LSC powerpoint template

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Borough Employer Panel Research Presented to
SLLP WFD Group By Cindy Bartello - Skills
Alliance Manager
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Local Skills Agenda

• National drive by Government to involve employers
  in the skills agenda.
• Key driver of the South London Skills Alliance is
  that it is employer led. Project commissioned to
  enhance dialogue.
• Need to ascertain local employer skills issues to
  qualify regional and national data.
• Also to create a mechanism for focused
  partnership working between LSC, LAs, Chambers
  and colleges.
• Info useful to the LSCs emerging Borough
  Partnership Teams.

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Local Context

• South London has the highest proportion of
  employers in London with
• Hard to fill vacancies - 6.5 (London average)
  5.6
• Skills shortage vacancies 4.9 (La 4.2)
• Skills Gaps 14.1Almost 26,000 workers (La
  12.8)
• National skills gaps 17 - London 12.8
• In London only 21 of employers who train their
  staff do so at an FE college. This is the lowest
  in any region.
• (Source National Employer Skills Survey 2005)

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Project Brief

• Using Why Not? Innovation Fund formula, proposals
  were requested last September.
• Activity delivered from Oct-March 2006.
• All contractors were Chambers and/or LA.
• Mixed activity one to one visits, desktop
  research, mail shots, online surveys, meetings
  and events.
• Over 220 employers involved. Mixed size/sectors.
• Anecdotal rather than statistical data captured.
• Individual reports and summary are available at
  www.sllp.org.uk

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Synopsis of Findings

• Employers vaguely aware of LSC programmes.
• Some knowledge of Apprenticeships and Addmore,
  although details sketchy.
• Limited knowledge of ESF projects, features and
  benefits rather than sources and origins tend to
  stick in peoples minds.

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Recruitment Issues

• Literacy and numeracy skills are still a barrier
  to recruitment for people of all ages.
• Employers look for people with an existing skills
  base.
• Language skills can also be a barrier to
  recruitment.
• Localised recruitment can affect the availability
  of high level skills e.g. surveyors in Croydon.

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Recruitment

• Many employers less interested in recruiting
  under 19s due to perceived employability issues
  relating to soft skills, literacy and numeracy
  problems See Page 5 of report.
• Retail and hospitality more inclined to recruit
  this age group. Need young people to sell/serve
  to the young.
• Most employers happier to recruit older workers
  due to work ethic and initiative.

8
Sourcing Training

• The internet is the key tool when sourcing
  training.
• - Google frequently used as a search engine.
• Most employers questioned had not used the EGPT
  website.
• Brokerage Personalised letters, web referrals
  preferred. Not emails and cold calls. Localised
  point of contact preferred.
• Few employers think of using a college in the
  first instance, although some evidence that
  perceptions are changing.

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Training

• Most employers have in-house HR and training or
  use private trainers and consultants where
  needed.
• Watertight specifications are required before
  external funding is purchased.
• Sales, marketing, business planning, customer
  service and IT and management training remain
  popular with employers.
• The relevance of training appears to be more
  critical than the cost, although time for
  training and value for money are factors.

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Next Steps

• Continue to develop employer engagement activity
  at a borough level.
• LSC Partnership Teams to utilise the contacts and
  information gained to date.
• Work together to improve brokerage arrangements
  to assist in the delivery of Tain to Gain and
  other programmes.
• Partners to assist with the promotion of EGTP
  website.
• Partners to support colleges and WBL providers
  improve their offer and marketing to employers.