Bridging employability, family support and wellbeing: Building a future for all

This project explores the innovative employability practices of Fife Gingerbread Family Approach, a service dedicated to supporting families from low-income areas in Fife. Family Approach focuses on addressing training, education, employability needs within a broader context, recognising that securing a job is only one part of a larger journey towards family stability and well-being. By placing families at the heart of their support services, Fife Gingerbread prioritises building a stable foundation before progressing to education, training and employment, ensuring that any opportunity pursued aligns with both individual and family needs.

This project explores the innovative employability practices of Fife Gingerbread Family Approach, a service dedicated to supporting families from low-income areas in Fife. Family Approach focuses on addressing training, education, employability needs within a broader context, recognising that securing a job is only one part of a larger journey towards family stability and well-being. By placing families at the heart of their support services, Fife Gingerbread prioritises building a stable foundation before progressing to education, training and employment, ensuring that any opportunity pursued aligns with both individual and family needs.

Key findings from the research highlight the importance of flexibility in the support provided, with Fife Gingerbread offering wraparound services tailored to the unique circumstances of each family. This includes financial advice and support making financial gains, parenting support, confidence-building, and community engagement. Parents consistently praised the sustained, holistic support provided by the service, which does not end once a training, education or work opportunities is secured but can continue until the family feels ready.

The research emphasises the need to change the pace at which employability services are delivered. Unlike linear, individualised, or time-limited interventions, Fife Gingerbread’s approach allows workers to engage deeply with families, ensuring long-term, meaningful progress. In addition to addressing immediate family needs, the service empowers parents to develop personal assets and resilience, which benefits not only them but also their children.

Furthermore, the report advocates for a broader understanding of employability that goes beyond the ‘job first’ approach. This means working in a family-centred way and recognising that for some families the immediate priority may not be getting a job. Instead, it may be building strong foundations by improving family dynamics, working on mental and physical health, supporting community connections or gaining soft skills through training or volunteering.

A wider understanding of employability can also enable workers to consider the intergenerational impacts of education, work and training (for example, how does work affect children’s well-being, both now and in the future?). As reflected in Fife Gingerbread’s current practice, this should also be reflected in how we measure the impact of employability work. Rather than focusing on counting the number of people who get jobs, family-centred and strength-based measures can enable a more holistic understanding of progress.

Finally, the report provides recommendations for policy and practice. These include continued support for integrated family support and employability pathways, better provision for children with additional support needs, a more family-friendly labour market, and investment in flexible childcare.

This report demonstrates that a comprehensive, family-centred approach to employability not only transforms the lives of parents but also has a positive, ripple effect on their children, families, and communities.