Agenda item

(i)       Joint Report of the Assistant Chief Executive and Corporate Director of     Regeneration and Economic Development.

(ii)      Presentation by the Employability Manager, Regeneration and        Economic Development.

The Chairman introduced the Employability Manager, Regeneration and Economic Development, John Tindale who was in attendance to give an overview of Skills Development in County Durham (for copy see file of minutes).

The Employability Manager thanked Members and referred them to several graphs within the presentation that gave various figures including those relating to: NELEP sectors with net employment growth; employment by sector for the County; qualifications of County Durham residents; apprenticeship performance; and UK and North East employment projections by sector 2010-20.

Councillors noted that the Hitachi development was an example kick-starting an interest in developing skills and hopefully discussions with Hitachi in due course will allow for local provision to be developed accordingly.  Members learned that there was a perceived knock-on effect that many nearby local employers were “holding their breath” as regards developing their business, taking on apprenticeships or taking up training opportunities, awaiting the arrival of Hitachi before making decisions about their future.  Members noted that further information as regards regional partnership working in developing an independent assessment of skills needs could be brought back to Committee at a future meeting.

The Committee noted that current key issues included preparing young people for jobs that would become available by offering IAG in schools, and wider, engaging with schools and employers to give young people a good and realistic view of their options.  It was added that labour market intelligence was important, with a further report to come on this issue, and that the relevant statistics would need to be monitored in order to match skills to emerging jobs/employers such as Hitachi.

Councillors noted that economic confidence was also important though, as previously mentioned, some businesses were holding back on investment in staff/training in case of people looking to move into emerging jobs with employers, such as Hitachi.  The Employability Manager noted the funding mechanisms in place such as EU funding via ERDF, YEI and some funding that could be available regarding higher level skills, and it was reiterated that match funding was required.  Members were reminded that all activities were in the wider context of reductions in budgets not only at Local Authorities, but at other public sector bodies and private sector partners.  It was explained that funding for skills training for 15-24 year olds was available, however, for those 24+ there was less funding available.  Councillors did note a 24+ scheme in the south of the County, and a project working with those 50+ enabling them to get back into work.  

The Employability Manager referred Members to a diagram showing supply and demand, highlighting that there were differences across the County and that in many cases there was a need to convince employers of the opportunities that were available to them and to convince them to produce a 3-5 year business plan that would help them with workforce development; business continuity and succession planning; and to grow their business where appropriate. 

Councillors learned that in cases where employers needs are not being met, it can often be the case that employers struggle to articulate what skills they require and have unrealistic expectations of how quickly new employees can adapt and become fully productive.  It was reiterated that in many cases employers were still finding it difficult to access the skills system and confusion often led to employers giving up and not investing in new employees or further skills training for existing employees.

The Committee noted that schools, in general, were still finding it difficult to involve employers and a barrier was that IAG was in many cases still only pushing an academic route, not including advice as regards vocational qualification, apprenticeships, entrepreneurship and those sectors of employment that were growing and likely to be looking for specific skills.  Members noted that at both Further Education and High Education, funding was a still learner-led rather than employer-led and there was felt to be a mismatch between the types of bespoke training courses employers wanted in comparison to those being offered by providers.  Issues of retention of higher level skills within the County were noted, with fewer graduate opportunities being available and better opportunities and high wages being offered elsewhere.

The Employability Manager explained that priorities for 2014 included: implementation of the School-Business Engagement Action Plan; continuing encouragement and facilitation of apprenticeship creation; workforce up-skilling via the ESF programme, NEETs; and the Adults Skills Strategy/Community Learning Strategy.  Members noted a report regarding the skills required in Newton Aycliffe and the surrounding area was at an early draft stage and could be brought back to Committee at a future date. 

The Employability Manager concluded by noting that discussions with the Developer at the Hitachi site, Shepherd, had been positive, with the company having an excellent apprenticeship scheme and that also sub-contracts would stipulate that there were opportunities for local people, either in employment or apprenticeship roles.

The Chairman thanked the Employability Manager and asked Members for their questions on the presentation.

Members noted that there were some issues with engagement and that companies could be cultural and asked questions in relation to: if skills are not available locally that skills would be brought in from elsewhere; reiteration of training providers not matching employer needs and the difficulty of providing bespoke training; and encouraging the engineering and manufacturing sectors as viable careers for young people.

The Employability Manager noted that experience of Shepherd suggested that over time what skills are needed in the area would emerge and that good communication would be important moving forward.  Members noted there was the possibility of some skilled jobs requiring people brought in from outside of the County or region, however the majority of the employment opportunities would likely fall locally. 

The Employability Manager noted that working with employers was important to develop training that delivered the skills they needed, and that the latest EU programme did push to deliver what employers required.  It was noted that many providers were flexible, however, many employer were not aware and therefore it was important to engage with employers to ensure that opportunities are not missed.  The Employability Manager agreed with Members as regards employers providing apprentice opportunities and cited Shepherds as a good example of this with all of the executives that had attended a recent meeting having started in the company as apprentices.  Members were reminded of the work of the Sector Skills Councils, in particular regarding engineering in the region and noted a large event held at Nissan in October 2013 pushing the engineering and manufacturing sector, with all Head Teachers from the region being invited to attend in order for them to appreciate the options available and then cascade this so that pupils were aware of this career path.

Resolved:

(i)       That the report and presentation be noted.

(ii)      That the Economy and Enterprise Overview and Scrutiny Committee receive a further information in relation to the independent assessment of skills development in the Newton Aycliffe area at a future meeting of the Committee.