GBSLEP EMPLOYMENT AND SKILLS BOARD MEETING Friday 07 February 2020 – 09:00-11:00

GBSLEP, Board Room. Baskerville House, Birmingham. B1 2ND

AGENDA

Time Subject Format

1 0900 Welcome Introductions Interim Chair: Helen Higson, Aston University

• Apologies

• Introduction of new Head of Skills Spencer Wilson

• Note of Conflicts of Interest

2 • Notes and Matters Arising Notes 05/11/20

3 0910 LEP Update

• LEP Review

• Stakeholder Developments

• Skills Policy Update

LEP Exec update – Christian Sayer/Maria Lopez

4 0925 Delivery Plan & Delivery Updates LEP Exec update – Christian Sayer/Maria Lopez Discussion

5 1000 Higher Level Skills Match Craig Walsh + Lucia Puricelli Presentation & Discussion

6 1015 Local ESB Update LEP Exec update – Maria Lopez

7 1020 Funding Update

• Local Growth Fund (capital)

• SEP Enabling Funds (revenue)

• European Social Funds

LEP Exec update – Christian Sayer/Maria Lopez Discussion

8 1035 Plan 10,000 Plus LEP Exec update – Christian Sayer/Maria Lopez Discussion

9 1055 Next Meeting and AOB

GBSLEP ESB dates April 02nd 2020 July 09th 2020 October 15th 2020

NB GBSLEP Board Dates 12 March 2020 23 April 2020 04 June 2020 16 July 2020 24 September 2020 03 December 2020

GREATER BIRMINGHAM AND SOLIHULL EMPLOYMENT AND SKILLS BOARD MEETING

Friday 5 November 2019, 8.30-10.30am at Baskerville House (GBSLEP)

Decisions and Actions

Attendees: Helen Higson, Acting Chair (Representing HE), Hilary Smyth-Allen (Business and Professional Services Skills Sector Champion alternate), Stuart Baker (Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering Skills Sector Champion), David Hardman (ICT Skills Sector Champion), Gareth Davies (Representing Schools), Rob Colbourne (Representing ITPs), Jason Challoner (Southern Staffordshire ESB Chair), Steve Davies (Deputy Chair for Solihull ESB). Guest: Alison Bond from Ahead Partnership.

In attendance: Paul Edwards (GBSLEP Executive), Maria Lopez (GBSLEP Executive), Christian Sayer (GBSLEP Executive),

Subject Decisions Actions Timescale Owner

1 Welcome and Apologies

Apologies were noted from: Ian Barnes (Business and Professional Services Skills Sector Champion), , Tony Davies (Life Science Skills Sector Champion), Paul Thandi (Solihull ESB Chair), Mike Hopkins (Representing Further Education), Luke Southall (Representing young people), Alison Jarrett (BCC); Rachel Egan (WMCA Executive)

- - -

Conflicts of Interest

Rob Colbourne – Ladder for GBS Gareth Davies – CEC Hilary Smyth-Allen – BPS Week, Office for Students Helen Higson – IOT, Office for Students project

-

- -

2 Notes/Matters Arising – 5 July 2019

The minutes were agreed from the last meeting.

-

-

-

3 LEP Strategic Update

The Board noted the updates presented on:

• LEP Review

• LEP Future Operating Model

• West Midlands Combined Authority

• Apprenticeships

• T Levels

• West Midlands Digital Skills Partnership

Members & Providers encouraged to promote new roles LEP Executive and for LEP Board Plan 10K Plus Strategic Group to consider

December 2019

December 2019 –

LEP Executive (CS/ML) & ESB Members

LEP Executive (ML)

GBSLEP ESB BOARD DECISIONS & ACTIONS 5 November 2019 2

Subject Decisions Actions Timescale Owner

• GBSLEP Annual Conference

• CIPD People Skills Project

• Data

local coverage of Apprenticeship Standards Consider how LEP can support increase in construction L2 skills ESB will not take up offer of £5k to support T-Levels PR Provide data on Apprenticeships & breakdown on standards & levels

January 2020

February 2020

January / February

2020 ESB

LEP Executive (CS/ML) & ESB Members LEP Executive (CS)

4 Delivery Update The Board noted the progress presented on:

• Ladder for GBS

• 5 Cities Apprenticeship Diversity Hub

• Presentation provided by Hilary & Alison Bond on Professional Services Week

• GBSLEP IOT

• Higher Level Skills Match & Business Elevator Projects

• Office for Students HE projects

• Enterprise Advisor Network/Careers and Enterprise Company – Birmingham & Solihull

• Presentation by Birmingham Education Partnership – Careers Hub & EAN

Event planned for Employer & graduate skills support projects PR BPS invite suggestions for targeting young people into work experience BEP welcome support with comms with employers & recruitment of Enterprise Advisors

December 2019 January / February 2020 ESB January / February 2020 ESB

LEP Executive (ML) LEP Executive (CS/ML) & ESB Members LEP Executive (CS/ML) & ESB Members

GBSLEP ESB BOARD DECISIONS & ACTIONS 5 November 2019 3

Subject Decisions Actions Timescale Owner

5 Local ESB Reports

The Board noted the progress by Local ESBs. Progress to be reported

January / February 2020 ESB

Local ESB Chairs

6 Funding Update The Board noted the updates presented on: • Local Growth Fund (capital) • SEP Enabling Funds (revenue) • European Social Funds

Promote current ESF calls

November & December 2019

LEP Executive (CS/ML) & ESB Members

7 Plan 10,000 Plus The Board discussed the 8 Key Areas of focus within the Plan and proposed additional points of interest TOR approved Feedback on first 4 Key Areas of focus - ESB Member Chair/representation:

• Apprenticeship match

• Skills for Growth Hub

• Work Academies

• Strategic Leadership

Seek further & wider membership from local ESBs, external stakeholders, employer groups, WMCA

December 2019 – January 2020

LEP Executive (CS/ML)

8 AOB & Next Meetings

The Board noted the Creative Alliance ATA/GTA survey being undertaken The Board agreed future days/timings for ESB

Update to be provided Circulate future days/times of ESB

January / February 2020 ESB November 2019

LEP Executive (CS)

LEP Executive (CS)

Future Meetings, all at Baskerville House (GBSLEP Executive)

Suggested dates are:

• Thursday January 30th 2020 09:00-11:00 • Thursday April 2nd 2020 09:00-11:00 • Thursday July 9th 2020 09:00-11:00 • Thursday October 15th 2020 09:00-11:00

EMPLOYMENT AND SKILLS BOARD (07 February 2020) – AGENDA ITEM 3 STRATEGIC UPDATE

Purpose of this paper

To update the ESB on recent strategic developments

Recommendation

• The ESB notes the contents of this report

Contact

Christian Sayer, LEP Executive Officer (Employment and Skills)

_____________________________________________________________________________________

1. LEP Governance review

a. There remains no substantial change since the previous ESB. However, given the changed political environment, we are hopeful of resolution in Q1 2020.

2. LEP Future Operating Model & ESB

a. A Head of Skills for GBSLEP, Spencer Wilson, has been appointed with an official start date of February 24th. He is hoping to attend the ESB meeting on the 7th.

b. ESB member and sector skills champion for Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering, Stuart Baker, has resigned his role due to a promotion which has resulted in him relocating.

c. Recruitment of a Local North Worcestershire ESB Chair has taken place: Stuart Hyde Managing Director of Faun Zoeller UK in Redditch has been appointed.

d. Recruitment for an ESB Chair/Non-Executive Director has opened.

e. Recruitment for Sector Skills Champions for Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering, Creative Industries and Low Carbon are due to commence in March.

f. There has been slippage in recruitment timescales for the LEP executive skills roles associated with the Plan 10,000 Plus (including for the Apprenticeship Hub and Skills for Growth Hub). Recruitment for these roles are now due to commence end of February.

3. West Midlands Combined Authority

a. The GBSLEP executive continues to work on strengthening relationships with the WMCA executive.

b. Monthly catch up meetings occur between the LEP skills executive and the WMCA Head of Business Engagement Jose Lopes. In addition, more frequent catch ups occur, especially with WMCA apprenticeships staff, as well as membership of other productivity and skills groups.

c. A verbal update will be given on the last Skills Advisory Panel/Board meeting by Rob Colbourne and GBSLEP skills executive.

4. Apprenticeships

a. SMEs to benefit from access to the apprenticeship service - From 9 January, the ESFA extended the access to the apprenticeship service to employers who are not one of the existing 22,000 levy-payers using the service already. This is of enormous benefit to SMEs connecting with apprenticeships across England. Non-levy payers will now have greater ownership, visibility and involvement with apprenticeships, funding and access to a wider range of high-quality training providers. This will mean that SMEs – that form 99 per cent of the businesses in the UK – will be in greater control of the apprenticeships that they engage with.

b. National Apprenticeship Week ‘Look Beyond’ Activity (3-9 February 2020) & Fire it Up

Campaign:

• Known activity (digital or real word) taking place during national apprenticeship week can be viewed on the national map of events link: https://nawevents.co.uk/

• ESFA have teamed up with Jamal Edwards MBE, founder of music platform SBTV, for a three-part campaign encouraging young people to consider undertaking an apprenticeship. The films follow seven apprentices as they record, produce and launch an exclusive track and music video with grime MC P Money. Part one, which went live on Thurs 9 January shows the creative process behind the track, while part

two, focuses on the song’s promotion. Both episodes are available to watch here. Part three, which shows the music video and “making of” is going live on 23 January, followed by two episodes for parents/teachers and employers.

• ESFA have also teamed up with Spotify to produce a series of 30 second audio ads for young people (16-24) on their Spotify Free platform – these went live on Weds 15 January. These ads have been matched to the six top ‘moment’ playlists on Spotify, which are Travel, Commute, Party, Cooking, Workout and Focus. For each moment we will have one apprentice from that industry e.g. a professional chef apprentice for the cooking ‘moment’ and Jamal Edwards speaking in the adverts. The ESFA will also produce their own Fire It Up branded playlist, curated by Jamal, which goes live on 23rd Jan.

• ESFA have partnered with the Guardian Labs to produce content for our young people, parent, teacher and employer audiences. This work includes a coverwrap in Weekend magazine went live on 11 January, a series of online case studies and

articles which can be viewed here as they go live, two documentary style videos and a partnership with micro influencers. The aim of The Guardian Labs partnership is to showcase the wide range, diversity and appeal of apprenticeships to our audiences and to position apprenticeships as an attractive career option.

c. NSAR Support Package – National Skills Academy for Rail (NSAR) have been commissioned to produce advisory materials and “tool Kits” to support small employers to engage with the new practicalities of Apprenticeships and particularly with registering/utilising the Apprenticeship Service. They are being produced with SMEs in mind, and are intended to be written in language that connects with them.

• This is further supported with several videos being released in stages from January to March and an offer to support up to two LEP led events covering the following:

i. Onboarding ii. Landing the tool kit

NSAR will not deliver event activity independently; this is seen as an addition to any planned LEP activity. There is no cost to LEPs for these materials and outputs – this will be a freely available tool to LEPs armoury and resources. LEPs can adopt them under own branding to enable delivery of a coherent local message.

d. Engagement with WM Apprenticeship Ambassador Network / Young Apprenticeship Ambassador Network – meetings with the AAN have led to more collaboration to promote apprenticeships.

5. T-Levels

a. West Midlands T level event – there will be an ESFA West Midlands event on 12 March at the Holiday inn, Hill Street in Birmingham talking further about T levels and in particular trying to get providers to share successful practice in developing strong employer links. A more formal invitation to register will follow soon and will be shared with both ESB and local ESBs.

6. West Midlands Digital Skills Partnership

a. The most recent WM Digital Skills Partnership board meeting took place on Thursday January 23rd.

b. Results of round two of the Digital Retraining Fund were unable to be presented in the meeting and instead will be sent by written procedure in the coming weeks. In the second round of funding there were twenty-nine applications with eight being successful. A third funding round will be launched around June. Some questions and discussion followed on how a framework of digital skills could be developed, with some reference to SFIA. A board member highlighted that currently there is no process to capture unsuccessful applicants for training schemes supported by the fund. The WMCA executive are to investigate potential solutions and respond next meeting.

c. The WMCA are aiming to launch their £1m EdTech fund Q2 2020. They are currently considering four areas to launch calls in, though open to feedback. Currently these are:

1) Online learning platform with embedded artificial intelligence. 2) Provide up to three ‘demonstrator sites’ that will embed EdTech including AI, VR

and big data across the curriculum delivery and business operation of the pilot sites.

3) Cyber security and hacking lab. 4) Open fund for innovation and creativity to encourage EdTech companies to work

directly with students to develop tech solutions to enhance learning.

d. An update was provided on the WMCA Apprenticeship Levy Transfer scheme. To date, £6.55m has been committed, with £3.3m spent. This has funded 255 apprentices and 100 SMEs have benefitted. Of the apprenticeships funded, 32% are for digital apprenticeships.

e. The next DSP meeting is scheduled for April 2020

7. West Midlands Local Enterprise Partnerships

a. West Midlands LEP skills executive meetings continue to take place every six weeks to ensure strong collaboration and knowledge sharing.

b. Next meeting is due to take place February 25th.

8. West Midlands Growth Company

a. GBSLEP skills executive continue to support West Midlands Growth Company (WMGC) with the skills queries they receive from potential FDI and inward investment clients, with a focus on their BPFS and Tech & Creative teams.

b. There is confidence that three companies, supported on skills issues by GBSLEP, will announce expansion or relocation to the region by April ESB.

9. CIPD People Skills Project

a. GBSLEP skills executive sit on the steering group for the recently launched People Skills project covering the GBS geography.

b. The People Skills project provides “free-at-the-point-of-use” HR and people management support to help improve the performance of small firms.

c. Of substantial relevance to GBSLEP skills is their work trialing engagement approaches with SMEs across the GBSLEP region and their mapping work of SMEs. A report on this isdue shortly.

10. Data

a. Attached as Appendix 3a is the latest GBSLEP headline KPIs from the January board meeting. In this, there has been no changes since the last ESB to skills KPIs, though there is an increase in unemployment levels driven by economic slow down, Brexit and the wider roll out of new unemployment benefit regimes.

b. We are expecting the release of our headline KPI data, % of adult working age population qualified Level 3+, to be in February, but likely after the board meeting.

c. We are expecting the next Apprenticeship data release in March/April.

d. GBSLEP skills executive have been engaging with City-REDI and the Office for Data Analytics around data needs and the development of a Socio-Economic Impact Model UK (SEIM-UK), set, amongst other measures, to provide regional LMI data.

