Research and analysis

Note about the Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP) Management Information

Published 26 April 2024

Purpose

This data presents Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) management information on Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) from 1 April 2021.

Further releases of this information will be published quarterly.

This data is published in the interest of transparency.

Background

The Sector-based Work Academy Programme (SWAP) is a long-standing employment support programme first introduced in 2011 in England, and 2012 in Scotland; it was rebranded from ‘Sector Based Work Academies (SBWA)’ to ‘SWAP’ in 2020.

As a demand-led programme SWAP is designed to prevent long-term unemployment by encouraging claimants to move sector and fill vacancies in local industries experiencing high demand for staff. This means the programme covers a broad range of sectors. It is managed and delivered by staff in Jobcentre Plus (JCP) who set up SWAPs to meet local vacancy demand in collaboration with local employers and training providers. This support is open to jobseekers aged 16 or over. Each SWAP can last up to six weeks and is comprised of 3 core elements:

1) a short module of vocational pre-employment training (PET)

2) a work experience placement (WEP) with an employer

3) a guaranteed job interview (GJI) linked to a genuine job vacancy

In response to the pandemic labour market conditions, DWP commitment to the programme and delivery expectations have increased. In 2021 to 2022, the target number of SWAP starts doubled from the previous year to 80,000. The programme has been funded to achieve 80,000 starts per financial year between April 2022 and March 2025.

Regular statistical releases on sector-based work academies, covering participation by those on legacy unemployment benefits, began in 2011 and ended in 2017. These statistics can be found at the Employment Schemes: work experience, sector-based work academy and skills conditionality starts to November 2017 official statistics.

Methodology information

Management information is not classified as statistics. They are judged to be of suitable quality for the purpose of presenting supplementary data. 

Data on SWAPs starts is collected via a clerical tracker and as such is subject to revision as SWAP starts can be historically added to the tracker. Although care is taken when processing and recording SWAP starts, the data collected might be subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any clerical recording system but is provided in the interests of transparency.

This data includes those who are in receipt of legacy benefits and other individuals of which it is not possible to track their address or age. These will be listed as ‘Unknown’ in these tables.

Statement of compliance with the Code of Practice for Statistics

The Code of Practice for Statistics (the Code) is built around 3 main concepts, or pillars:

• trustworthiness – is about having confidence in the people and organisations that publish statistics
• quality – is about using data and methods that produce assured statistics
• value – is about publishing statistics that support society’s needs for information

The following explains how we have applied the pillars of the Code in a proportionate way.

Trustworthiness

The figures are based on management information collected via a clerical tracker.

To support the management of departmental business, figures have been seen in advance by ministers and officials. This is in line with the Code, where pre-release access does not apply for releases based on routine management information – as covered in paragraph 3.6 of the National Statistician’s guidance, February 2018. 

Quality

This publication uses data drawn from a clerical tracker and has not been quality assured to Official Statistics publication standards. However, engagement has taken place with data owners to ensure this data is fit-for-purpose and of sufficient quality for publication. Quality assurance has taken place to ensure the data is as accurate and reliable as possible.

Value

In publishing this data, we aim to support the information needs of society, parliamentarians, and stakeholders, and maintain transparency between the Department for Work and Pensions and the public. Making this information accessible can also reduce the administrative burden of answering Parliamentary Questions (PQs), Freedom of Information (FOI) requests and ad hoc queries about SWAPs.