Local  ini)a)ves  to  promote  appren)ceships  in  Leeds  and  Manchester,  UK  

Francesca  Froy,  Whose  City?    

•  Low  par)cipa)on  in  VET  (10%  of  cohort)  •  A  lack  of  higher  level  courses  (NVQ  3  and  above)  

•  Plethora  of  training  providers  and  awarding  bodies  

•  Concerns  over  appren)ceships:  engagement  by  young  people  and  SMEs,  training  quality  

A  need  to  re-­‐boost  VET  in  England  

Centre  for  Ci)es  (2016)  

A  mixed  na)onal  picture  

•  Efforts  to  increase  employer  engagement  •  Na)onal  strategy  to  boost  appren)ceships  – Efforts  to  increase  the  number  of  young  people  in  appren)ceships  

– The  appren)ceship  levy  – Trailblazers  

•  Policy  decentralisa)on  to  city  regions:  the  City  Deals  – The  appren)ceships  and  skills  hubs  

 

The  na)onal  policy  context  

Greater  Manchester:    2.73  million  people  105,000  businesses  40%  GVA  of  North  West  England,  10.6%  popula)on  no  qualifica)ons,  6.8%  unemployment  rate  2015  3rd  most  deprived  local  enterprise  partnership  region  

       

Leeds  City  Region:    3  million  people  

119,000  businesses  GVA  of  60.5  billion  

9.9%  popula)on  no  qualifica)ons  6.2%  unemployment  rate  2015    

9th  most  deprived  local  enterprise  partnership  region  

 

•  Key  Aims:  To  increase  the  number  of  people  taking  appren)ceships  at  level  3  and  above,  and  to  support  appren)ceships  within  SMEs.    

•  Target:  The  ini)al  aim  was  to  increase  the  number  of  16-­‐24  year  olds  star)ng  appren)ceships  by  10%  a  year  every  year  un)l  2017/18,  however  this  target  was  later  abandoned  

•  Budget:  6  million  pounds    •  Partners:    The  key  partners  include  Manchester  New  

Economy,  the  Na)onal  Appren)ceship  Service,  the  Skills  Funding  Agency,  Greater  Manchester  Chamber  of  Commerce,  Greater  Manchester  Learning  Provider  Network,  Greater  Manchester  Colleges  Group  and  the  Greater  Manchester  Local  Authori)es.        

Manchester  Skills  and  Appren)ceships  Hub  

•  Key  Aims:  To  create  a  'NEET-­‐free'  city  region  (i.e.  a  region  free  of  young  people  not  in  educa)on,  employment  or  training).    

•  Target:  Create  2,500  new  appren)ceships  amongst  those  aged  16-­‐24;  Engage  2,142  businesses  

•  Budget:  4.6  million  pounds  •  Partners:    The  key  partners  include  the  Leeds  City  Region    Enterprise  Partnership  (LEP),  the  Na)onal  Appren)ceship  Service,  the  Skills  Funding  Agency,  ten  local  authority  areas  that  make  up  the  Leeds  City  Region,  further  educa)on  colleges  &  training  providers  and  others.    

Leeds  Skills  and  Appren)ceships  Hub  

Concerns  in  Greater  Manchester  

•  Low  volumes  of  appren)ceships  at  NVQ  level  3  and  above    

•  Low  recruitment  of  young  unemployed  people  •  Limited  availability  of  impar)al  informa)on,  advice  and  guidance  for  young  people  

•  SMEs  not  fully  engaged  in  the  skills  system,  which  they  ohen  perceive  as  complex  and  disjointed  

Key  pillars:  Greater  Manchester  

Examples  of  Ini)a)ves  

•  Providing  informa)on,  advice  and  guidance:  –  24,500  per  school  for  jointly  crea)ng  3000  new  registra)ons    

–  Sharp  project:  culture  and  media  sector  –  Engineering  Futures  

•  Increasing  higher  level  delivery  in  key  Manchester  growth  sectors:  –  health/social  care,  advanced  manufacturing,  digital  and  crea)ve,  finance  and  professional  and  retail  

–  13  different  providers  providing  22  higher  appren)ceship  frameworks  

–  Up  to  50,000  pounds  to  contribute  to  50%  of  start  costs  

Greater  Manchester  Hub  Governance  

Concerns  in  Leeds  

•  28,000  young  people  in  the  NEET  category  at  the  start  of  the  ini)a)ve  three  years  ago,    

•  Only  12%  of  SMEs  were  taking  on  appren)ces  before  the  hub  ac)vi)es  began.    