January 2020

GBSLEP KPI Report

1

KPI Baseline

(2010) Current Progress

To Date Latest Data

Create 250,000 Private Sector Jobs by 2030 to be the Leading Core City LEP for Private Sector Job Creation

633,600 795,652 (2018)

162,052 ,

65% Delivered 6,570

Increase GVA by £29bn by 2030 £42bn £54.8bn

(2018)

£12.8bn 44% Delivered

£2.6bn

Decrease Unemployment to the National Average by 2020

2.7% Point Gap with UK

2.4% Point Gap with UK

(June 2019)

-0.3% Points

12% Delivered

0.7% points

To Have the Lowest Unemployment Amongst the LEP Core Cities by 2030

5.1% Point Gap with Lead-

ing CC

2.9% Point Gap with

Leading CC (Liverpool City Re-gion, June 2019)

-2.2% Points

43% Delivered

0.5% Points

GBSLEP to be the Leading Core City LEP by 2030 for GVA per Head

£6,300 Per

Head Gap

£3,784 Per Head Gap

(2018)

-£2,516 Per Head gap 40% Delivered

-£375 Per Head gap

Increase the % of Working Age Population with NVQ3+ to the National Average by 2025

5.6% Point Gap with

UK

3.9% Point Gap with UK (December 2018)

-1.7%

Point gap with UK

-0.8% Point

gap with UK

New KPIs - Baselined from 2015

Increase Productivity Rates to the National Average by 2030

£5.81 GVA per Hour Gap

(2015)

£1.72 GVA per Hour Gap

(2017)

-£4.09

-73% GVA per hour gap

-£0.51 Per Hour gap

GBSLEP to be the Leading Core City LEP for Quality of Life by 2030

-Ranked 5/8

(2013-15)

Ranked 2/8

(2016-18)

Up 3 Places

Up 1 Place

KPI Dashboard

GBSLEP KPI Report January 2020

Baseline

(2010) Current

Progress

To Date Latest Data

Labour Market Indicators

Claimant Unemployment (November 2019)

67,260 61,500 -5760 +1,725

WM Employment (October 2019) 2,489,000 2,711,704 +222,704 +17,604

WM Emp. Rate (October 2019) 69.0% 75.1 +6.1% +0.5%

WM Unemployment (October 2019) 243,700 128,946 -114,754 +9,892

WM Unemployment Rate (August 2019) 8.9% 4.5% -4.4% +0.3%

% Business 10%+ Employment Growth in 3 Consecutive Years (2015-18)

24% 15% -9% -1.0%

FDI Jobs Created (2018/19) 764 1,622 858 -1,515

Economic Output Indicators

Private Sector Business Start-ups (2015-18)

5,021 11,192 +6,171 -2,403

Business Start-up Rate per 10,000 of Pop (2015-18)

26.0 55 +29 -12

Start-up 3 Year Survival Rate (2015-18)

48.4% 55% +6.6% No change

% Start-ups Reaching £1m+ Turnover After 3 Years (2015-18)

5.8% 2.0% -3.8% -2.0%

QBR - Domestic Sales Index (Q3 2019)

66 64 -2 -1

QBR - Export Sales Index (Q3 2019)

63 58 -5 +2

West Midlands Exports (goods only) (Q2 2019)

£4.1bn £7.4bn +£3.3bn -£0.7bn

WM Purchasing Managers’ Index (November 2019)

56.8 49.4 -7.4 -1.2

WM Business Confidence (November 2019)

10% 24% +14% +8%

Leading Indicators

GBSLEP KPI Report January 2020

KPI Baseline

(2010) Current

Progress

To Date Latest Data

Claimant Unemployment Rate Differential ( Nov 2019)

+2.6% point gap (with UK)

+2.7% point gap +0.1% points +0.1% points

+1.6% point gap (with Core City

LEPs) +1.8% point gap +0.1% points +0.1% points

GBSLEP Employment Rate Differential (June 2019)

-5.3% point gap (with UK)

-4.8% point gap -0.5% point

1.1% points

-2.9% point gap (with Core City

LEPs) -3.0% point gap

0.1% point

0.9% points

% Business 10%+ Em-ployment Growth in 3 Consecutive Years

(2015-18)

-0.5% point gap (with England)

0.0% point gap +0.5%

point No

change

-0.6% point gap (with Core City

LEPs) +0.6% point gap

+1.2% point

+0.9% point

Economic Output Indicators

Business Start-up Rate Differential (per 10,000 of Pop)

(2015-18)

-4.2 gap (with England)

+9.0 gap +13.2 gap -5.3 gap

+1.9 gap (with Core

City LEPs)

+17.1 gap (with Core City LEPs)

+15.2 gap -6.4 gap

Start-up 3 Year Survival Rate Differential (2015-18)

+3.0% point gap (with

England) -0.3% point gap

-3.3% point

No change

+6.2% point gap (with Core City

LEPs)

+1.6% point gap (with Core City

LEPs)

-4.6% point

+1.7% point

% Start-ups Reaching £1m+ Turnover After 3 Years Differential

(2015-18)

-0.1% point gap (with England)

0.0% point gap +0.1%

point +0.3%

point

+0.2% point gap (with Core City

LEPs)

+0.2% point gap (with

Core City LEPs)

No change

-0.1% point

Leading Indicators Comparison Dashboard

KPI 1 Create 250,000 Private Sector Jobs by 2030

Private Sector Workplace Employment

Area 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Change 2010 - 2017

Number % of

LEP To-tal

% Growth

Birmingham 338,700 355,200 362,700 365,500 386,700 393,200 400,700 409,974 71,274 42.7 21

Bromsgrove 28,700 29,200 30,700 30,300 31,700 33,300 43,500 56,640 27,940 16.7 97.4

Cannock Chase 28,500 28,400 29,600 30,300 33,700 34,200 35,600 37,866 9,366 5.6 32.9

East Staffordshire 45,900 48,100 46,100 48,200 52,600 53,500 52,400 57,311 11,411 6.8 24.8

Lichfield 33,700 34,800 34,700 36,400 39,000 43,400 45,600 45,533 11,833 7.0 35.1

Redditch 29,700 29,900 30,400 30,900 31,100 33,400 32,300 32,848 3,148 1.9 10.6

Solihull 77,400 80,000 87,200 85,100 90,600 98,200 103,600 104,949 27,549 16.5 35.6

Tamworth 23,800 23,500 27,200 25,300 26,500 28,100 26,100 26,317 2,517 1.5 10.6

Wyre Forest 27,200 27,500 27,700 26,100 27,200 28,000 28,000 29,248 2,048 1.2 7.5

GBSLEP 633,600 656,600 676,200 678,000 719,100 745,200 767,800 800,686 167,086 100.0% 26.4%

162,052 Jobs

Created

65% Of Target Delivered

Trends

After declining during the recession to stand at 633,600 in 2010, private sector jobs in the GBSLEP area grew strongly in 2011 (+23,000) and 2012 (+19,600). Growth was slower in 2013 (+1,800) but accelerated again in 2014 (+41,100), 2015 (+26,100) and 2017 (+34,422). 2018 has seen a slight slowdown with a decrease on 2017 of 6,570 jobs. This is 162,052 above the baseline which is a drop of 2% against 2017 to 65% of the way to achieving the 250,000 target for 2030.

Milestones

Proposed milestones see the majority of the job growth occurring in the period between 2020 to 2030 with 40% of the target to be delivered in the first decade and 60% in the second. Significant private sector jobs growth to date has resulted in the GBSLEP being well ahead of profile in achieving the 250,000 jobs target.

020,00040,00060,00080,000100,000120,000140,000160,000180,000

0100,000200,000300,000400,000500,000600,000700,000800,000900,000

2010 2012 2014 2016

GBS LEP Private Sector Employment

Change from BaselineTotal Private Sector Employment

0

5,00010,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

30,000

35,000

40,000

45,000

600,000

650,000

700,000

750,000

800,000

850,000Private Sector Jobs Milestones

Annual Job Growth Actual Employment

Target Profi le

LEP LA Performance

All nine areas have seen private sector employment growth since 2010. Birmingham has seen the most growth in employment with 71,274 more private sector jobs than in 2010. However, Bromsgrove (97.4%), Solihull (35.6%), Lichfield (35.1%), Cannock Chase (32.9%) and East Staffordshire (24.8%) have all grown by a greater proportion than Birmingham (21%).

KPI 1 Create 250,000 Private Sector Jobs by 2030

Intermediate & Contextual Indicators As this KPI is measured by data released annually with a one year time lag the following intermediate indicators are displayed in order to highlight current performance and trends relating to this KPI.

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

0.6

0.7

Attempted to Recruit Difficulty Recruiting

Q3 2018 Q4 2018

Recruitment The Greater Birmingham Chamber Quarterly Business Report (QBR) Q3 2019 shows that between July to September 2019 35% of firms in the region saw their workforce increase, up slightly (+2% points) from Q2 The share of firms whose workforce fell was 11% (a 2% decrease) from the previous quarter.

Recruitment Difficulties The Q3 2019 QBR found that 59% of firms attempted to recruit in Q4 2018, up slightly by 2% on the previous quarter. There was a 3% decrease in the percentage of firms experiencing recruitment difficulties in Q4 to 61%.

Resident Employment Rates The number of LEP residents (16+) in employment after falling initially has picked up over recent years to reach a level well above the pre recession peak of 840,000. The latest data for Q2 2018 shows employment in the LEP has risen by 3,800 to 917,400.

35% of firms reported an increase in labour force in

Q3

780,000

800,000

820,000

840,000

860,000

880,000

900,000

920,000

940,000

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Resident Employment

Pre Recession Peak

KPI 2 Increase GVA by £29bn by 2030

£12.8bn GVA

Growth

44% Of Target Delivered

Trends

Real GVA (which removes the impacts of inflation) in the GBSLEP fell sharply during the recession but has shown a steady recovery since 2009 with the 2014 figures pushing economic output in the LEP area back above its pre-recession peak for the first time. In 2018 GVA continued to grow, with an accelerated pace following decelerated growth over the past two years.

Milestones

The proposed GVA milestones see the majority of the output growth occurring in the period between 2020 to 2030 with 40% of the target to be delivered in the first decade and 60% in the second. This is to take into account that major GBSLEP initiatives will impact more on GVA in the second decade. The 2018 figures continue to measure ahead of profile, 4% ahead of the 2020 GVA growth target.

LEP LA Performance

Birmingham was the biggest contributor to economic growth in the LEP area in 2018 (+£1.76bn) accounting for 69% of the LEP’s total GVA growth. Solihull experienced the strongest growth rate with its economy expanding by 6.6% in 2018, almost double the UK average of 3.4%.

-3,000

-2,000

-1,000

0

1,000

2,000

3,000

35,000

37,000

39,000

41,000

43,000

45,000

47,000

49,000

51,000

53,000

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

GBS LEP Real GVA

Annual Change (£m) Total GVA (£m)

GBSLEP Real GVA 2018 £m

Area 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Change 2017-2018

2016 2017 2018

£m %

B’ham 22,787 23,367 23,148 23,899 24,518 25,579 1,764 6.5 27,121 27,315 29,079

Solihull 5,809 5,939 6,267 6,074 6,331 7,025 614 6.6 7,553 9,271 9,885

Districts 13,374 13,740 13,552 13,413 14,049 14,851 190 1.2 14,875 15,595 15,785

GBSLEP 41,971 43,044 42,954 43,381 44,900 47,457 2,569 4.9 49,548 52,181 54,750

2018 GVA Birmingham Solihull Districts

GVA up

£1.76 bn

6.5%

GVA up

£614m

6.6%

GVA up

£190m

1.2%

GBSLEP Real GVA Milestones £m

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018

GVA £m 45,362 47,497 50,421 52,181 54,750

Target Profile (£m)

45,451 46,321 47,771 49,221 50,671

Annual GVA Growth (£m)

1,958 2,135 2,924 1,760 2,569

KPI 2 Increase GVA by £29bn by 2030

Intermediate & Contextual Indicators

As this KPI is measured by data released annually with a one year time lag the following intermediate indicators are displayed in order to highlight current performance and trends relating to this KPI.

Productivity - GVA per Hour Worked (latest data from 2016) The latest official GVA per hour worked figures which are the ONS preferred measure of productivity are displaced in the adjacent chart which shows that of the LEP core cities the GBSLEP has the 5th highest productivity at £28.9 per hour compared to £32.6 for the UK as a whole. The West of England LEP is the only core city LEP with higher productivity than the UK. There was very limited change on last year’s productivity data and GBSLEP did not change at all.

GVA per Worker (2018) GBSLEP still has the second highest GVA per worker among Core City LEPs, although the figure has fallen by £730 between 2016-17. Liverpool City Region has seen the largest increase in GVA per worker, improving by 2.14% since 2016. The figure has fallen most in West of England LEP, reducing by 1.76%, although the West of England LEP remains the most productive Core City LEP in terms of GVA per worker. Notably, London’s figure of £80,830 GVA per worker is substantially higher than all of the Core City LEPs which are closely grouped within a range of £45,145—£54,687 per worker. If we look at GVA per worker the GBSLEP performs better having the second highest rate amongst the core city LEPs, although it has declined by 0.9% in the last year. Only the West of England LEP saw any growth in GVA per worker among the Core City LEPs. The most significant decline was in Liverpool at -2.7%.

Ranked Core City Real GVA per Worker 2018

Area 2017 2018

Change 2016-2017

£ %

West of England 55,666 54,687 -979 -1.76

GBSLEP 52,767 52,037 -730 -1.38

Liverpool City Region 48,261 49,296 1,035 2.14

Greater Manchester 49,596 49,126 -470 -0.95

Leeds City Region 48,435 48,162 -273 -0.56

North Eastern 47,986 47,817 226 0.48

D2N2 46,584 46,809 -169 -0.35

Sheffield City Region 44,521 45,145 625 1.40

CC LEP Average 49,044 48,920 -124 -0.25

London 80,830 458 0.57

£0

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GVA Per hour worked

West of England

Liverpool

D2n2

Greater Manchester

GBSLEP

Leeds City Region

North Eastern

80,372

KPI 3 Decrease Unemployment to the National Average by 2020 & To Have the Lowest Unemployment Amongst the LEP Core Cities by 2030

Intermediate & Contextual Indicators As this KPI is measured by data released quarterly with a four month time lag the following indicators are displayed in order to highlight current performance and trends and provide context for this KPI.

District Claimant Count Unemployment Data

1.0%

2.0%

3.0%

4.0%

5.0%

6.0%

7.0%

8.0%

9.0%Claimant Count Unemployment

GBSLEP United Kingdom Core Ci ties LEP Average

70.0

72.0

74.0

76.0

78.0

80.0

16-64 Economic Activity Rate

GBSLEP UK

Economic Activity Economic activity is a measure of labour market participation. It is a count of those of working age who are either employed or unemployed but actively seeking work. After falling sharply during 2013-2015, which saw the gap with the UK widen, economic activity in the LEP has recovered in recent months. In Q1 2019 the economic activity rate increased from 75.5% to 76%.

Claimant Count Unemployment After falling sharply in the recovery since the Great Recession, unemployment plateaued. Although, since January 2018, the claimant rate for GBSLEP has increased from 4.0% to 6%. The Claimant Count averages for the UK and the Core Cities have not increased to the same extent. The reason for GBSLEP’s increasing Claimant Count is that Birmingham has introduced Universal Credit which requires a broader range of people to seek employment. Claimant unemployment by LEP LA is shown in the table below.

Claimant Unemployment - July 2019

Area JSA Claimants UC Claimants

Total Claimant Unem-ployed

Number Claimant

Proportion %

Birmingham 8,873 37,157 46,030 6.3

Bromsgrove 269 791 1,060 1.8

Cannock Chase 245 857 1,055 2.1

East Staffordshire 275 857 1,105 1.9

Lichfield 114 966 1,080 1.7

Redditch 166 1,364 1,530 2.9

Solihull 427 3,028 3,455 2.7

Tamworth 119 1,156 1,275 2.7

Wyre Forest 294 1,171 1,465 2.5

GBS LEP 10,782 47,793 58,575 4.6

UK 211,151 946,349 1,157,500 2.8 Claimant proportion: claimants divided by 16-64 population.

KPI 3 Decrease Unemployment to the National Average by 2020

& To Have the Lowest Unemployment Amongst the LEP Core Cities by 2030

Milestones

The latest data saw the unemployment differential with the UK widen to 2.4% in Q2 2019. GBSLEP is currently behind its target profile to close the gap with the UK by 2020.

The unemployment rate in the Liverpool City Region LEP is 2.9% lower than for GBSLEP. This gap has increased in the latest data (by 0.5% points). The gap is down 2.2% points on the 2010 baseline position and is currently ahead of profile to catch up by 2030.

Gap Risen by

0.7% Points

12% Of Target Delivered

Gap Down by

2.2% Points

43% of Target Delivered

Liverpool 3.6%

D2N2 5.1%

Leeds 4.1%

Sheffield 5.1%

North East 5.4%

UK 4.1%

GBSLEP 6.5% West England

3.8% LEP Average

4.8%

Manchester 4.8%

LEP Core City Unemployment Rates Q2 2019

0.0%0.5%1.0%1.5%2.0%2.5%3.0%3.5%4.0%4.5%

Unemployment Milestones - UK

Actual Gap Target Profile

0.0%

1.0%

2.0%

3.0%

4.0%

5.0%

6.0%

Unemployment Milestones- Core Cities

Actual Gap Target Pr ofile

KPI 4 GBSLEP to be the Leading Core City LEP by 2030 for GVA per Head

Gap Down

£2516 Per Head

40% Of Target Delivered

Trends

Since 2014 the gap between GBSLEP and West of England LEP has narrowed as GBSLEP’s GVA per head has increased from £22,630 in 2014 to £26,834 in 2018, a faster rate than West of England LEP (17% increase for GBSLEP contrasted to a 9% increase for West of England LEP). GBSLEP GVA per Head remains 2nd of all Core City LEPs.

