Employability 2018 - 2020 · Better employability skills will help people find work and progress in...

Skills for Growth Action Plan

Employability 2018 - 2020

Contents

4 Summary

4 Key issues

5 Employability skills required by employers

7 Priorities

8 Introduction

9 EmployabilitySkillsDefinitions, Demands and Gaps

9 Definingemployabilityskills

10 Scaleoftheemployabilityskillsgap

15 Demand for employability skills

18 SkillsChallenges

18 Recruitment

22 Retentionandsuccessionplanning

23 Futureproofingandefficiency

24 Responsestoemployabilityskillschallenges

24 From the skills sector

33 From employers

34 Key Actions

34 Summary of key issues

35 Priorities

36 Actions

2

3

Foreword

Steve RotheramLiverpoolCityRegionMetroMayor

Cllr Ian Maher LiverpoolCityRegionPortfolioLead, Skills and Apprenticeships

Betteremployabilityskillswillhelppeoplefindworkandprogressinthosejobs,boostingtheproductivityandperformanceofouremployers,andcreatingmorehigh-valuejobs,benefittingpeopleacrossthecityregion.

ThisActionPlansetsoutanambitiousprogrammeto make that happen and secure fair and inclusive growthacrossallsectors.

Theprioritiesidentifiedherearechallengingandwillrequireinputfrommanypartnerstodeliver.

In some cases they will require public sector reform,andwewillusetheWaystoWorkprogrammetoprovidevitalintelligenceandlearningtohelpusdothateffectively.

Workingtogetherwehavemadegreatstridesinrecentyears,andthereismoretobedonetodrivecollaborativeworkingacrossprovidersandemployersforthebenefitofusall.

A sustained collaborative effort is required to seeourambitionsrealised.

Skills for Growth Action Plan for Employability

AsaCombinedAuthority,oneofourkeyprioritiesisensuringthatpeoplehavetherightskillstobuildwell-paid,rewardingcareers,andthatemployershavepeoplewiththeskillstheyneedtogrow.

4

Key issuesEvidencefromexistingresearchandconsultationswithstakeholdersidentifiedanumberofkeyissuescontributingtoandresultingfromtheemployabilityskillsgapintheLiverpoolCityRegion:

• Employers and stakeholders across all sectors reportedgapsingeneralemployabilityskillsoftheiremployees,particularlyinwrittenandspokencommunication,basicITandgeneralemployabilitycompetencies.Thishighlightsthe need to improve the employability skills of residentsalreadyinemployment,aswellasthoselookingforwork.

• Employersexperiencegapsinmoreintermediate as well as basic employability skills,suchasleadership,people,projectandconflictmanagement,andmoreadvancedcommunicationandpresentationskills.Thedemandforthesehigher-levelskillslooklikelytogrowwiththefutureexpansionofmoretechnicalandmanagerialrolesintheCityRegion.

• TheemployabilityskillsgapislikelytobelinkedtothegenerallylowerqualificationlevelsamongstresidentsintheLiverpoolCityRegioncomparedtothoseintheNorthWestandEnglandasawhole.Therefore,itisimportanttolinkgeneralemployabilityskillstrainingtothedevelopmentofbasicliteracy,numeracyanddigitalskills.

• Gapsinemployabilityskillsamongstjobapplicantsandemployeesarecreatingarangeof challengesforemployers,includinghardtofill andskillsgapvacanciesacrossallsectorsand occupationlevels;difficultiesinretainingstaff andsuccessionplanning;andcreatingefficiencies andfutureproofingtheirorganisationintimesoffast-pacedtechnologicalchange.

• Thereisarangeofgoodpracticetakingplacein basic employability and skills provision acrosstheLiverpoolCityRegion.Thisincludesstandalone and embedded provision offered byfurthereducation,vocationaltrainingandcommunitylearningproviders.Thisgoodpractice needs to be replicated across the City Regiontoensurethatemployabilityprovisionisholisticandaddressesthefullrangeofcompetenciesrequiredbyemployers.

Summary

ThisEmployabilitySkillsforGrowthActionPlandrawsonexistingevidenceandprimaryresearchwithkeystakeholdersacrosstheCityRegiontoidentifyactionstoaddressexistingemployabilityskillsgapsandpotentialfuturedemandsfromemployers.Itsets outactionsfortheLiverpoolCityRegionCombinedAuthority,localprovidersandemployers toaddressthecurrentandfutureemployabilityskillsneedsintheCityRegion.

5Skills for Growth Action Plan for Employability

• Stronglinksandcollaborationbetweenproviders,employersandrecruitmentagencieswereidentifiedaskeytothedevelopmentanddeliveryofresponsiveandgoodqualityemployabilityprovision.However,itcanbechallengingfororganisationstofindthecapacityandbuildthelinksrequiredforthistotakeplace.

• Lack of access to employability skills provision for residents already in employment was highlightedasachallengeinensuringthatemployees have opportunities to continuously improvetheirskills.

• Providersalsoexperiencedchallengesindeliveringeffectiveemployabilityskillsprovision,includinginrecruitingandretainingteachingstaff,lackoffundingtokeepupwithchangesintechnologyandcapacitytosupportmigrantworkerstodeveloptheirspokenEnglishandbroaderemployabilityskills.

