Miguel SilvaBirmingham City Council

Supporting People

to Progress in Work

Miguel Silva

4th October 2017

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Birmingham Skills Investment Plan 2016-2026

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• Skills for Growth

Education & training system to be informed by what employers

need. Skills plans attached to all major infrastructure investments

• Helping young people decide

Modernising and enhancing careers advice service within the city

• Birmingham Employers Challenge

Work with employers to increase the number of apprenticeships

• Opportunity for all

Influencing how government money is spent

• Skills City Birmingham

New high level partnership with businesses, civic leaders, FE,HE

School

In 2015 54% of

Birmingham pupils

gained 5 of more GCSE

A-C outperforming core

city average 52% but

below national rate 57%.

Employment Rates

10% lower than core city

average. Need an

additional 41,000

residents into

employment to reach

core city rate.

Unemployment Rates

At 6.1% Birmingham’s

unemployment rate is the

highest of all core cities.

The unemployment rate

for young people is 4.9%.

Young Population

Over 1 in 5 people in

Birmingham are under

the age of 15.

Further Education

49% of residents in

Birmingham are qualified

to NVQ3 level but

45,000 adults would

need to upskill to match

core city NVQ3 rate.

Income Levels

Birmingham residents

earn 10% less than

those who work in

Birmingham. Third

lowest amongst the core

cities.

Ageing Workforce &

Population

13% increase in 50-64

year olds by 2031.

32% increase in 65-75

year olds.

Points of

intervention

Employability & Skills Continuum

Step Forward

better SKILLS, better JOBS, better FUTURES, better BUSINESS

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Aesha Ali/Tara Verrel 8

• Multi- agency awareness raising campaign to upskill the workforce;

promoting the benefits of better skills and qualification levels to

employers and employees

• Encouraging employers to commit to investing in increasing qualifications

of workforce from basic skills levels to higher level qualifications

• A guide and toolkit for employers and employees:

Delivered by BCC and GBSLEP

Endorsed by CIPD and Chamber of Commerce

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Employer Media Campaign

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Digital Advertising Boards Social Media

Direct Engagement

Working with employers

in phase one to

respond to the skills

challenge by investing

in training and

improving qualifications

levels to make

Birmingham THE Skills

City.

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Key messages and Step Forward Toolkit

• Qualifications have a significant

impact on earnings potential

• On average someone with a Level

4+ qualification on average earns

more than twice the hourly rate of

someone with no qualifications

• The likelihood of being in

employment significantly

increases with the increase in

qualification levels

• 68,000 adults need to improve

skills levels to L3+ to contribute to

matching national average

• Up to 25% of economic growth

could be lost by not investing in

skills

• The majority of new jobs created

in the economy will require

increasingly higher skill levels

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STEM Progression Pathway

better SKILLS, better JOBS, better FUTURES, better BUSINESS

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• Commissioned by the NCHSR Board sponsored by GBSLEP

and undertaken by the Learning & Work Institute

• Recognition of the need to develop a talent pipeline to

address skill shortage areas

• Aspiration for communities and neighbourhoods to be

better equipped for local jobs being created from inward

investment

• All underpinned by strong EDI principles and the need to

engage underrepresented groups.

A strategy to enable the lowest-skilled and least-advantaged

citizens in the region to progress towards high-skill, high-value

jobs in STEM industries, which:

• illustrates the various routes into jobs in HSR and STEM-

related industries at all levels;

• provides a “line of sight” to those jobs for people farthest

from achieving them;

• includes an entry point to the pathway for those with the

lowest skills and furthest to travel in terms of learning and

qualifications.

• A clear line of sight for learners to learning and work

opportunities.

• Strategic partnership co-ordination.

• Robust progression infrastructure.

• Tailored and targeted provision.

• An holistic approach.

• Employer involvement.

• Outreach, promotion and engagement in communities.

• Peer support and role models.

8 Key Design Features

The Model

Citizens’ Curriculum Stem Entry Pathway Framework

Employability skills embedded in the wider capabilities

• e.g. civic – negotiation and influencing; action planning;

public speaking; equality and diversity awareness; and

volunteering.

• e.g. digital - ability to access and use universal jobs match.

NCS and other learning and employment support services

Vocational and Employability Plug-in

Widening learners’ knowledge of local opportunities

• e.g. Talks from local employers – including peer role models –to raise

learners overall level of interest, motivation and engagement, both in

relation to STEM in general and to work in specific industries /

organisations.

• e.g. Taster sessions develop understanding and motivation around

learning opportunities in STEM subjects at higher levels.

• e.g. Work experience placements to provide learners with relevant

awareness and experience.

Encouraging all learners to pursue vocational aims

• e.g. Ongoing careers guidance to: identify skills and experience gained;

consolidate learning; build and maintain motivation; explore progression

opportunities; support effective short-, medium- and longer-term decision-

making and actions; and link opportunities and decisions around earning

and employment to learners’ wider personal and financial circumstances.

• e.g. Vocational qualifications and IAG to clarify how these relate to

opportunities and aspirations.

• e.g. action planning for the future, including short-, medium- and long-term

planning for learning and work, with financial planning regarding benefits,

income and paying for learning.

Aim 1.1: Identified the WM Adult Community Learning Alliance to take the work forward

Aim 1.2: Establishing a single brand for the STEM Progression Pathway

Aim 1.3: Identifying and corralling resource to support the further development of the

STEM Progression Pathway

Aim 1.4: Commissioning and overseeing a partnership-wide programme of continuing

professional development (CPD) to support the piloting and implementation of the STEM

Progression Pathway

Strategic Activity 1: Establishing an underpinning infrastructure to ensure leadership, effective partnership working, and ongoing development and monitoring of the work

Aim 2.1: Establish a pilot programme for the STEM Entry Pathway Curriculum in

at least one adult education centre

Aim 2.2: Develop Citizens’ Curriculum pilot with vocational STEM “plug-in”

Aim 2.3: Establish a new Pre-Employment Training Programme Technology

course

Aim 2.4: Embed STEM across adult community learning provision with a new

STEM-focused progression route for learners

Strategic Activity 2: Implementing the STEM Entry

Pathway Curriculum

Aim 3.1: Undertake targeted marketing and promotional activities with key

communities

Aim 3.2: Provide an integrated IAG offer with advancement service for

learners accessing entry level jobs

Aim 3.3: Research the development of a potential STEM Progression

Passport (or Smartcard system)

Aim 3.4: Develop, pilot and implement a peer-volunteering scheme

Strategic Activity 3: Enabling learners to access and

progress on the Pathway

Thank you

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