Milestones

The proposed GVA per head milestones see the majority of the closing of the GVA per gap occurring in the period between 2020 to 2030 with 40% of the target to be delivered in the first decade and 60% in the second. The GVA per head differential is currently two years ahead of target, currently sitting at 40%.

-1,400-1,200-1,000-800-600-400-20002004006008001,0001,200

0

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GVA per Head Milestones

Annual Change in GVA per Head Gap Actual Gap £ Ta rget Profile

-6,000

-5,000

-4,000

-3,000

-2,000

-1,000

0

18,000

20,000

22,000

24,000

26,000

28,000

30,000

32,000

GVA per Head Differential

GBS LEP West of England Gap

KPI 5 Increase the % of Working Age Population with NVQ3+ to the National Average by 2025

Gap down by

0.8% Points

30% fall in Gap since 2010 Baseline

Trends

The GBSLEP has consistently underperformed compared to the national average on this KPI. Although, data from recent years suggests that the gap is narrowing. The most recent data for 2018 shows that the gap has fallen from 4.7% to 3.9%.

Milestones

Proposed milestones see the majority of the NVQ3+ gap being closed between 2020 and 2025, reflecting the longer term nature of achieving change in qualification levels. We are currently behind the target profile, although the improvement in recent years has brought the LEP’s % working age population at NVQ3+ extremely close to the target profile at just 0.4% behind target.

LEP LA Performance

Tamworth, Redditch, Wyre Forest and Cannock Chase have the lowest qualifications levels at NVQ 3+. Solihull, Bromsgrove and East Staffordshire have the highest rates and are above the national average and Core City average. The LEP overall, is still below the Core City LEP average by 1% point but this gap has been narrowing in recent years.

Annual Population Survey NVQ qualifications data is available at district level however, due to the small sample sizes at the lower geographical levels the ONS do not advise using the data at this level. Therefore the district data in the table below is subject to sampling error and change in annual qualification levels may not reflect genuine movements in NVQ3+ attainment

0.0%

1.0%

2.0%

3.0%

4.0%

5.0%

6.0%

7.0%

8.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%

45.0%

50.0%

55.0%

60.0%

NVQ3+ Differential

GBS LEP UK Gap

0.0%

1.0%

2.0%

3.0%

4.0%

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6.0%

7.0%

8.0%

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025

NVQ3+ %

NVQ3+ Milestones

Actual Gap Target Profile

Area 2010 Baseline 2017 2018 Change 2017-18

Number % Number % Number % Number %

Birmingham 281,600 41.5 365,600 50.5 379,900 52.2 14,300 3.9

Bromsgrove 28,000 49.6 38,000 66.1 33,800 59.8 -4,200 -11

Cannock Chase 23,800 38.3 32,600 53.7 31,600 51.1 -1,000 -3.1

East Staffordshire 36,100 49.8 38,000 66.1 33,800 58.5 -4,200 -11

Lichfield 30,500 49.2 37,500 60.4 34,500 57.7 -3,000 -8

Redditch 19,300 33.6 22,900 44.5 26,200 51.0 3,300 14.4

Solihull 66,100 52.4 72,600 56.7 77,500 61.4 4,900 6.7

Tamworth 17,300 35.1 20,200 42.9 21,700 46.1 1,500 7.4

Wyre Forest 26,600 43.5 33,100 56.4 29,300 51.4 -3,800 -11.5

GBSLEP 529,200 43.2 658,200 52.2 675,900 53.7 17,700 2.7

LEP Core City Average 4,681,200 45.7 5,572,200 53.6 5,685,900 54.7 113,700 2

UK 19,667,600 48.8 23,370,400 56.9 23,707,500 57.6 337,100 1.4

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

7%

8%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

NVQ4+ Differential

GBS LEP UK Gap

KPI 5 Increase the % of Working Age Population with NVQ3+ to the National Average by 2025 Intermediate & Contextual Indicators As this KPI is measured by data released annually the following indicators are displayed in order to highlight current performance and trends and provide context for this KPI.

0%

1%

2%

3%

4%

5%

6%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

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16%

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No Qualifications Differential

GBS LEP UK Gap

NVQ4+ The percentage of the 16-64 population with NVQ4+ (degree and above) has grown in the GBSLEP since 2010, from 25.8% to 33.8% in 2018. The gap with the UK proportion widened as the recession hit before narrowing sharply in 2015. Latest data from 2018 shows that the gap has fallen from 6.6% to 5.4% in the last year. No Qualifications GBSLEP has a higher percentage of working age residents with no qualifications compared to the UK average. However, The proportion of unqualified residents in the LEP has fallen significantly in recent years, from 16% in 2010 to 9% in 2018. The most recent data for 2018 shows the gap with the UK has narrowed sharply to just 1% (it had reached a peak of 4.7% in 2015). The percentage of residents aged 16-64 with no qualifications has continued to fall at a faster rate in GBSLEP, while remaining relatively static for the UK.

KPI 6 Increase Productivity Rates to the National Average by 2030

GBSLEP £32.25

GVA Per Hour

-1.00

-0.50

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

25.00

26.00

27.0028.00

29.00

30.0031.00

32.00

33.0034.00

35.00GBS LEP Real GVA per Hour

Annual Change

GVA per Hour (£)

Trends

Productivity as measured by GVA per hour worked has consistently been lower in the GBSLEP economy than at a national level. The differential with the UK widened during the recovery from the Great Recession as productivity levels declined locally. However, since 2015 the gap has narrowed significantly. Core city LEP productivity over the last 5 years is shown in the table below, currently GBSLEP has the 2nd highest productivity amongst the core city LEPs.

Within our geography, data is available at the level of county and unitary authorities, which means that there is data for Worcestershire and Staffordshire County Councils, but not for the individual district level

authorities within them. Solihull has seen the most impressive growth in productivity over the last year, followed by Birmingham, while Worcestershire and Staffordshire CC have remained comparatively static.

Real GVA per Hour Worked (£) - Local Authorities in the GBSLEP Region

Area 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Change 16-17

Amount £

%

Worcester-shire CC 23.69 24.64 24.87 28.57 29.05 30.60 28.90 28.80 -0.1 -0.34

Staffordshire CC 25.42 26.49 23.88 23.19 25.17 25.79 26.40 26.35 -0.05 -0.2

Birmingham 25.95 25.28 24.66 23.95 25.03 25.87 29.70 31.27 1.57 5.3

Solihull 30.14 31.55 32.18 31.22 32.84 36.45 39.00 41.74 2.74 7

Ranked Core City LEP Real GVA per Hour Worked (2017)

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

Change 16-17

Area £ %

1 West of England 29.38 28.37 29.70 30.14 32.13 33.82 33.10 33.19 0.09 0.3

2 GBSLEP 26.81 26.61 25.82 25.46 26.85 28.11 30.57 32.25 1.68 5.5

3 North Eastern 24.92 25.87 26.12 25.89 26.43 28.22 29.10 31.10 2 6.9

4 Liverpool City Region 30.53 30.24 28.54 29.09 28.84 30.44 29.70 30.40 0.7 2.4

5 Greater Manchester 27.43 27.76 28.22 28.34 27.89 29.57 29.50 30.05 0.55 1.9

6 Leeds City Region 25.74 26.49 26.14 26.29 27.08 28.31 28.50 29.67 1.17 4.1

7 D2N2 24.55 25.56 25.86 26.27 27.34 26.99 28.30 27.74 -0.56 -2

8 Sheffield City Region 23.50 23.50 24.00 25.93 25.86 26.11 27.00 27.54 0.54 2.00

London 39.34 39.98 40.07 40.31 41.47 43.06 43.80 45.17 1.37 3.1

UK 28.99 29.50 29.78 30.34 31.22 33.92 32.80 33.97 1.17 3.6

Gap with UK -2.18 -2.90 -3.96 -4.88 -4.37 -5.81 -2.23 -1.72 0.51 22.9

GBSLEP Ranked

3/8

KPI 7 GBSLLEP to be the Leading Core City LEP for Quality of Life by 2030

Quality of Life Index Rankings

The GBSLEP is currently the joint 2nd ranked core city LEP area in the PWC Good Growth Index which is the chosen tool for monitoring quality of life in the area and our performance relative to other LEP areas. The ranking for the GBSLEP improved by one place in the most recent report moving from 3rd to joint 2nd place. The gap in index score with the leading core city LEP area (West of England) has narrowed from 0.51 points to 0.43 points. Much of this improvement has been driven by Birmingham which has seen an increase in its index score from 0.18 to 0.31.

Index Score Performance

Index Score Performance

PWC Good Growth Index Rank and Scores Core City LEPs

2011-13 2013-15 2014-2016 2015-2017 2016-2018

Score Rank Score Rank Score Rank Score Rank Score Rank

West of England 0.33 1 0.57 1 0.68 1 0.73 1 0.75 1

Leeds -0.21 3 0.05 3 0.18 3 0.27 2 0.32 2

GBSLEP -0.37 5 -0.09 5 0.06 4 0.22 3 0.32 2

D2N2 -0.2 2 0.09 2 0.19 2 0.21 4 0.16 5

Greater Manchester -0.27 4 -0.06 4 0.05 5 0.21 5 0.32 2

Sheffield -0.55 7 -0.28 6 -0.11 6 -0.04 6 -0.03 8

North East -0.57 8 -0.29 7 -0.12 7 -0.07 7 0.03 7

Liverpool -0.49 6 -0.36 8 -0.16 8 -0.02 8 0.12 6 Gap with West of England 0.70 0.66 0.62 0.51 0.43

PWC Good Growth Index

EMPLOYMENT AND SKILLS BOARD (07 February 2020) – AGENDA ITEM 4 DELIVERY PLAN ACTIONS UPDATE

Purpose of this paper

To update the ESB on recent developments in delivery of the Skills Delivery Plan action

Recommendation

• The ESB notes progress and considers interventions that are in progress.

• The ESB considers the Skills Delivery Plan draft for 2020/21 and provides feedback.

Contact

Christian Sayer, Executive Officer (Employment & Skills)

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Skills Delivery Plan 2019/20

1. Delivery Plan progress

a. Attached as appendix 4a is a RAG status update on the current Skills Delivery Plan. Points two to nine below go into more detail on some specific projects.

2. Ladder for GBS

b. The Ladder for GBS apprenticeship programme performed to target of 1000 apprenticeship starts by the end of 2019.

c. Given the slippage in recruitment for GBSLEP Apprenticeship Hub staff, GBSLEP are looking to extend the Ladder for GBS to the end of June to ensure there is a continuation of support for business in our region and to help support the launch of the Apprenticeship Hub (see agenda item 7).

d. All ESB members are encouraged to support the Ladder, and to promote it through their networks and supply chains.

3. 5 Cities Apprenticeship Diversity Hub

a. With 5 Cities Apprenticeship funding we are supporting several activities focused on BAME school students during National Apprenticeship Week.

b. A number of video case studies of young BAME apprentices are being commissioned for social media, free for use for organisations across the geography.

c. Any ESB members interested in joining the skills diversity group are welcome.

4. Professional Services Week

a. Birmingham and Solihull Professional Services Week was highlighted as an example of good practice in the The City UK’s (national financial sector business representative organisation) Financial Services Skills Taskforce report. The report is viewable at https://www.thecityuk.com/assets/2020/Reports/43e976fdcd/Financial-Services-Skills-Taskforce-final-report.pdf

5. GBS Institute of Technology

a. We are awaiting submission of the Outline Business Case for the IoT. A verbal update will be provided at the meeting.

6. Higher Level Skills Match & Business Elevator Projects

a. Craig Walsh and Lucia Puricelli from Higher Level Skills Match (HLSM) will be attending the ESB to present on the success of HLSM and future plans.

b. The Higher Education partnership ‘Higher Level Skills Match’ (HLSM) project, part-funded by ESF is still awaiting notification from DWP regarding their project application to ESF to extend the project for a further three years.

c. FE-led Business Elevator project is making good progress with support to employers with apprenticeships. They too are awaiting a funding extension decision regarding ESF

7. Office for Students Bid - Transformation West Midlands

a. The UoB led Transformation West Midlands project has commenced and is performing above first stage targets. The project seeks to:

• improve the rates of progression of students and recent graduates from under-represented groups who seek work in the West Midlands region.

• Work closely with key economic sectors (with a focus on BPFS) to develop talent pipelines, diversify workforces and test a number of intervention to see what works in improving the rates of those most at risk of under/unemployment.

b. A overview diagram of the Transformation West Midlands project is included as appendix 4b

c. OfS have agreed to extend the end date to the end of September 2022.

d. There are two main strands to the project:

• Progression coaching – to identify students’ needs and wants in order to help them gain a graduate level employment. Students/graduates who are deemed to be at particular risk of being underemployed/unemployed are being targeted for coaching via the use of data analytics. Since coaching commenced in September 2019, a total of 162 students/graduates have been coached across the partnership. Early findings from coaching reveal that the most common barriers to career progression are: Knowing the range of career options and where to find them, Interview and application skills, knowing how/where to find work experience, Confidence, Personal challenges and a Lack of social capital. The project team will subsequently deliver, design and test activity working with employer partners in the sector, to address some of these challenges. Student/Graduate Advisory committee members are also being recruited across each partner university to support with delivering, designing and evaluating activity.

• Reverse mentoring – to influence accessibility, inclusion and diversity within the BPFS sector and provide perspective on how gradute recruitment programmes can recruit ‘people like them’. In 2019/20, 4 organisations: HSBC, Gowling WLG, Shoosmiths and BSN Associates are being reverse mentored by a diverse team of students/graduates across the 3 universities. All parties are being asked to capture and provide reflections and organisations will be held accountable to incorporate and adopt what is being learnt.

8. Ahead Partnership – Step into Digital

a. The Step into Digital project has produced all the Step into Digital careers resources and has rolled them out, combined with inspiration speakers, to the five trial schools.

b. Feedback is being collated and resources updated to take into consideration findings from the trial schools, and modified versions of the resources will be shared with schools at the start of March.

9. Enterprise Advisor Network/Careers and Enterprise Company

Birmingham

a. The delivery of the Enterprise Advisor Network by Birmingham Education Partnership (BEP) has seen slow growth.

b. The steering group to oversee and direct the delivery of both the Birmingham EAN and Careers Hub continues to meet. The steering group is made up of four headteachers, representatives from business and representatives from GBSLEP executive, BCC and CEC, as well as a combined BPS/ESB representative. The last steering group meeting agreed to commit funds to the development of Labour Market Information (LMI) materials, support

school to school sharing of good practice, and development of resources to use to increase effective engagement with employers.

c. 82 schools are currently engaged in the Birmingham programme, an increase of 4 since the last ESB. 38 of these are also in the Birmingham Careers Hub. No schools have left the programme, though one school closed at the end of the last academic year.

d. The number of Enterprise Co-ordinators (EC) has increased by one to four and Enterprise Advisors (EAs – private sector volunteers) currently number forty, with thirty-eight matched to a school. Numbers of EAs have seen only a slight rise due to drop off by volunteers at the end of their stint.

e. School performance targets are on track, with over 95% of Birmingham schools engaged.

f. Within the Career Hub schools (who receive additional support), the average number of benchmarks achieved in fill is 3.8 against a July 2020 target of 4.

g. Across all schools 65% are 100% compliant with Gatsby Benchmark 6 (experiences of workplaces) ahead of the July 2020 target of 55%. However, across all schools 37% are 100% compliant with Gatsby Benchmark 5 (encounters with employers and employees) against a July 2020 target of 70%. Providing pupils with a meaningful experiences of the workplace is thus remaining the largest challenge to schools. BEP, combined with the cornerstone group of employers is working on the production of advice and best practice guidance for businesses on work experience.

h. BEP are keen to expand the number of Enterprise Advisors, drawn from key sectors in the LEP geography to help increase employer engagement with schools and pupils understanding of careers and job roles.