Employability skills required by employersThetableoverleafsetsoutthegeneralemployability skillswhichemployersintheLiverpoolCityRegionappeartobesearchingfor.Theyaredividedintofivebroadcategories:English,maths,IT/digital,knowledgeandattitudes,andleadershipandmanagement.Thefirstfourcategoriesareexpectedacrossentryleveljobroles,whilethefifthcategory(leadershipandmanagement)includesskills expected at more intermediate and senior levels.Assuch,thetableissplitbetweenentrylevel employability attributes and those required formiddleandseniorroles.

6

Entry level employability skills

Middle and senior management levels

Skill category Specific skill required DescriptionEnglish Communication Usingappropriatelanguageandcommunicationstylesfordifferent

formatse.g.withcustomersormanagers

Reading Understandingandfollowinginstructions,identifyingkeyinformation in texts

Writingfordifferentaudiences Usingappropriatestyle,accurategrammarandspelling

Maths Mentalarithmetic Workingoutprices,salariesandstocklevels,spottingnumericalerrors,calculatingpercentages

Workingwithdata Analysingdatasetsandidentifyingtrends

IT/digital Wordprocessing Usingsoftwaretowriteletters,reportsandmeetingminutes

Spreadsheets Usingsoftwaretokeeptrackofdata,creategraphsandtables

Emails Usingsoftwarecorrectlyandappropriatelanguageinemails

Social media Usingsocialmediaprofessionally,e.g.formarketing

Knowledge and attitudes

Understandingorganisationalprocesses

Includingwaysofworking,expectationsintheworkplace

Knowledgeofproducts and services

Understandingofthebusiness’spurposeandhowworkcontributes to this

Positive attitude towards work Includingawillingnesstolearn,takeontasksandworkyourwayup

Ability to work as a team Workingwithothersindifferentrolesanddepartments

Respect for others Behavingappropriatelytowardscolleagues,particularlyseniorstaff

Reliabilityandtimekeeping Arrivingontimetoworkandmeetings,phoninginifunabletoattend a commitment

Resilience Beingabletomoveonandlearnfrommistakesandknock-backs

Appropriateuseoftechnology Notusingmobilephoneoraccessingpersonalsocialmediaduring work times

Skill category Specific skill required DescriptionEnglish Communication Usingappropriatelanguageandcommunicationstyles,especiallywith

teammembers,leadersandcustomers

Reading Assessingtheovertandimplicitmessagesincommunicationsareunderstood

Writingfordifferentaudiences Ensuringthatpersuasivelanguageisusedinsupport

Workingwithdata Analysingdatasetsandidentifyingtrends

IT/digital Wordprocessing Usingsoftwaretowriteandamendletters,reportsandmeetingminutes

Social media Usingsocialmediaprofessionallyandinlinewithbusinessexpectations

Websitedesign Maintainingandupdatingprofessionalwebsitesforbusiness

Knowledge and attitudes

Understandingorganisationalprocesses

Includingwaysofworking,expectationsintheworkplaceandhowtheseare communicated effectively

Knowledgeofproductsandservices

Understandingandcommunicationofthebusiness’spurposeandhowwork contributes to this

Positive attitude towards work Includingawillingnesstolearn,takeontasksandinspireothers

Ability to work as a team Workingwithothersindifferentroles,departmentsandorganisations

Respect for others Behavingappropriatelytowardscolleagues,particularlyteammembers

Resilience Beingabletomoveonandlearnfrommistakesandknock-backs

Leadership and management

Peoplemanagement Includingeffectivelinemanagementandteammanagement

Projectmanagement Ensuringthatworkisdeliveredtodeadlinesandisofhighquality

Conflictmanagement Dealingwithchallengingbehaviourandanyissuesthatariseintheworkplace

Advanced presentation skills Abilitytopresentmorecomplicatedinformationto(senior)audiences


Priorities Toaddresstheseissues,12keyprioritieshavebeenidentifiedfortheLiverpoolCityRegionCombinedAuthority,providers,employersandotherstakeholders.Suggestedactionstotaketheseforwardareincludedattheendofthisplan.

1. Develop frameworks of the entry and intermediate employability skills required by employersintheLiverpoolCityRegion,basedonthetablesabove.

2. Identifyanygapsinexistingemployabilityskillsprovision which need to be addressed in order to meet current and future skills needs in the CityRegion.

3. Workwithproviderstoensurethatskillsandemployabilityprovisioncoversthefullrangeofskillsandcompetenciesrequiredbyemployers.

4. Develop professional development programmesforemployabilitytutorstogainindustry expertise and tailor their provision to meetemployerneeds.

5. Facilitatecommunicationbetweenproviders,recruitmentagenciesandemployersaboutcurrent and future employability skills needs in theCityRegion,andhowprovisioncansupportthedevelopmentofthese.

6. Raise awareness of the importance of employability skills in the workplace – both for thoselookingforworkandthosealreadyinemployment–acrosstheCityRegion.

7. DevelopprogressionpathwaystohigherlevelemployabilityandEnglish,mathsanddigitalskillsforthoseinlowerlevelroles,inordertosupportsuccessionplanningandaddresspotentialfutureskillsgapsarisingfromthedevelopmentoftechnicalandprofessionaljobsintheregion.

