be working in this way for the first time. Differences in experience and readiness may therefore have contributed to variation in approach, alongside local circumstances, reinforcing the importance of shared learning and support from the outset.
From the outset, AKG has worked openly with our commissioning partners: listening to local priorities, clarifying what delivery requires and tackling problems together as they arise. We have drawn on frontline experience to shape services, tested how people will move through the programme and kept referral conversations open as delivery has developed.
That collaboration matters most when plans need to change. Raising concerns early, challenging assumptions constructively and finding practical solutions helps protect the quality of support and keeps participants’ experiences at the centre of decisions.
It also reinforces a wider lesson that the success of Connect to Work depends on commissioners, employment specialists, health services, local authorities, employers and community organisations working as one system. No organisation can make that system effective alone.
Hide the wiring
Good employment support relies on arrangements participants may never see. Clear referral routes, workable data agreements, realistic expectations and reliable communication. These all make support accessible.
The aim is to make the wider system work around the individual, rather than expecting people to navigate gaps between services. Achieving that requires close relationships with referral organisations and a shared understanding of how participants will move through the programme.
Frontline teams are central to making this work. They need clear guidance, the right resources and confidence to make informed decisions. AKG has created space for colleagues to learn from one another, build relationships with local partners, raise concerns and adapt as delivery develops.
Early engagement and participant outcomes are encouraging. It is still early, but our experience suggests that investing in these practical foundations and in the people responsible for them is beginning to make a difference.
Four lessons from delivery
AKG’s experience, alongside ERSA’s findings, points to four priorities:
- Engage early. Involve delivery partners soon enough to influence decisions and test assumptions before launch.
- Make the practical arrangements work. Put referral pathways, data agreements and partner relationships in place before participants need them.
- Set clear outcomes and allow flexibility. Be explicit about responsibilities while giving teams room to respond to local circumstances and individual needs.
- Create space for honest challenge and learning. Share evidence and risks, address problems early and use participant and frontline feedback to improve delivery.
These priorities depend on accountability as well as trust. Providers should be clear about what is working and candid about what is not. Commissioners need evidence to make informed decisions and challenge constructively.
Looking ahead
Connect to Work can bring employment support closer to communities and create more responsive routes into work. Its success will depend on the quality of delivery: whether people receive the right support, move towards meaningful employment and sustain their progress.
For future services, start dates and transition arrangements need attention from the outset. As more areas take on devolved responsibility, planning should allow realistic time to get services ready while minimising gaps in provision between places. Where launches are phased, clear interim support and referral routes will be important to avoid a postcode lottery in access to help.
AKG remains committed to working with commissioners, local services, employers and communities to strengthen delivery, equip frontline teams and act on emerging evidence.
Getting commissioning right matters because it creates the conditions for getting support right.
If you are shaping Connect to Work as a commissioner, employer or community partner, we would welcome a conversation about the lessons emerging from delivery and how we can tackle challenges together.