Solihull

i. Solihull Careers Hub launched in October 2019 and was well supported by Board Members, with Hogarth’s hosting the event. At the end of the first term, the Careers Hub is performing well against targets.

j. The Careers Hub is looking to commission a suite of engaging LMI resources targeted at young people and their parents / carers to provide, relevant, useful and inspiring information on career and learning pathways.

Skills Delivery Plan 2020/21

a. GBSLEP skills executive have been asked to produce an updated Skills Delivery Plan (SDP) for 2020/21 financial year.

b. The draft Skills Delivery Plan is attached as appendix 4c

c. The SDP 2020/21 is a continuation of the SDP for 2019/20 with several of the activities being continuous.

d. The largest new inclusion is section 5 focused on the development of skills for the development of the skills pathways required for the transition to a regional low-carbon economy.

e. The ESB is asked to feedback on the draft and make suggestions.

f. The GBSLEP skills executive have been asked to finalise the delivery plan by the end of February.

GBSLEP SKILLS DELIVERY PLAN – April 2019

The GBSLEP Strategic Economic Plan 2016-2030 mission is to create jobs and grow the economy, particularly by raising skills levels and stimulating demand led innovation

to increase business and workforce productivity. This Skills Delivery Plan directly responds to this and builds on the first GBSLEP skills delivery plan, approved by the LEP

Board in February 2018, which identified market failures in the skills system and launched a range of interventions to address those needs during 2018. Since then the West

Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has launched the Regional Skill Plan and signed a Skills Deal with Central Government. Nationally, skills policy and funding continues

to change alongside the business environment it supports. This revised plan updates our current delivery plan and sets out the direction for the next steps of GBSLEP

support.

Business needs are at the heart of this plan. All GBSLEP skill interventions are focussed on evidenced skills barriers to GBS economic growth. The aim of the interventions is

to provide more opportunities for people to participate in growing the local economy and prosperity across the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP area, enabling

businesses to access the skilled labour they require for growth.

The long-term ambition is to accelerate an increase in our skilled workforce ensuring that the gap between our skills levels at least matches the national levels and meets

the increasing local employer demands for higher skilled labour. Skills shortages and gaps that continue to increase as the local economy grows can act as a brake on the

productivity and future growth of our economy. As of 2017 data, this means that we need to upskill appropriately over 63,000 more people at NVQ Level 3 (A Level,

Advanced Apprenticeships) and above to meet national levels: To reach this level we will require an approximate 10% increase in the current working age population

qualified to NVQ Level 3+. In a context of economic uncertainty and reducing public expenditure on the skills system, combined with employer forecasts for increasing

need for higher skilled labour to enable their growth and competitiveness; we must work in partnership with stakeholders, providers, and employers to avoid duplication

and maximise all the resources we have to deliver the biggest economic impact possible.

Attracting new talent into the area and retaining skilled labour and graduates also forms part of the solution. We can do much to support this by ensuring that Greater

Birmingham and Solihull is regarded as the most desirable place to study, work and live, thereby encouraging both an increased flow of appropriately skilled individuals into

the region to fuel our economy and retain our existing skilled workers. A skilled workforce is a critical enabler for sustainable economic growth that delivers increased

higher level employment opportunities for GBS residents; taps the rich diversity and creative skills of the area; and primes the development of new skills for the future to

maximise the benefits new technologies will bring to our economy and provides a head start on identifying new trends by having a workforce which is representative of our

communities.

This is a living delivery plan. It will continue to develop and change as it is informed by shared knowledge, changing business needs and our skills growth ambitions. The plan

aligns closely with the GBSLEP Growth Hub, where a number of support services are offered to help businesses to understand and grow their businesses. The plan aligns

with the work undertaken at a wider West Midlands regional level by the West Midlands Growth Company, Midlands Engine and the WMCA. GBSLEP contributes to the

emerging Regional Sector Employer Task Forces, development of the Local Industrial Strategies, as well as delivery of the Regional Skills Plan. GBSLEP is also a key member

of the WMCA Regional Skills Advisory Board. This Skills Delivery Plan complements this delivery through the development of local projects and programmes tailored to

meet local employer skill demands.

Five main strategic drivers that underpin this plan are as follows:

1. Skills Shortages and Gaps that limit business growth and productivity

2. A young and richly diverse demographic

3. National and Local Funding Policies e.g. Apprenticeships, devolution, Skills Deal, European Social Funds, Local Growth Funds and future UK Shared Prosperity Funds

4. Fast Digital and Technological Change

5. Collaboration and unified aims with strategic partners to enable effective delivery

An area of strategic concern is the potential impact of Brexit. Withdrawal from the EU could potentially impact on the five strategic drivers listed above. The possible impact

on business growth and especially on levels of EU skilled labour employed in our key sectors is yet to be determined, but only accelerates the need to address the domestic

skills agenda. GBSLEP’s focus is therefore based on addressing skills needs, gaps and barriers that businesses have as a whole.

GBSLEP Skills Purpose

In line with the GBSLEP Strategic Economic Plan our core purpose of this delivery plan is as follows:

To identify and drive the productivity and sustainable growth of the GBSLEP economy with focus on GBS key sectors for growth by addressing the local business skill

needs now and in the future, through co-investment and collaborative working.

Headline KPI

GBSLEP KPI 5 – Increase the % of Working Age Population with NVQ3+ to the National Average by 2025

Supporting Skills Performance Indicators

Employers Investing in Training, Employer Skill shortages and gaps, Apprenticeship Starts by level, geographic area, sector, gender, age and BAME, All Qualification Levels,

Higher Education Enrolments by discipline and available training provision matched to GBS key sector demands. West Midlands Skills Advisory Panel Toolkit and specific

commissioned research will also inform and monitor the progress being made to continue to improve our workforce skill levels contributing to wider quality of life

indicators.

Outcomes

• Decrease local businesses skills shortages and gaps in both provision and skilled labour

• Increase the proportion of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull population with higher skills levels

• A ‘well-known’ choice of quality training provision is in place to enable residents to upskill and meet the skills needs of local businesses and demands created by

rapid technological change

• A diverse, inclusive and productive local workforce that can compete on a global scale.

• More local businesses investing in people to improve productivity.

Priority Sectors

The GBSLEP area of focus is our key sectors for growth and technologies. They are:

• Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering

• Life Sciences

• Business, Professional and Financial Services

• Energy Technologies and Services

• Creative Industries

• Digital Technologies

• Disruptive and Emerging Technologies This skills delivery plan integrates with the detailed stakeholder engagement, and sector delivery plans led by GBSLEP, and takes a cross sector approach to digital and

emerging & disruptive technologies.

An increased emphasis for GBSLEP actions will be placed on residents aged 19 onwards after statutory education completes and national education funding ends. WMCA

and Career Services will lead on interventions and support for those young people in education working closely with the leadership of local authorities for the pre-16

agenda. Joint working will facilitate the transition period for 16 to 18 year olds facilitating a smooth progression into employment.

An emphasis for GBSLEP actions will be placed on residents 19+ after statutory education completed and national education funding ends. WMCA and Career Services will

lead on interventions and support for those young people in education working closely with the leadership of local authorities for the pre-16 agenda. Joint working will

facilitate the transition period for 16-18 year olds facilitating a smooth progression pipeline into employment

This data driven delivery plan aims to:

1. Use partnership and collaboration to tackle skills shortages and gaps that are barriers to long-term business growth and productivity

2. Motivate and inspire people to develop skills for key sectors and technologies for growth

3. Develop employer led programmes to increase workforce diversity, to combat skills shortages and drive economic growth.

4. Prime the adoption of disruptive and emergent technologies to enable skills development that matches today and tomorrow’s skills needs.

In addition to this targeted work, the GBSLEP skills team provides strategic advice in terms of skill development and economic priorities to a range of educators, providers,

new and existing investors and stakeholders. Working in a close relationship with all local authorities across the LEP area we seek to influence and inform policy formation.

Project delivery is commissioned or co-funded through our broad range of partners in the public, private and third sector. GBSLEP holds two funds, one for capital funding

(Local Growth Fund), one for revenue funding (Strategic Economic Plan Enabling Fund). Expressions of interest that respond to this plan are welcome at any time.

The marketing of the Skills Delivery Plan and associated interventions will be assisted by the new GBSLEP Stakeholder Engagement Team and GBSLEP Growth Hub.

SKILLS Delivery Plan – Summary Table

Skills Delivery Plan Aim

GBSLEP intervention

Market Failure Skills - Barrier to Growth

GBSLEP Deliverables/ Milestones

Success Measures Outcomes & Outputs

Actions Lead and partners

Allocated LEP Resources

RAG Progress

1. Use

partnership

and

collaboratio

n to tackle

skills

shortages

and gaps

that are

barriers to

long-term

business

growth and

productivity

Clarify the level and quantum of employer skills training needs and commitments for our key sectors to maximise the impact and influence on local training provision.

Lack of clear and evidenced understanding of the employer skills demand for each key sector to provide market confidence and direct new training provision driving employment levels and economic growth

GBSLEP Skills Champions in engaged for all key sectors. GBSLEP to have a leading role in the Digital, Life Sciences and Creative Sector Regional Task Forces Recognised Major contributor to the Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering and BPFS skills agenda Skills for Growth Hub

More appropriately skilled people available to growing companies. Increased confidence in the skill system that employer demand is evidenced to invest/grow new training provision. Greater influence of GBS to advocate for employer skills needs and stimulate training provision to meet that demand with focus on 5 GBS key sectors at any one point in time Number of new courses introduced to meet employers needs

Engage and widen sector engagement groups Identify & facilitate new training provision matched with employer demands Pilot approach to capture skill demands from employers/sectors – Life Sciences, AME-Aerospace

GBSLEP ESB WMCA Lead Employers Sector Intermediaries Local Networks ESB

Skills Team Sector Specialists Data Specialist Growth Hub (Employer feedback) European Social Funds

GREEN ⃝ ⃝ ⃝

Facilitate new employer led approaches to ensure training provision that better meets and keeps pace with demands

Fragmented and low employer awareness and engagement with the local provision and pathways for new and existing staff to progress

Build on and actively promote good practice through LEP and partner channels Engage, promote and develop the network of existing sector based work academies to meet employer’s needs. 6 in place

Increase of employers participating & shaping skills Increase on current Apprenticeship programmes especially in ICT, Science and Creative/Arts Graduate progression into regional SMEs

Promote & Increase work academies – 6 now, add at least 3 more Secure Dedicated Employer Skill Brokers for Growth Hub

GBSLEP FE HE Employer Clusters/ Networks Councils, Professional Intermediaries Independent Training Providers UTC’s

Skills Team Sector Specialists Capital Growth Programme Team European Social Funds

GREEN ⃝ ⃝ ⃝

3 to develop to launch in 2019/20. Formalise a skills capital fund pipeline.

2. Motivate

and inspire

people to

develop

skills for key

sectors and

technologies

for growth

.

Highlight employment opportunities across our key sectors to ensure business growth and productivity is not inhibited through the lack of appropriately skilled staff.

Incoherent information sources sharing and inspiring people to choose to develop their skills that employers are seeking now and in the future

1000 Apprentices using Ladder by September 2019 Number of people and businesses engaged in supported projects LMI data in easily understood formats highlighting skills areas of demand both current and predicted.

Reduced employer recruitment difficulties More Apprentices studying in skill needs area Less employers reporting difficulties in recruiting skilled labour

Seek to boost Ladder for GBS Pop-up events to promote work opportunities to all ages in wider community Social Media Campaign More Pathway Development for demand areas Support CEC for GBS sector & employer priorities

Education GBSLEP Prospects CEC GBS wide Network of Enterprise Advisers ESB Career Leaders

Skills team Growth Hub (shortages & Needs) Sector Specialists Comms/Social Media CEC Apprenticeship Specialism project CEC Careers Hub CEC Primary Funds

GREEN ⃝ ⃝ ⃝

3. Develop

employer

led

programmes

to increase

workforce

diversity, to

combat skills

shortages

and drive

economic

growth.

Support and promote new approaches to connect growing businesses to reach and encourage the entry of young and diverse talent into our key sectors for growth to drive economic growth.

Employers unable to reach the diversity of workforce they seek to grow Wasted talent latent in our communities

Complete 5 Cities Diversity Project 1001 Trades Report Identify and scope work for an intermediary to work with 3 pilot employers implementing by March 2020

Increase the pool of diverse talent available to growing businesses Evidence of impact stronger diverse workforce on business success. Increase of economic activity rates

Women into Digital Industries Share what works well with employers e.g. role models, marketing Commission specialist intermediary to support at least 3 growing businesses 1001 Trades Report BAME Graduate Employment Support

GBSLEP ESFA 5 Cities staff Employers Community Leaders Intermediaries Professional Bodies WMCA NCS/CEC/ Prospects

Skills team Growth Hub – employer leads Communication/Social Media European Social Funds

AMBER ⃝ ⃝ ⃝

4. Prime the

adoption of

Encourage employer

Reduced public funding results in

IoT Proposal National Award decision

More ‘early adopters’ of new technologies that ensures GBS

Support IoT Delivery

GBSLEP

Skills Team Sector Specialists

AMBER ⃝

disruptive

and

emergent

technologies

to enable

skills

developmen

t that

matches

today and

tomorrow’s

skills needs.

supported experimentation and early adoption in the use of new technologies for training in future skills needs.

risk aversion to try and develop new approaches to skill training Enabling training

to use of the

processes and

equipment that

are being

developed now

and will be

standard in

several years’

time, rather than

those that may

become obsolete.

New technologies need new learning approaches/environments to skill development to exploit the full potential of an increasingly accessible and complex work environment.

expected by March 2019 Digital Skills Partnership Solihull AR/VR Centre Employer Led ‘Boot Camps’

reaches a tipping point as an area of strength attracting investment delivering growth. No. of facilities and spaces adopting new approaches to future skill needs Minimum of 2 new capital projects supported annually Number of learners equipped with new skills sets in application of emergent technologies

Promote & enrich e-learning experiences – e.g. MIT Micro Masters expand and support in GBS Consider GBSLEP Challenge Competition Support at least 2 capital projects priming new delivery

HE/FE Employers- early adopters R&D

Innovation Birmingham Capital Growth Programme Team

⃝ ⃝

Anticipated Challenges

• Engaging with the most-in-need under-represented groups. (They are not accessing their careers service).

• Developing tailored student-led provision following coaching reviews. (It will take time for participants to reflect

and articulate their needs/wants, then time to respond and modify our services).

• Finding work experience for those who desperately need it will need to fit in with studies/exams/family

commitments.

• Developing participants’ industry skills which are best developed by practical application. (Time and opportunity

is required to build work-based learning experiences).

• Securing employers’ commitment to join the reverse mentoring scheme to gain insights. (Will they want to reveal

their inclusion and diversity challenges?)

Testing a series of interventions to become

more student-led, progressing individuals into

a higher skilled job or further study:

1:1 personal coaching and a financial fund with

c.85 individuals a year (at each institution),

work-based learning, mentoring, sector deep

dives, skills initiatives and reverse mentoring.

Measuring the effectiveness of those

interventions and new student-led activity

from findings will be through using learning

gain methodology.

Transforming how Careers Services

work when targeting under-

represented students/graduates

Testing the effectiveness of new

provision that transforms

students’/graduates’ work-readiness:

up-scaled skills workshops, online

development and work-based learning.

Transforming the skills capabilities of

local students and graduates to fill the

region’s skills gaps

Utilising a progression coach to support those most in

need of support from identified disadvantaged groups: An

individual action plan supports progression; partner

coaching evaluation provides insight to help enhance

student-led support, modifying current careers provision

and building more effective engagement

Transforming the employment

outcomes of local students/graduates

who reside in the West Midlands

Testing reverse mentoring to help

influence change, utilising students’ and

graduates’ experience, backgrounds,

perceptions and ideas to modify practice,

paving the way to a more diverse future

workforce that represents the region.

Focus will initially be on one sector to

make a difference. Mangers in the

business, professional, financial and

services sector will be mentored by

students/graduates.