8. Boostprogrammeswhichincludeworkexperience andindustryplacementstosupportyoungpeople to develop employability skills and transitionintowork,includingapprenticeships.

9. Increase support for residents already in work toimprovetheiremployabilityskills.

10.Gainadeeperunderstandingofthebasicdigitalemployabilityskillsneedsofemployersandhowthesecanbemet.

11. Ensure that employability and basic skills programmesdelivertheskillsneededbyresidents.

12. Develop basic skills and employability provision intheworkplace.

Introduction

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This Employability Skills for Growth Action Plan drawsonexistingevidenceandprimaryresearchwithkeystakeholdersacrosstheCityRegiontoidentifyactionstoaddressexistingemployabilityskillsgapsandpotentialfuturedemandsfromemployers.ItsetsoutactionsfortheLiverpoolCityRegionCombinedAuthority,localprovidersand employers to address the current and future employabilityskillsneedsintheCityRegion.

Theevidencegatheredforthisplansuggeststhat,despiteageneralupwardstrendinqualificationlevelsacrosstheLiverpoolCityRegion,thereremainsapersistentemployabilityskillsgapamongstresidentsofworkingage.Stakeholdersfromacrossthelearning,skillsandemploymentsectorsbelievethatissueswithresidents’attitudesandbehavioursintheworkplace,resilience,

reliability,communicationanddigitalskillsareresultinginconsiderablerecruitmentandretentionchallengesforemployers.Moreover,gapsinmoreadvancedemployabilityskills,suchasprojectandpeoplemanagement,iscausingissuesforemployers’successionplanninginthecontextofanageingworkforce.

This Employability Skills for Growth Action Plan isoneofasetofsector-specificandthematicplansfortheLiverpoolCityRegion.Theseactionplans provide a comprehensive analysis of supply anddemandissuesdetailingwhatisspecificallyneededtocapitaliseonkeygrowthopportunitieswithintheCityRegionandtheidentificationofHeadlineActionstohelpachievethese.Theplanscanbeaccessedat:http://liverpoolcityregion-ca.gov.uk/documents

Employability Skills Definitions, Demands and Gaps


Defining employability skillsTheUKCES(2010)EmployabilitySkillsBriefing1 explainsthatatagenerallevel,employabilityrelatestotheabilitytobeinemployment,and,inparticular,thesetofcharacteristicsthatincreasethe chancesofanindividualbeinginwork.Sometimesdefinitionsgoastepfurtherthansimplyfocusing ontheabilitytosecureemployment,andspecifically include the ability to sustain employment and to progresswithinworktoo.

In 2009 the UKCES2 developed a theoretical framework of employability skills which included competenciessuchascommunication,problem-solvingandteamwork,aswellasgeneralattitudes and behaviours which are conducive to the workplace –forexample,readinesstoparticipate,andapositiveapproachtowork.Inthisframework,these

attributes and competencies are underpinned bythefunctionalskillsofliteracyandnumeracy.Otheremployabilityskillsidentifiedinvariousstudieshaveincludednegotiatingandpersuading,leadership,planning,organisingandself-belief3.

PreviousworkbyLiverpoolCityRegionCombinedAuthority,includingtheEmployerSkillsSurvey4,hasevidencedskillsshortagesinparticularsectorsacrosstheCityRegion.Theseidentifiedgapsinthe technical skills required for skilled trades and sector-specificprofessions,butalsohighlightedtheimportanceforemployersofthebasicliteracy,numeracy and IT skills which tend to underpin manygeneralemployabilityskills.Assuch,thesebasic skills have also been considered in the contextofemployability.

Previous work by LiverpoolCityRegion

CombinedAuthority,includingtheEmployerSkillsSurvey,hasevidencedskillsshortagesinparticularsectorsacrosstheCityRegion.These

identifiedgapsinthetechnicalskillsrequired for skilled trades and sector-specificprofessions.

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Scale of the employability skills gapGiven that many employability skills are underpinned by basic skills5,thescaleoftheemployabilityskillsgapcouldbetheresultofgenerallylowqualificationlevelsintheLiverpoolCityRegion.Figures1and2comparethequalificationlevelsoftheworkingagepopulationintheLiverpoolCityRegionwithGreaterManchester,theNorthWestasawholeandEngland.TheyshowthattheCityRegionhasahigherproportionofresidentswithnoqualificationsandalowerproportionwithLevel2andabovequalificationsthan otherareas.Figure1showsthattheproportionoftheworkingagepopulationwithnoqualificationshasfallenfasterintheLiverpoolCityRegionthanincomparatorareas,butremainshigherthananyareashown.

Qualificationlevelsinbasicskillsvaryacrosslocal authoritieswithintheLiverpoolCityRegionandingeneralappeartobeimproving.Figure3showstheproportionof19yearoldsqualifiedtoLevel2withEnglishandmaths.IntheNorthWestandEnglandthegeneralpatternhasbeenupwardssince2013(althoughthishasslowedinthelastfewyears).InSt.Helens,Sefton,WirralandHaltontherewasanupwardtrendforthoseaged19in2013 to 2015 but proportions were lower in 2016 and2017.Worryingly,KnowsleyandLiverpoollocal authorities saw a consistent downward trend from2013to2017.