•  A  complicated  picture  of  provision  -­‐  over  600  training  providers.  

Decentralised

 governance  in  Leeds  City

 Region  

Examples  of  ini)a)ves  

•  Barnsley  –  Outsourced  to  local  college,  Employer  Engagement  focus,  seasonal  campaigns,  connec)ons  into  local  careers  advice.  Front  runner  na)onally.    

•  Calderdale  –  ‘Grow  your  own  future’,  match-­‐funded  by  local  authority,  target  4000  appren)ceships  by  2020,  3  employer  engagement  officers,  pre-­‐appren)ceship  work  placements,  monthly  visits  to  work  placements,    bursaries,  appren)ceship  ambassadors  

•  Leeds  Region-­‐wide  –  Appren)ceship  training  agencies  (ATAs)  –  Reduc)on  in  transport  costs  for  appren)ces  

In  parallel:  Appren)ceship  Grant  to  Employers  

•  Na)onal  scheme,  local  adjustments  •  In  both  Greater  Manchester  and  Leeds  City  Region:  – Expansion  of  target  group  from  micro-­‐business  to  small-­‐medium  enterprises  

– Focus  in  on  local  sectors    – Priori)sa)on  of  medium  to  higher  level  appren)ceships  

Impacts  

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300000  

400000  

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600000  

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1000000  

2009-­‐10   2010-­‐11   2011-­‐12   2012-­‐13   2013_14  

Leeds  City  Region  

Greater  Manchester  

England  

Number  of  people  taking  appren)ceships  since  2009  

Successes  

•  Bringing  more  young  people  in  through  innova)ve  careers  guidance  e.g.  ‘appren)ceship  ambassadors’  

•  Suppor)ng  SMEs  through  local  ‘hand-­‐holding’:  help  with  administra)on  and  recruitment  e.g.  through  ATAs    

•  Orienta)ng  appren)ceships  towards  local  employment  growth  sectors  and  higher  skills  levels  

•  Linking  appren)ceships  advice  into  broader  business  support  while  influencing  policy  areas  such  as  transport    

•  The  public  sector  can  ‘lead  by  example’  •  Policy  flexibility  allowed  both  hubs  to  

‘learn  by  doing’  

Challenges  

•  Marke)ng  appren)ceships  was  found  not  to  be  enough:  a  longer  term  process  is  required  to  build  ‘parity  of  esteem’  

•  Some  sectors  proved  more  easy  to  work  with  than  others:  e.g.  the  finance  sector  and  hospitality  as  opposed  to  retail  

•  Both  appren)ceship  hubs  had  to  steer  within  broader  waves  of  na)onal  policy  change,  while  filling  gaps  in  na)onal  provision  (IAG)  

•  Employers  were  mainly  engaged  as  ‘consumers’  as  opposed  to  designers  of  curricula  

Conclusions  

•  City  strategies  can  boost  appren)ceships  in  key  local  sectors,  at  appropriate  skills  levels  

•  The  quality  of  appren)ceships  is  key  to  aqrac)ng  young  people  and  crea)ng  ‘parity  of  esteem’  

•  These  examples  show  the  value  of  local  authori)es  working  together  across  boundaries  at  the  level  of  local  labour  market  travel  to  work  areas/city  regions  

•  Local  authori)es  can  benefit  from  a  culture  of  ‘learning  by  doing’  and  flexibility  in  governance.    

•  However,  even  with  flexibility,  the  success  of  local  ini)a)ves  is  strongly  influenced  by  the  na)onal  policy  context