Transforming the way employers recruit

and run their recruitment practices

Creation of a new diverse talent

pipeline sought by employers,

with higher skilled, socially

mobile local graduates

Transformation West Midlands Newman University, UCB, University of Birmingham

GBSLEP, Chambers of Commerce, BPS Birmingham, Uprising, Guild of Students

The Goal

The Key Outcome 60% of 750 participants enter

graduate employment or

further study

Target audience • 750 final year undergraduate students and under-employed or un-employed alumni

(up to 2 years after graduation)

• Employers, supporting organisations and other stakeholders to build a stronger local

eco-system of support leading to greater social mobility

• BPFS sector employers to understand sector needs and encourage inclusivity and

diversity in the workplace

Building a stronger local eco-system of support. Together.

GBSLEP SKILLS DELIVERY PLAN – April 2020

The GBSLEP Strategic Economic Plan 2016-2030 mission is to create jobs and grow the economy, particularly by raising skills levels and stimulating demand led innovation

to increase business and workforce productivity. This updated Skills Delivery Plan directly responds to the Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) and builds on previous iterations of

the GBSLEP skills delivery plan. It also supports the Plan 10,000 Plus Delivery plan, approved by the LEP Board in September 2019, which addresses structural barriers to our

target of increasing the percentage of our working-age population qualified to Level 3+ by 2025. Reflecting our close relationship, it also aligns with the West Midlands

Combined Authority (WMCA) Regional Skills Plan and Skills Deal with Central Government. Nationally, skills policy and funding continues to change alongside the business

environment it supports. This revised plan updates our current delivery plan and sets out the direction for the next steps of GBSLEP support.

Business needs are at the heart of this plan. All GBSLEP skill interventions are focussed on evidenced skills barriers to GBS economic growth. The aim of the interventions is

to provide more opportunities for people to participate in growing the local economy and prosperity across the Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP area, enabling

businesses to access the skilled labour they require for growth and enabling businesses to be able to compete nationally and globally

The long-term ambition is to accelerate an increase in our skilled workforce ensuring that the gap between our skills levels at least matches the national levels and meets

the increasing local employer demands for higher skilled labour. Skills shortages and gaps that continue to increase as the local economy grows can act as a brake on the

productivity and future growth of our economy. In a context of economic uncertainty and reduced public expenditure on the skills system, combined with employer

forecasts for increasing need for higher skilled labour to enable their growth and competitiveness; we must work in partnership with stakeholders, providers, communities

and employers to avoid duplication and maximise all the resources we have to deliver the largest economic impact possible.

Attracting new talent into the area and retaining skilled labour and graduates also forms part of the solution. We can do much to support this by ensuring that Greater

Birmingham and Solihull is regarded as the most desirable place to study, work and live, thereby encouraging both an increased flow of appropriately skilled individuals into

the region to fuel our economy and retain our existing skilled workers and graduates. A skilled workforce is a critical enabler for sustainable economic growth that delivers

increased higher level employment opportunities for GBS residents; taps into the rich diversity and creative skills of the area; and primes the development of new skills for

the future, to maximise the benefits new technologies will bring to our economy and having a workforce which is representative of our communities.

This is a living delivery plan. It will continue to develop and change as it is informed by shared knowledge, changing business needs and our skills growth ambitions. The plan

aligns closely with the GBSLEP Growth Hub, Plan 10,000Plus skills plan and sector delivery plans. The plan supports the work undertaken at a wider West Midlands regional

level by the West Midlands Growth Company, Midlands Engine and the WMCA. GBSLEP contributes to the emerging Regional Sector Employer Task Forces, the Local

Industrial Strategies, as well as delivery of the WMCA Regional Skills Plan. This Skills Delivery Plan develops local projects and programmes tailored to meet local employer

skill demands.

Six main strategic drivers that underpin this plan are as follows:

1. Skills Shortages and Gaps that limit business growth and productivity in the GBSLEP key sectors.

2. A young and richly diverse demographic

3. National and Local Funding and Skills Policies e.g. Apprenticeships, devolution, Skills Deal, European Social Funds, Local Growth Funds and future UK Shared

Prosperity Funds

4. Fast Digital and Technological Change

5. Collaboration and unified aims with strategic partners, using the expertise that exists in the skills environment to deliver the best possible product.

6. An increased number of investment and regeneration catalysts and a move towards a low carbon economy.

An area of strategic concern is the potential impact of Brexit. Withdrawal from the EU could impact on the six strategic drivers listed above. The impact on business growth

and especially on levels of EU skilled labour employed in our key sectors is yet to be determined, but only accelerates the need to address the domestic skills agenda.

GBSLEP’s focus is therefore based on addressing skills needs, gaps and barriers that businesses have as a whole.

GBSLEP Skills Purpose

In line with the GBSLEP Strategic Economic Plan our core purpose of this delivery plan is as follows:

To drive the productivity and sustainable growth of the GBSLEP economy with focus on GBSLEP key sectors, by addressing the local business skill needs now and in the

future, through co-investment and collaborative working.

Headline KPI

GBSLEP KPI 5 – Increase the % of Working Age Population with NVQ3+ to the National Average by 2025

Outcomes

• Decrease local businesses skills shortages and gaps in both provision and skilled labour

• Increase the proportion of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull population with higher skills levels

• A choice of quality training provision is in place to enable residents to upskill and meet the skills needs of local businesses, and the demands created by rapid

technological change

• A diverse, inclusive and productive local workforce that can compete on a global scale.

• More local businesses investing in people to improve productivity.

• Increase the ability for businesses to access the skills needed to move to a low-carbon economy.

Priority Sectors

The GBSLEP area of focus is our key sectors for growth and technologies. They are:

• Advanced Manufacturing & Engineering

• Life Sciences

• Business, Professional and Financial Services

• Low Carbon

• Creative Industries

• Digital Technologies

• Disruptive and Emerging Technologies This skills delivery plan integrates with the detailed stakeholder engagement, and sector delivery plans led by GBSLEP, and takes a cross sector approach to digital and

emerging & disruptive technologies.

GBSLEP focus remains on the development of higher level skills, from Level 3+.

This delivery plan aims to:

1. Motivate and inspire people to develop skills for key sectors and technologies for growth.

2. Use partnership and collaboration to tackle skills shortages and gaps that are barriers to long-term business growth and productivity

3. Develop employer led programmes to increase diversity in key sector skills pathways, to combat skills shortages and drive economic growth.

4. Support the adoption of disruptive and emerging technologies by Increasing the supply of industry experienced STEM tutors for training institutions.

5. Develop skills pathways to support the emerging development of a low-carbon economy.

In addition to this targeted work, the GBSLEP skills team provides strategic advice in terms of skill development and economic priorities to a range of educators, providers,

new and existing investors and stakeholders, and work in a close relationship with all local authorities across the LEP area we seek to influence and inform policy formation.

Project delivery is commissioned or co-funded through our broad range of partners in the public, private and third sector. GBSLEP holds two funds, one for capital funding

(Local Growth Fund), one for revenue funding (Strategic Economic Plan Enabling Fund). Project ideas and Expressions of Interest that respond to this plan are welcome at

any time.

The marketing of the Skills Delivery Plan and associated interventions will be assisted by the GBSLEP Stakeholder Engagement Team and GBSLEP Growth Hub.

SKILLS Delivery Plan – Summary Table

Skills Delivery Plan Aim GBSLEP intervention

Market Failure Skills - Barrier to Growth

GBSLEP Deliverables/ Milestones

Success Measures Outcomes & Outputs

Actions Lead and partners

Allocated LEP Resources

1. Motivate and

inspire people to

develop skills for

key sectors and

technologies.

Highlight present and future employment opportunities and relevant skills pathways, in key sectors.

Not enough residents choosing to study, train or apply in areas relevant to key growth sectors

A further 500 Apprentices using the Ladder by July 2020 Number of people and businesses engaged in supported projects LMI data in easily understood formats highlighting skills areas of demand both current and predicted. EMPLOYER ENGAGEMENT/DELIVERY WITH INSPIRATION????

Reduced employer recruitment difficulties More Apprenticeship starts in key sector areas Increase in Level 3 starts in key sector areas Less employers reporting difficulties in recruiting skilled labour Increase in employed residents upskilling.

Extend Ladder for GBS Events and campaigns to promote work opportunities to all ages in wider community Social Media Campaign More Pathway Development for demand areas Support CEC for GBS sector & employer priorities

GBSLEP Educational Institutions NCS CEC GBS wide Network of Enterprise Advisers WMAAN WMYAAN BROs/Sector Bodies ESB Career Leaders

Skills team Growth Hub (shortages & Needs) Sector Specialists Comms/Social Media CEC Careers Hubs CEC Primary Funds

2. Use partnership and

collaboration to

tackle skills

shortages and gaps

that are barriers to

long-term business

growth and

productivity

Clarify the scope employer skills needs for our key sectors to maximise the impact and influence on training provision.

GBSLEP Skills Champions in engaged for all key sectors. GBSLEP to have a leading role in the Digital, Life Sciences and Creative Sector Regional Task Forces Recognised Major contributor to the Advanced Manufacturing and

More appropriately skilled people available to growing companies. Increased confidence in the skill system that employer demand is evidenced to invest/grow new training provision. Greater influence of GBS to advocate for employer skills needs and stimulate training provision to meet that demand with focus on 5 GBS key sectors at any one point in time

Engage and widen sector engagement groups and sector champions Identify & facilitate new training provision matched with employer demands Pilot approach to capture skill demands from employers/sectors

GBSLEP ESB WMCA Lead Employers Sector Intermediaries Local Networks ODA

Skills Team Sector Specialists Data Specialist Growth Hub (Employer feedback) European Social Funds Plan 10k

Engineering and BPFS skills agenda

Number of new courses introduced to meet employers needs

– Life Sciences, AME-Aerospace

Skills for Growth Hub GBSLEP Apprenticeship Hub

Facilitate new employer led approaches to ensure training provision that better meets and keeps pace with demands

Fragmented and low employer awareness and engagement with the local provision and pathways for new and existing staff to progress

Build on and actively promote good practice through LEP and partner channels Engage, promote and develop the network of existing sector based work academies to meet employer’s needs.

Increase of employers participating & shaping skills Increase on current Apprenticeship programmes especially in ICT, Science and Creative/Arts Graduate progression into regional SMEs

Promote & Increase work academies – 6 now, add at least 3 more

GBSLEP FE HE Employer Clusters/ Networks Councils, Professional Intermediaries Independent Training Providers UTC’s

Skills Team Sector Specialists Capital Growth Programme Team European Social Funds

3. Develop employer

led programmes to

increase workforce

diversity, to combat

skills shortages and

drive economic

growth.

Support and promote new approaches to connect growing businesses to reach and encourage the entry of young and diverse talent into our key sectors for growth to drive economic growth.

Employers unable to reach the diversity of workforce they seek to grow Wasted talent latent in our communities Lower engagement by BAME owned businesses with apprenticeships

Complete 5 Cities Diversity Project BAME focused apprenticeship campaign in community hubs. Development of employer toolkit

Increase the pool of diverse talent available to growing businesses Evidence of impact stronger diverse workforce on business success. Increase of economic activity rates Increase in BAME residents engaging with apprenticeships. Increase in BAME owned businesses engaging with apprenticeships

Women into Digital Industries Share what works well with employers e.g. role models, marketing BAME and under-represented Graduate Employment Support Under-represented demographics focused apprenticeship campaign in community hubs. Campaign to increase BAME businesses engaging with apprenticeships

GBSLEP ESFA 5 Cities staff Employers Community Leaders Intermediaries Professional Bodies WMCA NCS/CEC

Skills team Growth Hub – employer leads Communication/Social Media European Social Funds Diversity in Skills taskforce

4. Support the

adoption of

disruptive and

emerging

technologies by

Increasing the

Strengthen pipeline of tutors for STEM key sector qualification pathways.

Difficulty in recruiting STEM technical skills tutors for key sector pipelines due to discrepancy between industry

Employer supported pilot scheme to reduce shortage of tutors for key sectors.

More ‘early adopters’ of new technologies that ensures GBS reaches a tipping point as an area of strength attracting investment delivering growth. No. of facilities and spaces adopting new approaches to future skill needs

Support IoT Delivery Develop employer supported pilot to increase supply of industry experienced tutors

GBSLEP HE/FE/ITPs Employers- early adopters

Skills Team Sector Specialists Programme Team

supply of industry

experienced STEM

tutors for training

institutions.

and education salaries.

Number of learners equipped with new skills sets in application of emergent technologies

IoT

5. Develop skills

pathways to support

the emerging

development of a

low-carbon

economy.

Clarify low carbon skills needs and gaps Appoint Low Carbon Sector Skills champion

The region is not equipped with the level of skills required to transition to a low carbon economy.

Identify industry skills needs Map existing provision in the region

Clearly identified industry skills needs Existing provision mapped and gaps identified.

Identify industry needs and cross-sectoral impact. Provision mapped and gaps identified.

GBSLEP Low Carbon LIS lead Sector Skills Champion BROs

GBSLEP Skills team Sector Champions

LOCAL EMPLOYMENT & SKILLS BOARD UPDATES

Purpose of this paper

To update the ESB on activities of the Local ESBs.

Recommendation

• The ESB notes progress and considers interventions, both in progress or planned.

Contact: Maria Lopez, GBSLEP Employment & Skills Manager

_____________________________________________________________________________________

1. LOCAL ESB UPDATES

Southern Staffordshire Local ESB

a. Engagement with the Lichfield & Tamworth Chamber has introduced the Future Faces (young people interested in becoming future managers) and Future Finest (next generation apprentices/apprenticeships) projects in Southern Staffordshire.

b. The Stoke & Staffordshire Careers Hub is developing well, with 13 schools still needing to be

matched with Enterprise Advisors. Many opportunities arising for curriculum-led employer involvement. Request for more Enterprise Advisors.

c. An Apprenticeship Ambassador networking and careers event is planned at Port Vale on 5

February 2020. d. Flannery have commenced activity to introduce the Flannery Plant National Training Centre

near J.9 of the M42 (near the Belfry) to tackle national substantial skills gaps in training Plant Operatives.

e. Stoke & Staffordshire LEP is running consultation workshops regarding aspirations – which will

culminate in the development of an Aspirations Strategy. f. Activity has commenced on an Employment Futures Expo is planned at Chase Terrace

Technical College in November 2020.

Solihull Local ESB

a. The Solihull Apprenticeship Show took place on the 23rd October2019; the event was a huge success with exhibitors from a wide range of sectors and almost 2,000 visitors in attendance. The show was well supported by Board Members and their networks and feedback has been very positive; 90% of exhibitors were extremely satisfied (remaining 10% were satisfied). Of the young people that attended, 84% said they were likely to apply for an apprenticeship.

b. Solihull Careers Hub launched in October and again, was well supported by Board Members,

with Hogarth’s Hotel & Restaurant hosting the event. At the end of the first term, the Careers Hub is performing well against its targets.

c. At the Solihull ESB meeting in November, Clare Hatton from WMCA presented on AEB –

covering the providers in the area, value of allocations and how that was determined and the flexibility to co-design provision with employers.

d. At January’s ESB meeting the GBS Institute of Technology was on the agenda, for many Board

Members this was an introduction to the IOT and what it could offer. It was agreed that some of the myth-busting and information sessions held across GBS would be replicated in Solihull. Sharon Chinnock from Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Trust (BSMHT) also presented,

covering careers related activity as part of BSMHT but also talking about her role on the NHS Apprenticeship Federation.