Figure1Proportion of population with no qualifications, working age Source:ONSAnnualPopulationSurvey,NOMIS

0

10

15

20

25

2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018

% w

ith n

o qu

alifi

catio

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Year

GreaterManchesterLiverpoolCityRegion England Great BritainNorthWest


Figure2Proportion of population with Level 2 and above qualifications, working ageSource:ONSAnnualPopulationSurvey,NOMIS

Figure3Percentage of 19 year olds qualified to Level 2 with English and mathsSource:DFE

2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018Year

60

65

70

75

% w

ith le

vel 2

and

ove

r qua

lifica

tions

19 in 2013 19 in 2014 19 in 2015 19 in 2016 19 in 2017

GreaterManchesterLiverpoolCityRegion England Great BritainNorthWest

Knowsley Liverpool St.Helens Sefton Wirral Halton NorthWest England

60

60

60

60

60

60

65

70

75

%

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There is a more positive picture for those who hadnoLevel2qualificationswhenaged16butsubsequently obtained a Level 2 or above by the timetheyreached19(i.e.theyobtainedaLevel2qualificationafterleavingschool).Figure4showsthattrendsforallareasweregenerallyupwards.

The2017LiverpoolCityRegionEmployerSkills Surveyfoundconsiderablelevelsofskillsshortages amongstemployers.Whilemanyoftheseskillsare likelytobetechnicalandsector-specific,thesurvey reportalsofoundahighdemandforbasicandemployabilityskills.Forexample,whilehardtofill vacanciestendtobeskewedtowardsskilled,technicalandprofessionaltrades,‘care,leisureand other’occupationsaccountforthehighestproportion ofhardtofillvacanciesofanyoccupationalcategory (seeFigure5).Giventhatthisoccupationalcategory

isgenerallynothighlyskilled,wecanassumethatagoodproportionofSkillsShortageVacanciesaretheresultofgapsingeneralemployabilityskillsamongstpotentialrecruits.

Figure5alsosuggeststhattheseskillsgapsvarybyprofession.Interestingly,whilestakeholdersconsideredemployabilityskillsgapstoaffectalloccupations,therewasasuggestionthattheissue was more pertinent in occupations that were otherwise unskilledorlow-skilled.Thiswasbecauseemployers weregenerallywillingtotrainemployeesinthespecificskillsneededwhenenteringtheworkforceatalowerlevel,aslongastheyhadsufficientemployabilityskillstosecuretheirfirstpositioninthecompany.Withoutemployabilityskills,however,candidates would not be able to hold down a positionateventhemostbasiclevel.

Figure4Percentage attaining GCSE or other Level 2 qualifications in English and maths at age 19, for those who had not achieved this level by age 16Source:DFE

19 in 2013 19 in 2014 19 in 2015 19 in 2016 19 in 2017

Knowsley Liverpool St.Helens Sefton Wirral Halton NorthWest England

25

20

15

10

5

0

30

35

%


TheLCREmployerSkillsSurveyfindingssuggestthatskillsgapsvaryacrosssectors.Figure6showstheperceivedlackofskillsbysector,asapercentageofallbusinessesinthatsector.ThesectorsexperiencingthegreatestinternalskillsgapsareBusinessadministrationandsupportservices(31percent),Mining,quarrying,andutilities(31percent),Education(27percent),Wholesaleandretailtrades(26percent),andConstruction(26percent).Stakeholdersgenerallyfeltthat,asemployabilityskillswererequiredforall

roles,theemployabilityskillsgapaffectsallsectorsinequalmeasure.However,thescienceindustrywashighlightedasparticularlysusceptibletolowaspirationsofpotentialemployees,whoweredeterredfromapplyingforapositioninthesectorbecause they assumed they needed to have Level 2qualifications,whichinfacttheydidnotforlower-levelpositions.Similarly,theconstructionindustryoften did not expect recruits to have construction skills,butneededthemtohavebasicemployabilityskillsandbewillingtolearn.

Figure5Hard to fill vacancies, by profession, 2017Source:EmployerSkillsSurveycommissionedbyLCR

“Some of the skills gaps, for instance in the chemical industry

and in sciences, aren’t being met… it’s massive in Halton, the science industry,

and yet not a lot of our students feel they could go for those jobs…they probably think

they need level two… and yet when I’ve spoken to employers of science industries, they say, “We can accept applications from lower level,

lower skilled levels and there are positions for lower skilled levels,” so I think it’s an

aspiration issue really.”

