Allan Baillie

KCC Skills & Employability

Skill Gaps – Skill Building

• Skills Gaps• Youth

unemployment• Earning and Learning• The ‘right skills’

• The role of employers

• ‘Realising Talent: Employment & Skills for the Future’. CESI for LGA. July 2014

• ‘It’s about work…excellent adult vocational teaching and learning’. Commission on

Adult Vocational Teaching And Learning. Nov 2013

• ‘Precarious futures? Youth employment in an international context’ UK Commission for Employment & Skills [UKCES]. June 2014

Skills Gap

• The average skill level of the UK population is equivalent to…

• …level 2.3

• ‘On average, we have to lift England’s workforce to A-level standard, rather than the projected 5 x GCSEs standard’ LGA

Why?

Skill Gap (by 2022)

• Low skills: 9.2m people, 3.5m jobs• High Skills: 11.9m people, 14.8m jobs

• lost growth = £375bn Realising Talent: Employment & Skills for the Future. CESI for LGA. July 2014

Youth & ADULT UNEMPLOYMENT

• Unemployment hits young adults hardest: at the height of the recession, young people 16-24 were nearly 4 times more likely to be unemployed than the rest of the adult population.

• Current Kent Figures for youth/adult unemployment:– Youth unemployment [18-24] 3.1% (3, 956)– Adult unemployment [18-64] 1.7% (15,504)March 2015

Young adults are finding it increasingly difficult to compete in the labour market

Youth Unemployment• March 2015, 3956 unemployed 18-24.– @£58pw x 52 weeks = £12m (11,931,296)

– Lost revenue (income tax) = another £10-15m• Unemployment is very costly and …wasteful

18 and Unemployed

In March 2015 there were…

…700 18 year olds claiming Job Seekers Allowance

= 8 per secondary school

700 x £54 x 52 weeks = £2m (£1,965,600)

Earning & LEARNING

• `There are long term and deep rooted challenges hindering young people’s movement into work`

• `Experience of the workplace is fundamental`• `High levels of young people earning and

learning lead to lower youth unemployment`

‘International evidence suggests a causal link between earning and

learning (at 15-19) and the chances of becoming unemployed (20-24)’ UKCES

Benefits of Work Experience

• Young people who experience work experience activity are 5x less likely to be NEET

• Work experience is increasingly important in the admissions process for Higher Education

• Work experience is associated with improved motivation and attainment

• Graduates with work experience get better degrees, higher wages and are less likely to be unemployed

‘Employability’

Employer surveys• Numeracy• Literacy• Customer care• Communication

• Relevant skills/quals?

….plus• Team work• Interpersonal skills• Problem solving• Flexible• Willing to learn

• Positive attitude

VOCATIONAL EDUCATION & TRAINING

Commission for Adult Vocational Teaching & Learning (CAVTL)• A clear line of sight to work – a two

way street with employers • Clear ‘escalators’ to higher

vocational learning• Access to industry standard

facilities• Dual professionals – occupational

and pedagogical expertise

Adult skills

‘Achieving a step- change in qualification levels is not possible by relying on ever better qualified young people – adults, already in the workforce, will need to continue to attain higher qualifications’Realising Talent: Employment & Skills for the Future. CESI for LGA. July 2014

Message for young people….Never stop learning!

Futureproofing

• ‘Responding to current employer demand is important but it is equally important to build the workforce skills for the future’ CAVTL

The local need

• Local economies need a good match between employer demand and labour supply – the right skills and the right level of skills

www.gov.uk/government/statistics/labour-market-projections-for-the-south-east-of-england (UKCES Data)

Employment sector Base2012 (000’s)

Expansion demand

Replacement demand

Net requirement

21 Science, research & engineering 305 65(21.3%)

99(32.5%)

164 (53.8%)

42 Secretarial and related occupations

155 -59(-38.1%)

69 (+44.7%)

10 (6.6%)

53 Skilled construction & building 140 4(3.0%)

46(32.8%)

50 (35.8%

61 Caring & personal service occupations

309 84(+27.2%)

141(+45.7%)

225 (73%)

All Occupations 4564 297 (6.5%)

1795 (39.3%)

2092 (45.8%)

Occupation sectors – samples from UKCES data

Conclusion• Level 3 , the new benchmark, to reduce the ‘skills gap’• Overwhelming international evidence for the benefits

of ‘earning and learning’ (flexible study programme)• Relevant vocational education in partnership with

employers (a ‘two way street’)• Emphasise education and training for life: ‘never stop

learning’• Use LMI to provide locally responsive education and

training