The Skills Challenge

1
The Skills Challenge

• Richard Hutchins
• Corporate Director of Economic Development
• Advantage West Midlands

2
The skills challenge

• in raising productivity and employment,
• skills is probably the number one
• challenge facing the West Midlands

3
The Region is improving its skills performance
but still lags behind national trends
England Average
Source LSC National Employer Skills Survey
4
The Regions private sector is larger but less
knowledge intensive than the public sector
The private sector employs more people and more
graduates than the public sector
But knowledge intensity is much lower than in
the public sector
Source LFS
Source LFS
5
The proportion of companies investing in training
is low relative to other regions
The region has the lowest proportion of staff
undergoing training in the country
The proportion of staff trained has risen only
marginally since 2003
Source LSC National Employer Skills Survey
6
Many have aspirations- but face lots of barriers

• Strong aspirations suggest significant potential
  for increased engagement
• But many are not equipped to meet their
  aspirations
• Many face multiple, inter-connected barriers
• A lack of employability skills is a key issue

7
Education attainment by young people is rising
but not enough

• Proportion of pupils achieving
• 5 or more GCSE A-C gradesincl. Maths
  English, 2006
• Up by 2
• - but gap with England average unchanged at
• 4 points

8
The Regions managers are less proficient in a
range of specific competencies
Source Shropshire Chamber of Commerce AWM
funded West Midlands Management Matters Project
9
Worklessness in the region is high and the gap is
increasing
Source APS
10
LINKS BETWEEN WMES AND RSP PRIORITIES
Strong Voice
Business
People
Place
Regenerating Communities (Skills, Employment
and procurement)
Skills for employment and progression
Develop markets (Higher value added)
Higher skills for productivity
Increase employer investment
Raise aspiration
Data
Leaders and managers
Individuals
RSP PRIORITIES FOR ACTION AND LABOUR MARKET
INFORMATION
11
Are we closing the gaps to meet the skills
challenge?

• Given the size of the task have we enough
  actions in place to close the gaps?
• What have we missed, what else should we be
  doing?
• Given the size of the challenge, what will have
  the most impact?
• Is there scope to maximise impact by joining up
  and working together more effectively?
• For feedback and comments to these questions,
  please email
• trevorcornfoot_at_advantagewm.co.uk