Community learning provider

Care,Leisureandotheroccupations

Skilled trades

Professional occupations

Technical and associate professional occupations

Sales and customer service

Administrative and secretarial occupations

Elementary

Process,plantandmachine

ChiefExecutivesandseniorofficials

% 0 5 10 15 20 25 30

18%25%

7%21%

22%18%

9%17%

11%14%

14%8%

8%8%

5%7%

6%2%

14

Figure6Reported skills gaps, by sector, 2017Base:respondentswhohadhadvacanciesinthepast12monthsandanswered‘yes’or‘no’(N)Source:EmployerSkillsSurveycommissionedbyLCR

Overall

Public administration & defence

Financial and insurance

Health

Professional,scientificandtechnical

Arts,entertainment,recreation&otherservices

Accommodation & food services

Transportation & services

Information and communication

Agriculture,forestryandfishing

Manufacturing

Property

Construction

Wholesaleandretailtrade;repairofmotorvehiclesandmotorcycles

Education

Mining,quarrying&utilities

Business administration & support services

20%

10%

13%

15%

16%

17%

18%

18%

20%

22%

23%

26%

26%

27%

31%

31%

0%

% 0 2010 30 40

Demand for employability skillsOur research explored which employability skills wereinparticulardemandamongstemployersinthe LiverpoolCityRegion.BusinessesthatidentifiedskillsgapsintheLCREmployerSkillsSurveywere askedwhichskillstheyfeltwerelacking.Theresults ofthisquestionaredisplayedinFigure7.

Almosthalfofthebusinesses(47percent)whoidentifiedcurrentskillsgapssaidthattheprimaryskillslackingintheirexistingworkforcearespecialistskillsorknowledgeneededtoperformtherole,whichisalmostexactlythesameasthefiguresreportedinthenational2015EmployerSkillsSurvey(48percent).

However,aconsiderableproportionofemployersalsoidentifiedgapsinmoregeneralemployabilityskills.Forexample,almostathird(32%)saidthat theirworkforcelackedcommunicationskillsand29% reported that their staff lack basic computer and ITskills.Intotal,63%ofemployers(1,170/1,856)

said that it was very important that all or most of their employees should have at least some basic knowledgeofhowtouseeverydaytechnology.Interestingly,thedatafromthesurveysuggeststhat employersfeeltheseskillsaregenerallynothardto findamongyoungpeople(84%reportedlittleorno problemrecruitingfromthisgroup),whilethepicture ismorenuancedforolder/experiencedworkers,with29%experiencingdifficultyinrecruitingthosewiththenecessarytechnologicalskillsfromamongthisgroup.Adifferentpictureagainemergedfromtheinterviewswithstakeholders,whoreportedthatemployersfacedchallengesrecruitingpeoplewithsufficientdigitalskills,thatis,beyondthebasicsofusingsocialmediaoraccessingawebsiteonamobilephone.Theskillstheyrequiredincludedwebsitedesign,theabilitytousesocialmediaformarketingpurposes,theabilitytomanipulatedatainspreadsheetsanduseanelectronictill.


Figure7Which of the following skills needs improving? (Multiple responses allowed), 2017Base:allrespondentswithcurrentskillsgaps(N=373)Source:EmployerSkillsSurveycommissionedbyLCR

% 0 2010 30 5040

47%

32%

29%

27%

26%

25%

17%

13%

13%

12%

11%

9%

8%

7%

5%

8%

1%

Specialistsskillsorknowledgeneededtoperformtherole

Basic Communication skills

Computerliteracy/basicITanddigitalskills

Knowledgeofproductsandservicesofferedbyorganisationslikeyours

Knowledgeofhowyourorganisationworks

Leadershipandmanagement

Solvingcomplexproblemsrequiringasolutionspecifictothesituation

Adaptingtonewequipmentormaterials

Writinginstructions,guidelines,manualsorreports

Readingandunderstandinginstructions,guidelines,manualsorreports

Basicnumericalskillsandunderstanding

Morecomplexnumericalorstatisticalskillsandunderstanding

Communicatinginaforeignlanguage

None of the above

Don’tknow

Manualdexterity-forexample,tomend,repair, assemble,constructoradjustthings

AdvancedorspecialistITskills(suchasnetworking,programming/coding)

Interestingly,complexproblemsolvingwascitedasagapby17%ofLiverpoolCityRegionemployers,less than half of the rate in the national Employer SkillsSurvey(39%).

A quarter of employers involved in the Liverpool CityRegionsurveyidentifiedleadershipandmanagementskillsaslacking,presumablyamongsttheirmoreseniorstaff.Stakeholdersalsoreflectedthatmoreseniorroles,includingthosein management,requiredadditionalemployabilityskills, whichwerefoundtobelackinginsomecases.These includedprojectmanagement,timemanagementandconflictmanagementskills,aswellasmoreadvancedinterviewandpresentationskills.

Of concern is the perception that many new recruits (thoseemployedinthelastthreeyears)lackbasiccommunicationskills,particularlyschoolleavers(57percentofemployerscitingthis),FurtherEducationleavers(48percent),andthosenewtoemployment(46percent)–seeTable1.Thiswasreflectedinconsultationswithstakeholders,whoreportedthatemployees,particularlyyoungerones,lackedunderstandingofhowtointeractand communicate appropriately with others in the workplace,particularlymanagementoranyoneinapositionofauthority.Theywerealsofoundtolackawarenessofhowtoaddressmanagementproperlyandrespecttheirposition.

