Addressing Youth Employment and Skills Issues

Thursday 9th May 2013

James Farr, Acting Director, Skills & Employment, New Economy

Background• Number of JSA claimants aged 16-24 is declining (-18%) but more young

people are staying unemployed for longer than a year (+21%)

• 23,200 Youth JSA claimants, plus 8,400 IBA/ESA & 10,290 LPIS

• Youth Unemployment - biggest labour market challenge in Greater Manchester (GM)

• GM Skills and Employment Partnership: voluntary collaboration of employers, providers, local authorities and government agencies

• Working on behalf of the LEP and GM Combined Authority

• Including on the development and implementation of GM’s City Deal

What we are doing in GM

Call for action from the GM Local Enterprise Partnership

Calling on employers to support young jobseekers by;

• Recruiting a young person: A £750 grant to employers that take on a young person into an apprenticeship or a job with training (+ NAS Age grant, £1500 or Youth Contract , £2275)

• Volunteering as a mentor: Connecting young jobseekers with trained mentors

• Offering a work experience placement or linking with a school: Enhanced IAG activity is being implemented through the City Deal

Greater Manchester Apprenticeship Hub

LEPGM

Combined Authority

Skills & Employment Partnership

Hub

Working alongside mainstream funded system (EFA, SFA, DWP, ESF etc)

• City Deal Apprenticeship Hub (£6M) – gap funding

• City Deal Tax Incentives Pilot (£2.8M)

• Greater Manchester Commitment to Youth Employment (£4M)

• Employer Ownership Pilot (£8.6M Round 1) apprenticeships focused

Addressing Market FailureMarket Failure Response of Apprenticeship Hub

Low volumes of apprenticeships at level 3+ and low penetration of key growth sectors

Provider development programme – supporting training providers and colleges to develop / deliver new apprenticeship frameworks and enter new markets

Lack of impartial IAG and limited knowledge of the apprenticeship route

City Deal – enhanced IAG activities, engaging with schools and 6th forms and a focus on apprenticeships at all levels

SMEs perceive skills system as complex and disjointed

Employer Ownership of Skills – ensuring that Greater Manchester’s training system delivers the skills that employers need in their workforce

Low recruitment into apprenticeships for young unemployed

Provider development programme – supporting training providers and colleges to develop and deliver high quality Traineeships

GM Commitment - Work trial & grant to employers of £750 that take on a young unemployed person as an apprentice

Unfilled apprenticeship vacancies IAG activities, Traineeships, GM Apprenticeship Marketing and Communications Strategy

Youth Employment: Next Steps

• ILM offer – jobs with training for the long term unemployed

• Devolving Youth Contract funds

• Enhanced childcare offer for young lone parents

• Efficient employer engagement through Apprenticeship Hub

• Business engagement in schools

Reflections

• Drive the agenda

• Importance of governance – a mandate to act

• Partnership working – using local expertise, co-production

• Gap funding to enhance capacity

Thank You

e: james.farr@neweconomymanchester.com

t: 0161 237 4485

w: http://neweconomymanchester.com