North Worcestershire Local ESB

a. New Chair in situ, Simon Hyde, Managing Director of Faun Zoeller UK, a Redditch company. Simon is also now making improved links with the Worcestershire LEP by sitting on its Skills Advisory Panel (ESB).

b. Higher Level Skills Match – although first phase of project completed, promotion across north Worcestershire continues in expectation of a second phase.

c. Adult Information and Guidance service – Ready for launch in Redditch following recruitment of

level 6 careers adviser, being delivered in partnership with Heart of Worcestershire College, Worcestershire County Council, National Careers service and Pertemps Job Shop.

d. ‘Opening Doors to Business’ – New website completed in November. Now seeking to recruit

new member companies. Continu Trust is working with schools to prepare them for visits.

e. Redditch Mentors – following issues with the quality of service provided by 1 Million Mentors, Redditch has launched its own programme being led by Simon Hyde and Trinity high School Redditch.

f. Primary Stem Challenge - has been launched for a second year. However, sign up from schools

continues to lag those in the south of the County despite a letter sent to heads and chairs of governors by the Leader of Redditch Council in conjunction with the NW Employment and Skills Officer.

g. Earn to Learn – in the process of being delivered by Young Enterprise to 300 north

Worcestershire pupils in schools suffering higher levels of deprivation.

h. Funding opportunities – The NW Employment and Skills Officer continues to work with partners to identify funding opportunities to support the objectives of the NWESB. Unfortunately this is proving to be difficult, particularly following the failure of the Heart of Worcestershire College and Kidderminster College to procure funding for construction training facilities.

i. Connecting Communities – continuing support for the work being undertaken on the Batchley

estate in Redditch.

j. Thrive to Work – exploration of opportunities to work with residents who are suffering low level health problems that could be improved through engagement with the labour market. Clients to be accessed through health care professionals such as GPs etc.

k. IT training - secured for Redditch residents where funding has been withdrawn by central

government for clients who are beyond working age. l. LMI – Production as requested by clients e.g. councillors, schools to fill an increasingly obvious

gap in provision

EMPLOYMENT AND SKILLS BOARD (07 February 2020) – AGENDA ITEM 7 FUNDING UPDATE

Purpose of this paper

To update the ESB on funding developments

Recommendation

• The ESB notes the contents of this report.

• The ESB makes a decision on the two SEP Enabling Fund applications.

• The ESB shares information on ESF calls with their networks.

Contact

Christian Sayer, LEP Executive Officer (Employment and Skills)

_____________________________________________________________________________________

1. Local Growth Fund

a. There are a series of applications that GBSLEP has received that are going through the various stages of the Growth Programme application process. The prioritisation of projects alongside the remaining allocation is currently being reviewed.

b. An update on the skills related applications will be provided once decisions are made. The LEP Executive are hopeful that there will be greater clarity around future funding post-Budget.

c. ESB members are, as always, encouraged to bring forward or highlight potential projects for capital funding. Suitable projects will go onto the LEP’s capital project pipeline for detailed consideration once the future funding situation has been confirmed.

2. SEP Enabling Fund

a. We have received two SEP Enabling Fund applications, and the ESB is asked to make a decision on the Ladder for GBS application and feedback on the Ahead Partnership application.

b. The first application is for an extension to the Ladder for GBS through to the end of June. This will ensure that there is a continuity of support for businesses between the end of the current Ladder and the launch of the GBSLEP Apprenticeship Hub, as well as supporting the launch of the Hub. The application is included as appendix 7a

c. The second application is from Ahead Partnership for a programme of inspiration activities focusing on the BPFS sector, emerging out of the success and lessons learnt from Professional Services Week. This application is included as appendix 7b

d. The Creative Industries lead at GBSLEP received a successful application for SEP Enabling Fund grant for a multi-employer apprenticeship programme pilot for creative industries through the Creative Industries Delivery Plan. In the creative sector 30%+ of jobs are short-term and require apprentices to have a unique skillset to successfully build a career working across multiple employers. Thus far, many creative businesses have been unable to employ an apprentice because their work is project based, which may only provide guaranteed work for 6-months, not long enough for 15-month plus apprenticeship periods. This pilot programme will employ apprentices through an ATA, giving them strategic ‘freelance’ skills and brokering their employment across different companies during their 15-month apprenticeship period. This vastly increases the pool of potential companies that can provide apprenticeships and develops the freelance orientated agile workforce of the future. The pilot

will include at least 25 employers and will test apprenticeships across three job roles; Creative Venue Technician (lighting, sound, stage), Digital Content Producer (design, videography, web) and Digital Marketer. It will support 13 apprentices.The project includes close consultation with all key stakeholders and will run two symposia with detailed feedback of findings and recommendations on how to scale multi-employer apprenticeship models up for the future.

e. ESB Members are, as always, encouraged to bring forward or highlight potential projects for revenue funding.

3. European Social Funds

a. Tin Smart Social Limited’s ‘Digital and Skills Birmingham for Young People’ NEETs and pre-NEET focussed DigiSheds project is continuing to work with DWP to resolve initial issues.

b. Four GBSLEP Direct-Calls closed in October and November 2019 and DWP appraisals are now under way:

• IP 1.1: Access to Employment for Jobseekers and Inactive People – Unemployed Support and Employability Skills – call closed on 28 November 2019

Call value £4m: 6 applications received totalling £9.4m

• IP 2.1: Enhancing equal access to lifelong learning - Higher Level Skills - call closed on 25 November 2019

Call value £2m: 2 applications received by DWP totalling £2,19m

• IP1.4 Support for jobseekers and economically inactive individuals - furthest from the

labour market & social inclusion – call closed on 30 October 2019

Call value £4m: 5 applications received by DWP totalling £14m

• IP 2.1 Advanced & Higher Skills provision - for those under-employed and/or on

minimum hour contracts – call closed on 30 October 2019

Call value £1m: 0 applications received by DWP

c. The GBSLEP ESF Technical Assistance project which includes 6 key delivery partners are busy raising awareness about the new ESF calls and supporting potential applicants with technical advice.

d. There are currently three further GBSLEP direct-calls planned for 2020 totalling £3.8m, where applications have been submitted to DWP to draw down ESF Reserve Funds:

Unemployment related:

• IP 1.1 – Women in Enterprise (More Developed) £2m call value

• IP 1.4 – Social Inclusion (More Developed) £600,000 call value

Workplace skills and Improving the labour market relevance of education and training systems:

• IP 2.2 – Apprenticeship Hub (More Developed) £1m & (Transition) £200,000 (total £1.2m)

e. A joint meeting was held between WMCA, GBSLEP, Black Country LEP, Coventry & Warwickshire LEP to discuss ESF Reserve Fund opportunities in November 2019. Following this, GBSLEP led on behalf of the group to develop a 4 LEP ESF call to support IP 1.1 - ‘West Midlands New Inspiration for the Commonwealth Games and City of Culture’ at a value of £4m (£1m per LEP area). Stoke & Staffs LEP are included due to the Commonwealth Games mountain biking, etc activities in Cannock Chase. This has been submitted to DWP MA to request ESF Reserve Funds. Once approved, to speed up the process, all 4 LEPs are going to request approval to publish via written procedure with their respective ESIF sub-committees.

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The SEP Enabling Fund is a revenue fund of last resort designed to resource priority activities necessary to deliver

the SEP and/or the SEP Business Plan.

The process agreed by the GBSLEP Board is that projects over £100,000 and/or of a “strategically significant nature”

must be approved by the LEP Board. Otherwise, they can be approved by the LEP Director.

If this proposal is agreed and the funding allocated, you will need to complete a procurement or grant-funding

exercise as appropriate.

Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership

Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) Enabling Fund - Expression of Interest

1. Summary Project Details

Project name Ladder for Greater Birmingham

Lead officer Rob Colbourne

Summary description of what the

project will do

An extension to the Ladder for Greater Birmingham will keep the

momentum going with regards to a large scale inspirational campaign to

building on the 1000 new apprentices in the greater Birmingham Region

recruited during stage one, with an additional 500 apprentices in place by

end of June 2020, raising the original target to 1500. It will continue to

utilise our Media partner REACH, taking advantage of all their media

platforms and business events to spread apprenticeship opportunities and

success stories. A learning point will be to formalise a Media plan and

timetable with monthly meetings to evaluate the impact of the plan. We

will re-visit our terms of reference, continuing what has worked, and

focusing on areas that could be improved. Investment will be made in our

CRM system to supply more detailed information and value for money in

terms of the Ladder impact, (i.e. if it wasn’t for the Ladder we wouldn’t

have taken an apprentice on or considered doing an apprenticeship,

Standards being completed and minority groups recruited), we will

implement a separate Ladder Provider Network that will feed into other

Networks, which will focus on the initiative (1. Marketing & Promotion, 2.

Employer Engagement 3. School IAG), and the Ladder Officers will have

skills more akin to the 3 points above to drive engagement and referrals.

Re-engaging with organisations such as HS2 will be a priority, and this

funding would also allow us to engage with organisations such as the

Commonwealth games and continue to support the Levy Transfer

opportunities as the preferred supplier for WMCA, which will generate more

apprenticeships in Greater Birmingham. We will work hand in hand with

the GBSLEP Apprenticeship Hub in the future and share data and

opportunities to ensure the Hub has the best possible start, which will

support a legacy for the Ladder. A second Greater Birmingham

Apprenticeship Awards event would be a fitting finale to phase 1 of the

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initiative.

Project start date January 2020

Project end date July 2020

Estimated total project cost £65,000

How much revenue funding is

required from the SEP Enabling Fund?

£45,000

Is approval from the LEP Board

required? (see note above)

Which member of the GBSLEP

Executive team is acting as your

contact for this project?

Christian Sayer

2. Strategic Fit

Describe the proposal and how it will

meet the GBSLEP SEP and/or Business

Plan objectives.

To date, the project has ‘recruited’ 1,005 apprenticeship starts through a

number of means, (Telesales campaign, Partner recruitment, breakfast

meetings and outside referrals) of which 60% were female and 32% ethnic

minority starts. 62% of the apprenticeship starts are completing a Level 3 or

above qualification/standard. Improving skill levels across the GBSLEP area is

one of the 5 critical priorities identified in the 3-year delivery plan, which

must be addressed if local business is to prosper and grow. The SEP sets out

a clear vision and strategy for delivering smarter, more sustainable and

inclusive growth, which the Ladder project will continue to support in

meeting some of these challenging targets, adding value to the Skills

Delivery Plan by responding to all 3 strands of the LEP’s skills strategy. The

Ladder will support key success measures, such as education engagement

and increasing the apprenticeship offer; especially in SMEs and the wider

communities. Also, an increase in employers reporting ability to recruit and

promote people to higher levels whilst providing a co-ordinated approach

between employers, supply chains and providers to nurture and source

talent locally. This project supports all 3 pillars of the GBSLEP’s Industrial

Strategy particularly the “Stronger Conditions for Growth”, “Spreading

opportunity and prosperity to all sections of society” and it will also help

underpin the identified “People – increase skills and reduce unemployment”

opportunity from the 11 key priorities. The GBS Ladder is highlighted in the

Skills Plan as a proposed intervention to contribute in dealing with perceived

market failures around not enough young people studying or training in

relevant growth areas. We would also envisage working closer with the LEP

in terms of utilising their Marketing expertise and having a ‘drop in’ desk if

possible, would contribute to impartiality of the project. If this is not

appropriate, we will investigate a base at another Provider/College.

Which of GBSLEP’s key sectors does

this proposal contribute to?

Although the Ladder for GBS is inclusive to all, we will ensure our partners

include specialisms in the following key high growth sectors identified by

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GBSLEP:

• Advanced Manufacturing

• Life Sciences and Healthcare

• Business, Professional and Financial Services

• Energy Technologies and Services

• Creative Industries

• Digital Technologies

• Emerging and Disruptive Technologies.

Does this project add value to any

existing projects in development or

delivery across the GBSLEP area?

Building on the success of the ‘Ladder for Greater Birmingham’ it will

continue to be aligned to the various skills and education initiatives currently

running in Birmingham and will support the implementation of the

forthcoming Apprenticeship Hub. The Ladder will support the development

and launch of the GBSLEP Apprenticeship Hub, assisting with pre-launch

marketing and funneling of providers and businesses to the hub. The project

will also continue to engage with communities who do not see

apprenticeships as a career path for school leavers, or indeed feel they are

not capable or eligible to engage with apprenticeship opportunities. The

Ladder has supported the 5 Cities Apprenticeship Diversity Hub Pilot

scheme, and now attends the DfE roundtable meetings to assist in forming

future strategies aimed at enhancing ethnic minority participation in

apprenticeships. Our work with partners who have a vested interest in

BAME, was fundamental in the Ladder being one of the main reasons PTP

won an award at the Asian apprenticeship awards in November.

The Ladder will continue to support offering appropriate information advice

& guidance in schools and will contribute to the CEC Apprenticeship

Specialism pilot amongst other school initiatives and career events;

proactively engaging with MAT’s who more often than not are levy payers.

Working with the West Midlands Combined Authority, the Ladder is the

preferred organisation to deal with employers who are taking advantage of

the transfer of funds, to train possible apprentices which will potentially

enable us to offer free skills needs analysis to the business to maximise

apprenticeship opportunities.

3. Stakeholders

Which partners have been engaged in

the development of the proposal?

Many partners/ stakeholders have been engaged with the Ladder, and we

will continue to build on our partner portfolio. Current partners include -

Training providers, Colleges and Universities, a national media company,

(REACH) which includes all of their platforms such as Birmingham Live,

Birmingham Mail and Post, GB&S LEP, the private sector, Chamber of

Commerce, the West Midlands Combined Authority, a Ladder ATA, and

Parliament, through our Patron Robert Halfon.

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Has the relevant GBSLEP Pillar Board

(or sub-board) been consulted on this

proposal?

Will be submitted by written procedure to the GBSLEP ESB.

4. Additionality

Why is the SEP Enabling Fund

required to deliver this project?

What would happen if this support

was not forthcoming?

The SEP funding will enable the Ladder for GB to keep the momentum and

positive impact it has had regarding apprenticeships and the message that

the LEP are taking skills seriously, as pointed out by the Mayor at the

apprenticeship awards. Although PTP and other partners will continue to

contribute financially to the initiative, funding does need to be made

available to ensure the project is resourced appropriately for it to continue.

What alternatives to this project have

been considered, and why were they

dismissed?

The Ladder acts as an umbrella for a number of projects and will continue to

do so adding value wherever possible. I’m not sure any alternative would

access the media support the Ladder does.

What is the anticipated product of

this project, and how do the

outcomes enable the delivery of the

SEP, and/or why is it necessary in the

context of the Business Plan?

Historically skills support for business has been fragmented and offered

mainly on an individual basis by providers or through Growth Hubs, as

highlighted by the National Apprenticeship Service Stakeholder Group.

Schools still do not see Apprenticeships as a viable option to carrying on in

full-time education – albeit this is improving and especially Multi Academy

Trusts utilising their levy pot to take on apprentices – something the Ladder

has contributed to. Also, since Ofsted include relevant IAG in their report’s

schools are inviting the Ladder to carryout IAG sessions as they are not seen

as an organisation to ‘recruit’ their students away from 6th form. The GBS

Strategic Economic Plan highlights that two of the biggest challenges to the

Region are low skills and high unemployment, with the working population

having a relatively poor skills profile. The Ladder has created a dynamic

partnership between business and skills providers, enabling a closer

alignment of Careers Education through outstanding information, advice and

guidance, providing a single source of information; a one-stop shop, working

with employers with regards to filling job opportunities especially related to

growth sectors (IGNITE). We will ensure the work carried out over the

project can be integrated into the upcoming Apprenticeship HUB, and

ongoing conversations with organisations such as HS2 and the

Commonwealth Games will continue to take place under the Ladder

umbrella.

5. Finance

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Please indicate below the SEP Enabling Fund required and the match funding over financial years. Please note that

SEP Enabling Fund is revenue funding and only available until the end of the financial year ending 31st March 2019.

Funding Source (£) 2017/18 2019/20 Total

SEP Enabling Fund £45,000 £45,000

MATCH

Public Sector

Private Sector £10,000 £10,000

Other £10,000 £10,000

Total project cost £65,000 £65,000

6. Deliverability

Who will manage this project? PTP Training Ltd on behalf of the Ladder Foundation. The MD of PTP

represents Providers on many initiatives including Chairing the AELP

Regional Board, West Midlands Training Provider Network and sits on

Boards such as the LEP E&S and WMCA Strategic Group. PTP have also been

deemed as outstanding by Ofsted for working with Partners.

What are the governance

arrangements?

Currently an independent Chairman oversees a Steering Group. We will re-

visit the make up of the Ladder committee, ensuring all relevant partners

are represented and can add value. All Ladder partners complete due

diligence which focuses on quality, and a terms of reference details the

behaviour required when dealing with apprentices, employers and other

customers.