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Type of worker School FE HE Experienced New Returners LTU leaver leaver leaver

Knowledgeofproducts 42% 28% 50% 33% 51% 39% 31% and services

Manualdexterity 9% 8% 9% 0% 11% 0% 3%

Writinginstructions,guidelines, 18% 23% 10% 7% 25% 4% 20% manuals or reports

Computerliteracy/ 9% 5% 1% 15% 15% 36% 20% basic IT skills

Knowledgeofhowyour 1% 1% 0% 0% 0% 0% 0% organisationworks

Basiccommunicationskills 57% 48% 22% 22% 46% 25% 38%

Basicnumericalskills 18% 14% 4% 7% 19% 7% 20% andunderstanding

Specialistskillsor 1% 1% 0% 0% 1% 0% 0% knowledgeneeded

Other 30% 33% 24% 30% 16% 14% 32%

Table 1 Skills lacking in new recruits, 2017Source:EmployerSkillsSurveycommissionedbyLiverpoolCityRegion

“If you asked a young person if they’re

IT literate they’d say they are. Put them in an employer’s premises and ask them to run

some Microsoft packages, I think their perception of being IT literate

is quite different.”

Employer-provider

“I think people know how to use an

iPhone and they know how to go on Facebook but they just don’t know how to turn that into a

business context.”

Chamber of Commerce

Given that employability skills are required across allrolesandsectors,itissafetoassumethatthese basic competencies will continue to be required by employersintheLiverpoolCityRegion.ThiswillalsorequiretheongoingdevelopmentofthebasicEnglishandmathsskillswhichunderpinthesecompetencies.Ourresearchfoundademandamongstemployersforstaffwhocancommunicateappropriatelyintheworkplace,bothwhenspeaking andinwriting,andwhohavegoodskillsinwritingandreadinginstructions,guidelines,manualsorreports.Mathsskillswerealsoviewedasimportantforalllevelsofstaff,fromthemoretechnicalskillsrequiredforhigher-levelrolesintheengineering,scienceandfinancesectors(includingcalculus,equations,andstatisticsthatrelatetothejobrole),to the requirement for mental arithmetic skills to add upprices,stockandwagesinlower-levelpositions.

However,aparticularfocusmayneedtobepaidtodigitalskills,whichstakeholdersreportedtobegrowingatalllevelsandtypesofposition,particularlyinlower-skilled roles which traditionally did not requiresuchskillsofemployees.

EmploymentprojectionsfortheNorthWestbyoccupationshowthatoverthenexteightyearstherewillbeademandforhigherendskillsassociatedwithmanagerialrolesandprofessionaloccupations.Therewillalsobeademandfortechnicalskills,especiallyrelatedtoITandnewtechnologiesasariseintechnicaloccupationsispredicted.Thissuggestsaneed

todevelopprogressionpathwaysforresidentswhocurrently have lower levels of skills to develop the knowledgeandcompetenciesrequiredforthesegrowthsectors.Therewillstillalsobeopportunitieswithentryleveljobsandcustomerfacingjobswhichwillrequirebasicemployabilityskills,communicationskillsandknowledgeofproducts(seeFigure8).Thegrowthincaring,leisureand other service occupations will cause further challengesfortheCityRegion,giventhatthiscategoryalreadyhasthehighestreportedlevel ofhardtofillvacancies.


Figure8Net change in employment (000s) by occupation, North West, 2014 to 2024Source:UKCESlabourmarketprojectionsfortheNorthWest

“We’re seeing more requests for people to have digital skills, even

at low level jobs because of communication devices and things like that but also people

needing to do reports, so even security or cleaning jobs or whatever they need to be able to maybe use

handheld devices or in warehouses and things like that but then they also need to be able to have more functional skills in terms of maybe just writing a basic report and sending that

in to the supervisor. So jobs where traditionally you would think you wouldn’t really need those digital type skills, it’s now becoming more of a requirement really. Things in the construction sector for instance, you know, the methods

of doing things are changing as well. So there’s more new innovation, there’s more

technology in the sector.”

Local authority

Managers,directorsandseniorofficials

Professional occupations

Associate professional and technical

Skilled trades occupations

Administrative and secretarial

Caring,leisureandotherservice

Sales and customer service

Prcoess,plantandmachineoperatives

Elementary occupations

Net change in employment (000s) -60 -20-40 200 806040

Skills Challenges

Recruitment The view of stakeholders was that employers facedsignificantrecruitmentandretentionissuesduetoemployabilityskillsgapsinanumberofareas,includingattitudesandbehavioursintheworkplace,resilience,reliability,communicationanddigitalskills.Moreseniorpositionsfacedotheremployabilityskillsgaps,suchasalackofprojectmanagementskills.

ThisviewamongststakeholdersissupportedbytheLiverpoolCityRegionEmployerSkillsSurvey,whichshowshighproportionsofemployersreporting vacanciesacrosssectors.Figure9showstheproportionofbusinessesreportingavacancyinthe last 12 months and shows quite a substantial variationacrosssectors.Forexample,intheaccommodationandfoodservicessector,whichispartoftheVisitorEconomyandcharacterisedgenerallybyalargerateofchurn,79percent

(99/125)ofsurveyrespondentssaythattheyhavehadvacanciesinthelastyear,comparedtothewholesaleandretailtrade,wheretheproportionofrespondentsreportingvacanciesis49percent(92/186).AcrosstheVisitorEconomyasawhole,74 per cent of businesses reported vacancies which isagainsignificantlygreaterthantheoverallaverage.

