South West

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South West Regional Skills PartnershipProposed
Gap AnalysisChris Evans, DirectorSLIM
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Level 3 Review

• Part of the Healthy Labour Market Review
  Thematic Review
• Government has charged RSPs with 
• Agreeing level 3 priorities
• Identifying LCS, RDA, European and other budgets
  to support level 3 programmes to focus on
  priority areas
• Seeking funding contributions from employers

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2005 Skills Strategy
  We must substantially raise our ambition for
the number of people who gain Level 3 skills and
qualifications. By 2012, some two thirds of all
jobs (both new and existing) are expected to
require qualifications at Level 3 or higher. Some
of our most pronounced skills gaps relative to
France and Germany are in the crucial category of
technician, advanced craft, skilled trade and
associate professional skills requiring Level 3
qualifications. That is constraining growth in
productivity. For many people, qualifications at
Level 3 represent the way to a better standard of
living through gaining highly marketable
occupational skills. We will determine, in the
light of the review by Lord Leitch, what ambition
we should set for the future proportion of young
people and adults achieving Level 3
qualifications.
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Current Level 3 needs

• NESS 2005 shows that sectors experiencing skills
  shortages are retail hospitality construction
  engineering and, social care.
• There is a concentration, as a proportion of
  employment and vacancies, of skill shortages
  amongst technical, craft and operative/driver
  staff in production industries, manufacturing and
  transport.

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Hard to fill and skills shortage vacancies

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Policy Response

• Level 3 policy objectives are squeezed between a
  focus on increasing the numbers of entrants to
  Higher Education and a concentration of funds for
  basic skills and level 2 qualifications.
• A persistence of the higher status accorded to
  academic routes to higher levels of education
  over vocational options.
• A reliance on voluntarism to achieve policy
  objectives.
• Reluctance on the part of employers to pay for
  and of individuals in the workforce to take up
  level 3 qualifications.
• Extensive sectoral variation.

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Next steps

• Review Level 3 data demand and supply
• Run regional analysis of the Leitch Review Models
• Analyse Policy Response
• Analyse wider literature
• Debate through the Learning Theme
• Interim working papers
• Final Report - December

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Gap Analysis

• Where is the employer demand for skills and where
  are the skills gaps? This will look at current
  and future demand.
• Where are the policies and funding of the key
  agencies targeted in terms of being able to plan
  for or respond to these needs?
• Where do the gaps lie and what actions are needed
  on the part of the RSP to fill them?

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Skills Gaps

• International, national or inter-regional
  comparisons, focusing on where the South West
  compares poorly
• Expected future changes, identifying key growth
  areas and replacement needs these are areas
  where supply will need to be focused to keep pace
  with expected future needs.
• Market signals, such as rates of pay and rates of
  return, which reflect the balance between supply
  and demand.
• Employers perceptions, including recruitment
  problems and internal skill gaps these indicate
  those areas where there are the most significant
  current skill deficiencies and shortages.

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Regional priorities

• The analysis will look at priorities and planned
  activities of the various strategic partners in
  the region. Where are their efforts being
  focused in relation to current and future skills
  needs? We will therefore be reviewing the plans
  and targets of the key partners
• LSC
• RDA
• HEFCE
• Jobcentre Plus
• Business Link
•  

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Next Steps

• Confirm the parameters and the methodology of the
  gap analysis
• Commission work where necessary
• Progress Report
• Interim Report to be available for December.
• Final Report - presented to Board in January
  2007 and to RSP Conference presentation of
  findings.

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Discussion

• Qualifications are a proxy for skills, but the
  issue of generic skills are important.  How
  should we recognise this within the analysis? 
• We are proposing to cover the issue of skills
  utilisation - how people deploy their skills
  within the workplace - is this something that the
  Board has views about? 
• Whilst we know a good deal about public funding
  of skills, we know little about employer
  contributions?  How do we reconcile this issue in
  the overall analysis?  
• Whilst the review will look at the data on
  employer demand, how do we involve stakeholders,
  particularly employers in a debate about regional
  needs and priorities?