What are the key milestones? December 2019 – Recruitment of new Ladder team

January 2020 – Engage with Ladder Provider Network

January 2020 – New telemarketing and Ladder promotion launch

February 2020 – Refresh web-site & marketing materials

February 2020 – Events organised for apprenticeship week

• Parliamentary meeting in Westminster to inform our Patron and

partners the impact of the Ladder

March 2020 – June 2020 – Various employer/ school events

July 2020 – Work with Apprenticeship HUB to share data

August 2020 – Celebration event, 1,500 Ladder apprenticeship starts

September 2020 – Ladder Apprenticeship Awards

How will the funding be invested?

(please check the appropriate box) Procurement Grant Yes

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If procurement, the proposal must be

commissioned in line with

Birmingham City Council’s standing

orders for procurement. Please

describe the intended procurement

route.

N/A

If grant, has a delivery partner been

identified? If not, is an open call

required?

PTP Training are the designated Partner

If grant, are there any State Aid

implications to be addressed?

Approval

Paul Edwards

Head of Strategy

Date

For approval by: Pillar Board LEP Board

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The SEP Enabling Fund is a revenue fund of last resort designed to resource priority activities necessary to deliver

the SEP and/or the SEP Business Plan.

The process agreed by the GBSLEP Board is that projects over £100,000 and/or of a “strategically significant nature”

must be approved by the LEP Board. Otherwise, they can be approved by the LEP Director.

If this proposal is agreed and the funding allocated, you will need to complete a procurement or grant-funding

exercise as appropriate.

Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership

Strategic Economic Plan (SEP) Enabling Fund - Expression of Interest

• Summary Project Details

Project name Growing Talent for #BPFS Careers

Summary description of what the project will do

This project will evolve and scale a successful three year pilot programme which has been operating to date within the Birmingham business, professional and financial services sector. The aim of this project is to increase and diversify the pool of younger entrants to the business, professional and financial services (BPFS) sector to underpin and enable anticipated future growth within this sector.

Service models across the sector are changing radically as advances in technology introduce AI, data tech and new processes to the workplace. Traditional labour structures are altering, reducing and shifting and the future workforce within the BPFS sector will need much higher levels of digital capability.

According to the Investigation into the Foundations of Productivity for Business Professional and Financial Services in the West Midlands Combined Authority Area which was undertaken in 2019, the BPFS sector is forecast to double GVA across the WMCA over the next 12 years. However its ability to achieve its growth potential risks being undermined through lack of access to the necessary workforce and skills base. The engagement of more young people in careers within the sector will be vital in future years. A focused and co-ordinated approach is required right now to engage and interest young people in the opportunities that the sector can provide and to ensure that opportunities are accessible by all young people regardless of gender, social background or ethnicity

This project will deliver an exciting programme of BPFS-sector focused careers and skills activity that is led by employers. A full year programme of events and learning activities will be delivered between April 2020 and March 2021 aimed at secondary and FE students initially across the GBSLEP territory but with the flexibility to extend across the entire WMCA geography. The activity will principally:

• raise awareness amongst young people of the diverse career opportunities available,

• help students to understand and develop the skills that the sector will require in future, with a particular focus on digital skills

• connect young people to employers that have concrete career opportunities on offer

• improve the diversity of the future workforce

• improve social mobility by connecting less advantaged young people to a sector that offers

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high-quality, high-skilled and well-paid work

The activity will take place over the course of the academic year and bring young people face to face with local role models with whom they can identify and from whom they can learn and gain careers advice. The activities will provide experience of a wide range of workplaces and profile the different elements within this diverse sector. Young people will receive information about entry pathways including work experience, apprenticeships and graduate schemes and the accessibility of this sector to young people from all backgrounds will be constantly reinforced.

The following discrete elements will be included within the project: • A year-round programme of immersive workplace visits, careers panels and speed

networking – all focused on the BPFS sector • A year-round programme of live brief activities showing different aspects of the BPFS

sector in action. These will be developed and sponsored by employers within fintech, legal, real estate services, engineering consultancy, accounting and finance and will have a real practical application to day to day work.

• Development and delivery of a series of live brief challenges featuring major schemes eg the Commonwealth Games, Smithfield, Ladywood, UK Central and Longbridge, showing the supporting role that the BPFS sector plays within such schemes

• A dedicated 2 week summer festival of BPFS events aimed at secondary, sixth form and FE students Yrs 9 upwards

A full schedule of anticipated events can be provided if required. This project will build on the successes and learnings of the work that has preceded it. Ahead Partnership has been working with employers within the BPFS sector and schools across the WMCA for five years, creating and supporting the delivery of meaningful encounters with young people at secondary level. Ahead Partnership has also delivered a two year programme of digital skills activity on behalf of GBSLEP to raise awareness of digital careers in schools. To date, over 17,000 students within the WMCA have directly engaged in Ahead Partnership’s activities whilst over 200,000 students have engaged nationally over the same period. For the last four years Ahead Partnership has also delivered elements of Professional Services Week. Activities have been carefully co-designed with employers to contextualise the exciting work that the sector undertakes. This project provides the opportunity to scale that activity whilst improving the quality, consistency and impact of what is done. The project can extend its geography to suit strategic objectives and thus help inform the future approach across the entire West Midlands area as part of the Local Industrial Strategy.

Project start date April 2020

Project end date March 2021

Estimated total project cost

£80,000

How much revenue funding is required from the SEP Enabling Fund?

£40,000

Is approval from the LEP Board

No

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required? (see note above)

Which member of the GBSLEP Executive team is acting as your contact for this project?

Christian Sayer

• Strategic Fit

Describe the proposal and how it will meet the GBSLEP SEP and/or Business Plan objectives.

The project supports the Creating Growth strategy within the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Strategic Economic Plan and builds on Birmingham’s status as one of the largest professional and financial services centres outside London.

The GBSLEP’s top priority is to increase the percentage of the working age population qualified to L3+ and reduce skills shortages in key sectors by ensuring, through its Skills Delivery Plan, that local people are inspired and skilled to fill the employment opportunities created through economic growth. This involves addressing the challenges of low skills levels and high unemployment in parts of Birmingham and north Solihull, whilst retaining talented individuals within the region by promoting the high-quality employment opportunities that are available if they stay.

The BPFS sector is identified as a key sector within the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Strategic Economic Plan and was the subject of the first investigation undertaken by the WMCA Productivity & Skills Commission in June 2018.

According to the Investigation into the Foundations for Productivity for Business, Professional and Financial Services in WMCA Area, the BPFS sector contributes nearly a third of Greater Birmingham’s economic output and is a key source of foreign investment. The sector further plays a significant role in the growth and competitiveness of other key sectors through the advisory and support services and finance that it provides.

According to the investigation’s findings, employment within the sector is forecast to grow by 31% between 2015 and 2030 and GVA is expected to double to £48 billion during the same period. Delivery of this growth potential will depend on businesses being able to access the talent they require at the point in time that they need it. Skills is also the singular most important factor in inward investment decisions. Developing a pipeline of talent to service this sector is an absolute priority and positioning and profiling activity must start long before young people approach university age.

This project further supports GBSLEP’s objectives to enable more inclusive growth so that the benefits of economic prosperity can be shared by everyone in the region. The project will increase skills and aims to reduce future unemployment by ensuring that local young people from a range of socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds are aware of and are suitably skilled to fill the employment opportunities that are being created within the BPFS sector. These require ever-higher levels of digital skills.

With an additional focus on developing awareness of professional expectations, customer service and communication skills, the project will further contribute to the development of broader, highly valuable employability skills.

Due to the enabling and underpinning support role that the BPFS sector provides to other key sectors, the longer-term benefits of this approach will also be more widely shared. There are also opportunities through this project to build awareness of other sectors such as Digital and Creative, Built Environment and Life sciences

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Which of GBSLEP’s key sectors does this proposal contribute to?

Business, Professional and Financial Services (BPFS); Digital and creative; Life sciences

Does this project add value to any existing projects in development or delivery across the GBSLEP area?

This project will continue and extend the support previously provided by GBSLEP to Professional Services Week.

The BPFS sector is identified as a key sector within the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Strategic Economic Plan and was the subject of the deep-dive Investigation into the Foundations for Productivity for Business, Professional and Financial Services in WMCA Area published in June 2018. This has provided the evidence base for the Local Industrial Strategy. In that report, specific recommendations were made relating to productivity, in particular the need for better-funded, co-ordinated support to inspire a pipeline of talent into the sector, commencing with engagement at school level. The report observed that there is plenty of appetite and willingness to engage on the part of employers, but that encounters between employers and young people are currently of variable quality, adhoc and inefficient in terms of distribution of effort. Whilst the Careers Hub is helping with strategic careers provision it cannot provide support to ensure the delivery of meaningful encounters with businesses.

The private sector has taken steps to address the skills needs, firstly through initiatives such as CSR City, which introduced Ahead Partnership to the city region to help instigate and organise meaningful employer activity with schools. Professional Services Week has also been created and led by the private sector. This originated as a collaborative effort to engage young people in the BPFS sector during a particular week in the summer term. Professional Services Week was recommended for super-charging in the WMCA Productivity & Skills Commission report and in 2019 it expanded into other areas of the West Midlands with the support of GBSLEP. Professional Services Week has most recently been included as an example of UK best practice in TheCity UK’s Financial Services Skills Taskforce 2020 report.

This project is proposed as a collaborative approach between GBSLEP and employers within the BPFS sector to address the supply of skills to the sector. It will ensure that the region’s strategic objectives are reflected in the design and delivery of activity that is undertaken. It will significantly improve the quality and co-ordination of interaction that has taken place to date between the private sector, the public sector, skills infrastructure and young people themselves and show the sector as an exciting and appealing careers choice.

The proposed project will extend the current Birmingham Professional Services Week which was launched in 2016 to provide a full week of inspiration activity involving employers and young people in Birmingham and Solihull. Since 2016 at least 3750 young people have taken part in Professional Services Week events, averaging around 1000 per year. This project will grow and deepen the existing approach, extending the original one week into a two week festival of activity. This will avoid historic “bunching” of activity within too compressed a timetable and enable more young people and employers to take part.

The project will then build out the current approach into a new year-round programme of high quality events, all of which involve BPFS sector employers. The year-round programme will ensure that young people receive repeated information and opportunities to engage throughout the year, which will raise the profile of the sector.

Improving the quality of employer activity undertaken is also a key objective. Activities will be interactive and age-appealing and will incorporate effective learning and engagement techniques. They will be contextualised within the sector, the locality and the wider economy to give young people real-life insight into the sector and what it does in the area. For example, activities can embed issues related to climate change and link to the low carbon economy or can be designed around specific schemes of development, to ensure the future voice of the region is

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heard and engaged in place-shaping. Activities will be immersive and exciting and will align both to curriculum and 21st century workplace skills. This approach will enable the sector to be showcased in an effective and impactful way and provide a valuable mechanism through which to develop and deliver a pipeline of talent to service the future needs of this growing sector across the region.

Activity will be targeted incrementally at key stage groups in order to raise awareness and start channelling interest. The funnel diagram below shows how this will work and meet the objectives of the supporting partners.

Previous examples of engaging live briefs that have been created include a Harry Potter-themed employment tribunal involving Gringotts Bank, a planning and design challenge for a new leisure facility on the Longbridge site and a Paradise Circus-themed masterplanning challenge.

New cross-cutting activities will be designed to demonstrate the role of BPFS employers within major regeneration and infrastructure projects underway in the region. Ahead Partnership has significant experience of successfully delivering projects of this type in many different cities including an HS2 Station Design Challenge led by Arup and a successful Perry Barr Regeneration Challenge led by Arcadis in summer term 2019 which is to be repeated in February 2020.

These activities help young people to understand that opportunities within this sector are available within their own region, showing specific examples of BPFS employers engaged on real projects and schemes that they can see being built around them.

The above activities will all enhance and build on work that is already underway by corporate partners, in particular by improving the quality of what they doing. These new cross-cutting activities will also provide avenues to link the work of the BPFS sector with the wider economy.

This project builds on three years of previous activity by Birmingham BPS who have developed an active network of enterprise advisers from the professional and financial services community. The activity delivered through this project will provide opportunities for participation by those enterprise advisers and others within their networks, putting in place organisational capacity and expertise to achieve greater scale. It will also provide enterprise co-ordinators and careers hubs in Birmingham and Solihull with a ready-made programme of high quality BPFS activity that they can offer out to the schools that they are supporting.

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• Stakeholders

Which partners have been engaged in the development of the proposal?

Strategic partners such as the GBSLEP Employment & Skills Board and the West Midlands Combined Authority will help steer the project towards the skills and economic priorities that have been identified.

Birmingham BPS, which has around 500 members across the sector, has been actively involved in structuring the proposed approach and is providing match funding and other support including the mobilisation of its network in support.

The approach has been informed by three years’ experience and feedback on Birmingham Professional Services Week in which Ahead Partnership has been actively involved as delivery partner.

In total, employers will provide match funding in the sum of £40,000, with the aim of increasing this in subsequent years as the programme grows. Employers that have committed sponsorship towards this project include PwC, Pinsent Masons, Arcadis, Capsticks, Richborough Estates and Cushman & Wakefield. As well as the named employers above, local employers, large and small representing all elements of the sector will have the opportunity to support the events throughout the year.

The Employment and Skills Board of the GBSLEP has already been consulted on the project proposal and any feedback has been incorporated into the approach.

Schools and colleges across Birmingham and Solihull will initially take part in the employer activities, with the potential to extend the programme more widely across the WMCA in due course. Ahead Partnership works extensively with schools in the region, with relationships with schools across Birmingham, Solihull and Coventry by virtue of its position as a current provider of services through the Careers and Enterprise Company’s programmes. Ahead Partnership also has strategic relationships with Birmingham Education Partnership, Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and Birmingham City Council (all of whom support Ahead Partnership’s work through the Board of CSR City) and with the skills teams within Coventry and Solihull.

This project will support the work of the CEC-funded careers hubs and the teams of enterprise co-ordinators in Birmingham (based within Birmingham Education Partnership) and in Solihull (based within Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council), with whom Ahead Partnership already works closely.

Has the relevant GBSLEP Pillar Board (or sub-board) been consulted on this proposal?

• Additionality

Why is the SEP Enabling Fund required to deliver this project?

What would happen if this support was not

There is an urgent need to address the impending workforce and skills gaps facing the BPFS sector. This project will add considerable value to the careers system that is being developed through the careers hubs and CEC enterprise co-ordinators. The project will provide a programme of high quality, immersive employer encounters which will support the CEC-funded careers hubs and enterprise co-ordinator teams in Birmingham and Solihull, significantly improving the employer activity offer that they can make to the schools that they are working with around strategic career planning.

The Investigation into the Foundations for Productivity for Business, Professional and Financial Services in WMCA Area process involved an extensive survey of employers within the BPFS

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forthcoming? sector and established that there is no lack of willingness on the part of employers to engage in activity with young people in order to improve the pipeline of talent. This has been demonstrated in practice with the success of Birmingham Professional Services Week, which has leveraged over £100k of support in time alone hosting encounters with students.

Evaluation of the employer activity that taken place consistently shows that high quality inspirational activity with young people is something that even the largest corporates struggle to deliver without assistance. In order to deliver the skills required to meet the ambitions set out in the Local Industrial Strategy, a consistent level of high quality activity will be needed.

Ahead Partnership’s programmes and prior sponsorship of Birmingham Professional Services Week have further demonstrated that there is a willingness on the part of employers to contribute financially. In the absence of any public sector investment however employers will tend to prioritise their own objectives over those of the public sector. The BPFS sector generates “good” jobs with high salary levels and as such could open up significant opportunity to those from disadvantaged backgrounds if activity is targeted in the right way.

The partners involved in running the Birmingham Professional Services Week pilot approach have reached the limit of what can be achieved with private sector funds alone and the activity will not scale or develop further without co-funding from the public sector.

This project will therefore overcome three main challenges:

1. Greater scale will be reached.

Private sector employers are more prepared to invest their own funds and time in an approach that is co-invested and which provides them with some support. The organisational burden on employers is high when delivering their own activity and restricts scale. The Investigation into the Foundations for Productivity for Business, Professional and Financial Services in WMCA Area found that the lack of any central organisational support over time is a significant barrier to achieving greater impact.