Ahigherproportionofbusinessesfromthehealth sectorarereportingvacanciesthanthesurveyaverage(75percentvs68percent)amidwidely publicisedconcernsinthenationalmediaregarding recruitmentinthehealthservice,particularlyinrelationtocareworkersandnurses.Lookingacross thesixlocalauthorityareaswithintheCityRegion,the rate of businesses with vacancies reported ishighestforHalton(77percent)andlowestforKnowsley(61percent).

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Evidence from the Employer Skills Survey and our consultations with stakeholders suggeststhattheemployabilityskillsgapiscreatinganumberofchallengesintheLiverpoolCityRegion,particularlyintermsofrecruitment,retentionandsuccessionplanningforbusinesses.


Figure9Proportion of businesses by sector who had had vacancies in the last 12 months, 2017Base:respondentswithavailabledata(N=1,855)Source:EmployerSkillsSurveycommissionedbyLCR


Transportationandstorage


Education

Health

Manufacturing

Construction

Overall


Other

Professional,scientificandtechincal



Property


79%

77%

77%

75%

74%

70%

68%

68%

67%

67%

67%

63%

61%

53%

49%

%0 4020 8060 100

Insomesectors,thesevacanciesappeartobethe resultofskillsshortages.Figure10showstheincidenceofSkillsShortageVacancies(SSV), asaproportionofallvacancies,acrosssectors, asreportedinthesurvey.Sectorswiththehighest incidenceofSSVasaproportionofall‘hardtofill’vacanciesareminingandquarrying,professional,scientific,andtechnicalservices,andinformationandcommunicationstechnology,whilethosewiththelowestincidenceofSSVarehealth,andthepublicsector.ThisdiffersquitemarkedlyfromtheUK wide portrait painted from the 2015 national EmployerSkillsSurvey,wherethesectorswiththehighestSSVwereminingandutilities(35percent)andconstruction(35percent).Ofthesixlocalauthorities,Halton(27percent)istheonethatisexperiencingthehighestincidenceofSSV,whileSeftonhasanSSVratethatisalmosthalf(14percent)ofthat.

Stakeholdersfeltthatakeychallengeemployersexperiencedwhentryingtorecruitandretainemployees was a lack of awareness and understandingofappropriateattitudesandbehaviours in an interview situation and in the workplace.Wheninterviewingcandidates,employers struggledtofindpeoplewhocouldpresentthemselvesappropriately,makeeyecontactandconversation,andcommunicateappropriatelyinabusinesscontext.Similarly,therewerereportedissueswithcandidates’attitudestowardswork,such as that they expected to be paid more than theywereofferedforunskilledorlow-skilledpositions, andwerenotwillingtolearnonthejobandworktheirwayuptobetterpay.

20

Figure10Incidence of skills shortage vacancies, by sector, 2017Source:EmployerSkillsSurveycommissionedbyLCR

Mining,quarrying&utilities

Professional,scientificandtechnical


Transportationandstorage



Construction

Manufacturing

Education


Property


Health

Public administration & defence

30%

28%

26%

22%

21%

20%

20%

19%

18%

17%

16%

16%

15%

12%

9%

%0 4010 20 30


Stakeholders reported that employees lacked reliability;theyfailedtoarriveforworkontime,andattendancewouldbepoor.Youngemployeesinparticular were considered more likely to have poor attendancerates,showingalackofawarenessof the responsibility and commitment involved in havingajob.

Another example of a failure to understand the expectations of the workplace reported by a stakeholderwasnotunderstandingemployers’requirements of employees to telephone to report anabsence.


“Under 25s. Years of age. It’s just it’s the classic first payday, go

missing for two days once you get paid and stuff like

that. We deal with a lot of that.”

Local authority

“If something happens to them… say if… whoever it was in the family

was supposed to be minding a child for instance was late or didn’t turn up, they just wouldn’t come to something that had been set up for them but quite often will not even think to give us a call to say, “Sorry, I can’t

make it.” So it’s the basic things that you kind of assume would be the real

basic attitude to things, we often find are missing.”

Local authority

22

Retention and succession planningChallengesinfindingrecruitswithappropriatelevels of employability skills had also led to issues in retainingstaff.Stakeholdersreportedthatemployers struggledtofindpeoplewhowerereliable,whocould respect the rules of the workplace and conditions oftheircontract,andunderstandwhatwasexpected ofthemintheworldofwork.Forexample,employees (particularlyyoungones)wouldusetheirmobilephoneintheworkplaceinappropriately,whichcouldleadtodismissal.

Stakeholders also reported a lack of resilience and enduranceamongemployeesinthelongerterm,sothattheymightdowellinapositionforthefirst fewweeks,butwhentheyexperiencedachallenge, howeverminor,intheirpersonallivesorintheworkplace,theywereunabletocontinueintheirrole.

The advanced employability skills required in more senior roles meant that employers could face challengeswithsuccessionplanning,asjunioremployees lacked the skills they would need in a moreseniorrole.

“We have had numerous problems, our key workers

have been intervening with post-employment where specifically a lot

of young people have an issue with the use of mobile phones in work, perhaps even

referencing things that have happened in work. They shouldn’t be on their social media

accounts or even taking pictures of things that are happening in work on their social media accounts.

