16 May 2026
Scotland’s No One Left Behind approach strengthens employability focus
The Scottish Government and COSLA have reaffirmed their shared commitment to transforming employability services across Scotland through the No One Left Behind approach. Published in March 2026, the latest joint bulletin outlines the progress made in delivering the No One Left Behind Employability Strategic Plan 2024-2027 and highlights the importance of partnership working in supporting people into fair, sustainable employment.
The communiqué recognises the contribution of local authorities, employability providers, employers and third sector organisations in helping to deliver more flexible and responsive services for people across Scotland. The approach focuses on creating an all-age, place-based and person-centred employability system designed to meet the needs of individuals and communities.
A key area of progress highlighted in the update is the implementation of Specialist Employability Support across all 32 local authority areas. Additional funding of £5 million was provided in 2025/26 to ensure enhanced employability support was available for disabled people and individuals with long-term health conditions across Scotland. The enhanced support aims to improve opportunities for disabled people and individuals with long-term health conditions, contributing towards Scotland’s ambition to reduce economic inactivity and halve the disability employment gap.
The document explains that employability services are helping address wider issues like poverty and barriers to work. Since 2019, 99,242 people have received support through No One Left Behind, with over 30,800 entering employment and 75,000+ positive outcomes. It also reports that the model is making services easier to navigate and improving user experience.
Future work will focus on further evaluation and improving how support is delivered, while strong national and local partnerships continue to shape services around community and employer needs.
Read the full No One Left Behind – Partnership in Practice update.
The communiqué recognises the contribution of local authorities, employability providers, employers and third sector organisations in helping to deliver more flexible and responsive services for people across Scotland. The approach focuses on creating an all-age, place-based and person-centred employability system designed to meet the needs of individuals and communities.
A key area of progress highlighted in the update is the implementation of Specialist Employability Support across all 32 local authority areas. Additional funding of £5 million was provided in 2025/26 to ensure enhanced employability support was available for disabled people and individuals with long-term health conditions across Scotland. The enhanced support aims to improve opportunities for disabled people and individuals with long-term health conditions, contributing towards Scotland’s ambition to reduce economic inactivity and halve the disability employment gap.
The document explains that employability services are helping address wider issues like poverty and barriers to work. Since 2019, 99,242 people have received support through No One Left Behind, with over 30,800 entering employment and 75,000+ positive outcomes. It also reports that the model is making services easier to navigate and improving user experience.
Future work will focus on further evaluation and improving how support is delivered, while strong national and local partnerships continue to shape services around community and employer needs.
Read the full No One Left Behind – Partnership in Practice update.
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