A Stirling-based firm charged with getting the long-term unemployed back to into work saw profits climb by 15% during the year to the end of March, figures posted at Companies House have revealed.
Triage Central, which delivers the UK Government’s welfare-to-work programme in Tayside, Fife and the Forth Valley, said revenues rose by a fifth to £9.6 million in the year to the end of March. That sent profits soaring, with returns climbing to £965,000 before tax.
Meanwhile, dividends worth £600,000 were paid to parent company Dynamus, which is controlled by Triage founding director Kate Carnegie.
The Thistle Industrial Estate firm whose clients include Department of Work and Pensions-approved employability firms Ingeus and Working Links, and which also operates across North Lanarkshire, Aberdeen and parts of the north east of England nonetheless boosted its retained profits carried forward to £1.05m.
But the news comes just days after Triage was criticised for its management of the Government’s Work Programme in Dundee, as new statistics revealed the city was the second-worst performing area of the UK.
DWP figures showed 8.35% of the 4,910 people mandated on to the scheme in the City of Discovery went on to achieve “sustained” employment during the three months to June, making the city the worst-performing location in Scotland.
The national average for the same period rose to 13.55%.
The company, which bills itself as one of the “UK’s top-performing private-sector businesses” delivering the welfare-to-work scheme, said investment in skills and offices would improve services.
“Triage is focused on developing the company through investment in our staff skills and the quality of our offices,” a company spokeswoman said.
“Together, this will further strengthen our ability to serve individual and corporate clients.”
The Work Programme sees Triage work alongside the DWP’s prime contractors and Jobcentre Plus to provide support, training, work preparation and job opportunities and “help people in receipt of benefits progress back and into work”.
“Triage has consistently achieved one of the highest success rates in the country through innovative approaches to employment and training that works for individuals and companies,” the company’s website boasts.
But city-based North East of Scotland MSP Jenny Marra met the firm late last month, and later called for Triage “to be sacked”.
“Since Triage have been involved, Dundee has consistently been the worst in the UK at getting long-term unemployed people back to work,” she said. “This isn’t good enough. We need a better service for our long-term unemployed who want to get back to work.”
The company’s highest-paid director received emoluments totalling £138,654, a £25,000 or 22% hike on the previous year, during the year to March.
Ms Carnegie, who was awarded an MBE for services to the unemployed in 2011, “stepped back” from her day-to-day role with the firm in May, and was replaced as managing director by former Jobcentre Plus regional director Grace Kennedy.