Agenda item

The Chair invited Jasbir Jhas, Senior Adviser, to introduce the report.

Jas introduced the paper which aimed to support a Board discussion to take stock of employment and skills activity over the past year, agreeing how best to re-position messaging around new Government policy, and plan activity over the coming year. The paper would be discussed at the City Regions Board on 16 June.

Board Members made the following comments:

• This is critical in the levelling-up work for people of all ages, not just young people. There is a significant role to play in all of this in relation to Adult Community Learning (ACL).

• With regards to youth provision, councils like Buckinghamshire working hard with Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to join programmes together including traineeships to reach harder to place young people.

• We need to consider older adults too; many have become redundant for the first time in their lives as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Some do not necessarily need to be re-trained; they need additional training to better the skills that they already have.

• We must continue to focus on outcomes and must not work on the basis that one size fits all.

• Access to employment and education is important, and so we need to think about the rural areas and encourage innovation on this and welcome the comments made in terms of alignment and close working in government.

• We could build on the benefits of working from home and the opportunities that this offers for people to contribute from home and not having to travel, although access to broadband and technology would need to be considered.

• There are entrepreneurial issues across the country, and we must support people of all ages to start businesses and create employment opportunities not just for themselves, but for other people around them.

Jas responded to comments made by Board Members:

• A Skills Taskforce was set up a couple of years ago whereby representative bodies from education, training, business-led organisations were invited to allow collaboration and the sharing of best practice. It would be good to do something similar, perhaps a Jobs Taskforce to focus on the government’s new agenda, the creation of jobs and explore training opportunities for people of all ages. Officers will be in touch with Lead Members in relation to the creation of a Jobs Taskforce after the report is presented to the City Regions Board on 16 June.

• With regards to training for older people, specifically industries including aviation, there are some positive stories of how councils with airports in their area have been able to fit people into different types of jobs and support their training, that’s where ACL comes into its own and shows how councils are working constructively with the NHS trust.

• We are also working closely with organisations in relation to green jobs. One of the organisations has been undertaking evidence-based work over 2-3 years so we can provide more information on real-life case studies at a future meeting of the Board.

• With regards to encouraging people to start their own businesses and become self-employed, we’ll be working more closely with a self-employed people association in coming months and fitting them into our wider thinking.

Decision:

• Board Members noted the report.

Action:

Officers to liaise with People and Places Lead Members and City Regions Lead Members in relation to the setting up of a Jobs Taskforce.