The capacity this project provides will remove that limitation.

2. Activity will be of higher quality

The quality of what is currently done by employers who organise their own activity is variable. Activity is not always informed by educational knowledge and employers lack expertise in how to make activity exciting to young people. This project will incorporate age-appropriate content, interactive tools and established learning and engagement techniques. The activities themselves will showcase the sector in action, resulting in more immersive, memorable and impactful activity.

3. Strategic needs will be addressed

Co-investment by the public sector “centres” the approach so that what is delivered not only meets the objectives of employers but also those of the region. This includes growth that is more inclusive, better workforce diversity, greater social mobility, improved talent retention and attraction of more inward investment.

A dedicated BPFS programme, co-funded by employers within the sector and the GBSLEP should engage a minimum of 20,000 students in high quality, organised and strategically targeted activity by 2023.

If funding is not granted, the Professional Services Week that has taken place for the last 4 years will not take place in summer 2020. Birmingham BPS has reduced project management capacity and is unable to deliver it as in previous years. The momentum that has been generated over the last 4 years is therefore at risk. Birmingham BPS actively supports this proposal. This project would further allow Ahead Partnership to extend and develop the range of immersive projects that it has been delivering in the region over the last 3 years. Cross-sectoral projects focused on major regeneration and infrastructure schemes will be able to deliver multiple objectives within

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the region’s Strategic Economic Plan. These opportunities would be lost if funding is not provided.

What alternatives to this project have been considered, and why were they dismissed?

GBSLEP is leading the approach to the growth of the BPFS sector within the Local Industrial Strategy and is therefore best placed to understand and support this project.

The option of leaving the situation as it is (with no central organisational support) would perpetuate the approach over the last four years. This has resulted in the fragmented, small-scale and individual approach outlined in the Investigation into the Foundations for Productivity for Business, Professional and Financial Services in WMCA Area.

Our proposed option has the benefit of leveraging substantial co-investment from the private sector. Employers are committing match funding because they see value in a more structured and supportive approach. £40,000 cash match has already been committed and a considerable amount of additional time and resource will be invested in-kind. We also expect more financial commitments to be made once the project gets underway so that this project can be sustained and grown beyond the first year as part of a longer-term approach to delivering the Local Industrial Strategy.

Without public sector support to unlock these commitments, the scale of engagement with young people will not increase beyond that achieved in the previous four years.

No substantial inroad will be made into addressing the longer-term skills challenges.

This project further leverages significant additional value by linking to and supporting other priorities in the Strategic Economic Plan, in particular growth through major regeneration projects. Businesses within the BPFS sector play a vital enabling role on major projects (eg advising on legals, finance, risk, land promotion, planning, architecture, engineering consultancy and commercial land agency). This project can create exciting contextualised live briefs around development underway in the region such as the HS2 terminal sites in central Birmingham and Birmingham International, the Commonwealth Games, UK Central, Longbridge, Smithfield and Ladywood. Building activity around these projects will encourage young people to be ambitious and optimistic about the region’s future and about staying and making their careers within the region.

Collectively, Ahead Partnership and Birmingham BPS have access to all the school and employer networks that can make this project a success, including established collaboration with Birmingham Education Partnership and the enterprise co-ordinators in Birmingham and Solihull.

What is the anticipated product of this project, and how do the outcomes enable the delivery of the SEP, and/or why is it necessary in the context of the Business Plan?

This project is of 12 months duration but with the expectation that the programme will continue and grow thereafter with continued private sector support and with the option for further public sector funding if the approach is successful.

During the first 12 months the project is expected to deliver the following outputs and outcomes through the programme of activity put in place:

• At least 6,000 secondary level and FE students across the region will engage in activity with employers through the project

• At least 25 different secondary schools across the region will engage in activity through the project

• 80% of the schools that engage in the project will have Free School Meals levels that are above national average, thus supporting inclusive growth and diversity of the workforce

• 50% of the schools engaging in the project will have levels of BAME students that are above national average, thus supporting inclusive growth and diversity of the workforce

• 75% of students that participate in the project will gain a greater awareness of opportunities available within the BPFS sector, the skills and qualifications required as

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well as entry routes

• 75% of teaching staff at schools and colleges that participate in the project will gain a greater awareness of opportunities within the sector and be better connected to employers within the BPFS sector

• BPFS employers will be more connected with each other and increasingly working collaboratively rather than individually

• BPFS employers will have better connections with schools and colleges which can be grown further in future years

• Finance

Please indicate below the SEP Enabling Fund required and the match funding over financial years. Please note that SEP Enabling Fund is revenue funding and only available until the end of the financial year ending 31st March 2021.

Funding Source (£) 2020/21

SEP Enabling Fund 40000

Birmingham BPS sponsors

15000

PwC 5000

Pinsent Masons 10000

Capsticks 5000

Arcadis 5000

Total project cost 80000

• Deliverability

Who will manage this project?

Ahead Partnership will manage this project (Stephanie Burras, CEO and Sophie Greenwood, Head of Operations)

What is the

governance of the

project?

Ahead Partnership is a company limited by guarantee that was incorporated in 2006. Its current

turnover is c £1.3m per year. Its balance sheet currently shows net assets of £463,747 and net

current assets of £420,069. Ahead Partnership is managed by a team of executive directors, with

strategic guidance provided by a Board of experienced and committed Non-Executive directors.

A local steering group will be appointed to oversee this project. This will include:

• the project lead from Ahead Partnership

• 2 private sector BPFS representatives including 1 from Birmingham BPS

• GBSLEP

• An enterprise co-ordinator from either Birmingham or Solihull

This group will meet once a term to provide project direction, ensure local alignment, review

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progress and discuss legacy and sustainability of the project.

The Ahead Partnership project team includes staff who will engage business partners and

schools and create and organise the delivery of events and provide promotional support. This

team is already in place and holds the necessary contacts and relationships within Birmingham.

What are the key milestones?

April 2020 Project promotion and launch

Set up social media channels.

Schedule activity taking place within the summer BPFS festival.

Approach business partners and schools to engage in the summer BPFS festival

May 2020 Planning starts for activities that will take place in Terms 1 and 2 of academic year 2020/1

Liaise with sponsor businesses for 2020/1

Engage with schools for 2020/1

Steering Group meets - First meeting

June 2020 Summer BPFS festival takes place.

Schedule is in place for 2020/1 activity.

Schools and colleges are recruited

July 2020 Impact report on summer festival

Aug 2020

Sept 2020

Oct 2020

Jan 2021

Creative/development work on sponsored activities and live briefs

Promotional event with the BPFS sector

Start sponsorship discussions around year 2

Delivery of year round programme commences

Second interim report

Activity continues

Steering Group meets – Second meeting

Third interim report

Activity continues

Feb 2021 Steering group meets – Third meeting

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Mar 2021

Sponsorship is in place for year 2

Project concludes – data gathering, evaluation and recommendations

How will the funding be invested? (please check the appropriate box)

Procurement Grant Yes

If procurement, the proposal must be commissioned in line with Birmingham City Council’s standing orders for procurement. Please describe the intended procurement route.

N/A

If grant, has a delivery partner been identified? If not, is an open call required?

If grant, are there any State Aid implications to be addressed?

None - the impact of the project we are proposing is purely local and UK based. It does not

involve any work for overseas customers and this is a field where as far as we are aware there

are no cross border investors. There is therefore no effect on trade between member states, in

particular as exemplified by the EC press release

http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-15-4889_en.htm

Approval

Paul Edwards Head of Strategy

Date

For approval by: Pillar Board LEP Board

EMPLOYMENT AND SKILLS BOARD (07 February 2020) – AGENDA ITEM 8 PLAN 10,000 PLUS

Purpose of this paper

To stimulate ESB debate and contribution to the skills ambition of the access to a workforce that is qualified at NVQ 3+ to at least the level of the national average and in line with future skills needs of employers

Recommendation

• The ESB discuss and feedback suggestions to develop the plan further.

• ESB members who are not already involved in working groups to consider any working groups they would be interested in joining.

Contact

Christian Sayer, GBSLEP Executive Officer - Skills

_____________________________________________________________________________________

1. Updates

a) The Plan 10,000 Plus is progressing, albeit at a slower pace than desired.

b) Visits to key stakeholders across the GBSLEP geography have continued with all FE colleges engaged, and a variety of other stakeholders, including Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce, West Midlands Growth Company,

c) There has been a slippage in recruitment timescales for the associated job roles. As mentioned above, the new Head of Skills, Spencer Wilson, is due to commence in role February 24th. Recruitment for other skills executive roles is now due to commence end of February. This has had a knock-on impact on delivery timescales, though was factored as a potential threat.

d) The slippage in recruitment does enable a reallocation of the funding attached to staff costs for 2019-20 financial year (staff costs were budgeted for Q4 financial year 2019/20). Updated budget is attached as appendix 9a. This thus sees an increase across the whole budget of spend on marketing, research, expenses and evaluation from 11% to 15%.

e) There has been some slippage on the fourth working group, strategic leadership, which has not yet met. The first session for this group follows the GBSLEP ESB meeting on 7 February.

2. Apprenticeship Hub

a) As mentioned above, there has been slippage in recruitment timeframes. The vacancies for the Apprenticeship Hub roles have thus not yet gone live.

b) The strategic challenges faced remain largely unchanged with no announcements yet on key issues.

c) Progress on action points from the first session, and project plan included:

Task Progress To Do

Organigram of potential stakeholders

First organigram produced. Develop comprehensive list of training providers

Engagement with Local Authority Employer Engagement Teams

Two LA teams engaged. Engage with remaining LA employer engagement teams

Slide deck and mission statement for sharing

Copy written Graphics and branding guidelines need developing

Table highlighting funding regimes of other

In progress Push for more granular data

Apprenticeship Hubs from 3

Updating and sharing of GBSLEP executive research and existing apprenticeship pipelines in the region

Mapping of key sector apprenticeship pipelines in the region completed for BPFS, Digital, Life Sciences, Creative Industries, AME

Mapping of Low-Carbon

Inclusion of apprenticeship starts etc data

Update risk register & development of a more granular project plan

Risk register updated & granular project plan developed

Update as relevant

Formalise relationship with WMCA to ensure mutual support and prevent duplication.

Frequent meetings with WMCA apprenticeship team since last meeting

Co-development of apprenticeship marcoms (next meeting 18/02)

Formalised levy transfer referral route.

Increased engagement with other stakeholders

Meetings held with: GBCC, WMGC, NWEDR,

Meetings with: local Chambers, BROs

Job Specs + description Completed Recruitment to commence late February

Website - Commission website development

Branding & guidelines - Commission designer company to develop branding

Next T&F Group meeting Not yet taken place Late February

3. Skills for Growth Hub

a) One meeting of the T&F group has occurred with subsequent circulation of information / details

in emails to the members, for comments and feedback.

b) Each advisor’s caseload of 40-45 employers per annum felt achievable – 135 per each FTE for

3 years of project and proposed grade of roles feels correct: one with more responsibility than

the other (midpoint-higher grade) to ensure management of project alongside the Growth Hub.

Growth Hub adviser Job Descriptions have been adapted to reflect roles/purpose.

Establishing a 2-stage Training Needs Analysis:

- Triage system and referral, where possible

- More substantial element for employers supported in caseload

c) T&F group advised to develop early engagement strategy for roles – activity & events and to look at use of Growth Hub CRM (evolutive at the moment) and how data can be used as intelligence.

d) Next steps include developing (1) an Engagement Strategy and (2) looking at how the opportunity can include CSR and employer/employee engagement to benefit other projects too – e.g. EAN’s – EA’s & employer engagement opportunities, local job creation & recruitment, work experience, interns, graduates, etc.

4. Work Academies

a) Work has progressed since the last ESB around the skills capital section. Work has not yet commenced on the Employer-led short courses section of this unit.

b) A verbal update on GBSLEP LGF capital funds will be given at the meeting

c) Progress on action points from the first session, and project plan included:

Task Progress To Do

(Re)engagement with FE colleges in the GBSLEP geography

All FE colleges engaged Schedule catch-up sessions

Production of a skills capital guide

Draft completed Share with T&F group for feedback

Engagement with individual ITPs and provider networks through roadshows, mailouts etc

On hold

Explore the options of releasing capital funding calls for specific interventions

On hold

Further development of the project plan

Plan updated Update as relevant.

Training session for FE & ITPs on GBSLEP LGF capital application process and Green Book procedures.

Provisional date for w/c 20/04

Invites and marketing.

Confirm provisional date

Development of a skills capital pipeline

Done

(NB. Due to external pressures, stakeholders completed responses on a very short timescale)

Update, providing stakeholders with a longer timescale to complete!

Development of a more detailed pipeline reporting form for stakeholders

Produced Sign off by PT and sent to stakeholders.

5. Strategic Leadership

d) The West Midlands 3 LEPs Skills group has met several times:

a. shared information re: WMCA & Apprenticeship Levy transfer scheme;

b. prepared joint application to CITB for inspiration activity with EANs/Careers Hubs;

c. shared updates shared re: Digital Skills Partnership, Construction Partnership, Automotive Partnership

d. discussed the Manor Properties Careers Hub offer in West Midlands.

e) The GBSLEP Strategic Leadership T&F group is scheduled to meet on 7 February and will focus on Apprenticeship Standards adoption into GBSLEP area and employer focus in inspiration agenda

f) 4 LEP collaboration with WMCA to support ESF call focussed on supporting jobs & skills activity to benefit Commonwealth Games and City of Culture opportunities.

GBSLEP Plan 10k Budget Feb Update

Financial Year

2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23 Project Lifespan

1. Apprenticeship Hub

Total £15,000 £294,777 £193,234 £149,939 £652,950

Staff Gross Costs 0 180,777 184,234 140,939 £505,950

Marketing + Events 5,000 90,000 0 0 £95,000

Website & Analytics £10,000 £10,000 £5,000 £5,000 £30,000

Research/data analysis £0 £10,000 £2,000 £2,000 £14,000

Expenses £0 £4,000 £2,000 £2,000 £6,000

2. Growth Hub

Total -£19,625 £43,600 £48,856 £6,790 £79,621

Staff Gross Costs £0 £115,600 £120,856 £63,152 £299,608

Marketing + Events £0 £15,000 £15,000 £2,888 £32,888

Travel Costs £375 £3,000 £3,000 £750 £7,125

BEIS FUNDING -£20,000 -£90,000 -£90,000 -£60,000 -£260,000

3. Work Academies

Total £0 £125,000 £125,000 £5,000 £255,000

Marketing + Events £0 £5,000 £5,000 £5,000 £15,000

Grants (short courses) £0 £110,000 £110,000 £0 £220,000

Project Support Funding £0 £10,000 £10,000 £0 £20,000

4. Strategic Leadership

Total £100 £3,300 £3,300 £3,300 £10,000

Marketing + Events £0 £1,500 £1,500 £1,500 £4,500

IT infrastructure £100 £300 £300 £300 £1,000

Research/data analysis £0 £1,500 £1,500 £1,500 £4,500

5. Provider Planning

Total £0 £7,500 £7,500 £4,000 £19,000

Marketing + Events £0 £4,000 £4,000 £2,000 £10,000

Research/data analysis £0 £3,500 £3,500 £2,000 £9,000

6. Graduate Attraction

Total £0 £100,000 £95,000 £0 £195,000

Research/data analysis £0 £10,000 £0 £0 £10,000

Grants £0 £90,000 £95,000 £0 £185,000

7. Adult Participation

Total £0 £0 £100,000 £0 £100,000

Grants £0 £0 £100,000 £0 £100,000

8. Experimental Approaches

Total £0 £5,000 £100,000 £100,000 £205,000

Marketing + Events £0 5,000 5,000 5,000 £15,000

Grants £0 £0 £95,000 £95,000 £190,000

LEP Executive Staffing Costs £28,900 £115,601 £117,913 £120,271 £382,685

Evaluation £0 £0 £0 £30,000 £30,000

Total £44,000 £694,778 £790,803 £419,300 £1,929,256