So, for some people… it is just a bit of a culture shift. They have to realise that…

there are different policies at different employers in relation to that.”

Local authority

“We also find that when people start work, anything

like a slight bump in the road, say they haven’t got on with the supervisor

or, something to do with the pay or they’re not sure about something or they don’t know

where to turn to for information will often just be a really minor thing which will push them back to

the life that they’ve had previously, and they’ll say, “Well, I’m not going there because the

supervisor challenged me,” or whatever, and then they’ll just not go to

work the next day.”

Local authority

“Where we have got an ageing workforce, I think we are

seeing a lot of succession planning going on and I find where businesses come to us

with a certain requirement it is usually around that, staff who might have been operational and

they have now been promoted. So, where I think the requirements that businesses need are those softer

skills, so people management, project management… time management, conflict management. So, I feel like within work a lot of people have the skills to do their job. It is when it comes around changing and

having to deal with people. That is the kind of skill I think we would like to help them with.”

Chamber of Commerce


Future proofing and efficiencyManystakeholdersexpressedconcernaboutthelevelofdigitalskillsamongstemployers.Digitalskillsgapsmeantthatemployerswereunabletotakefulladvantageofdevelopmentsintechnologythatcouldimprovebusinessefficiencyandcompetitivenessinthemarketplace.Forexample,a company that wanted to introduce tablets for stafftouse,wouldbeunabletodosoiftheirstafflackedtheskillstousethem.Thisbarriertoutilisinginnovativetechnologywouldhaveadetrimentalimpactonproductivityandefficiency. “I think it is all about

productivity… businesses are trying to increase these skills, so they

can increase productivity, minimise waste and a lot of businesses are keen to get digital

for those reasons and when the individuals don’t have those skills they are just not able to improve productivity… In health and social care they are trying to make their care plans on an iPad, so… Those people now are lacking the digital skills,

which businesses feel in turn they can’t increase their digitisation because their people

don’t have the skills.”

Chamber of Commerce

Responses to employability skills challenges

24

From the skills sector The skills sector provides employability skills support both as standalone provision and embedded in coursesinparticularskillsandsectors.VariousprogrammeshavebeencommissionedintheLiverpoolCityRegionwithatleastpartoftheiraimbeingtoaddresstheemployabilityskillsgapandequipindividualswiththeskillstheyneedtogainandsustainemployment.Thisprovisioncommonlyincludesassistancewithconfidencebuilding,job-searching,interviewskillsandCV-writing.Manyprogrammesalsoofferworkexperienceplacements and employer-led pre-recruitment trainingtogiveparticipantsexperienceoftheworldofwork.Someexamplesofemployabilityprovisionintheregioninclude:

• The Ways to Work programme – delivered by the six Local Authorities across the Liverpool CityRegion,thisprogrammeprovidesarangeofservicestoresidentsacrosstheCityRegionto enhance their employability skills and assist themingainingemployment.Theprojectisdesignedtoassistunemployedpeople,andpeoplenotineducation,employmentortraining,aged16plus.Supportprovidedincludesmentoringandcoaching,interviewskillstraining,confidencebuilding,employer-ledpre-recruitmenttrainingleadingtoguaranteedjobinterviews;workexperienceplacements;transitionalemploymentplacements(e.gILMs)andfinancialassistanceforexpenses,suchasclothing,equipment,licenses,DBSchecksandtravelcosts.

• The Working Futures programme – delivered byapartnershipof21not-for-profittrainingprovidersbasedintheLiverpoolCityRegion,WorkingFuturessupportspeopleaged16to29 whoarenotcurrentlyinemployment,educationortraining(NEET)totakecontroloftheirownlives andmovetowardsabetterfuture.Theprogramme ofsupportfocusesontheskills,attributesandconfidenceneededtolookforandsecureemployment,training,orapprenticeships.Itincludeshelpwithapplications,CVsandinterviewpreparation,identifiesanddevelopsindividualskillsandqualitiestomaximisepotential, and increases awareness of the employment marketandopportunitiesavailable,includingwork placements.Onceparticipantshaveprogressedintolearningorwork,WorkingFuturesstaffcan continuetoofferone-to-onementoringandsupport forupto3monthstohelpparticipantskeep,andcontinuetodevelopin,theirjobsortraining.

• Building Better Opportunities – this UK-wide programmeofESFandBigLotteryfundinghasinvestedintheLiverpoolCityRegiontodeliveranumberofprogrammes,includingthosetoimproveemployability.OneoftheBBO-fundedprojectsintheregionisBetterOffFinance,whichsupportspeoplewholackfinancialcapabilities,andasaresultstruggletofind andkeepajob.Theprojectsupportsindividualstoimprovetheirfinancialmanagementand financialresilience,helpingthemtoaccesstraining,educationandvolunteeringopportunities, gaindigitalskillsandbecomemoreworkready.

This section sets out the ways in which providers and employers in the Liverpool CityRegionaretacklingtheemployabilityskillsgap.ItstartswithanoverviewofemployabilityskillsprovisionintheCityRegion,followedbytheresponsetothe skillschallengefromtheskillssectorandthenfromemployers.


Another cohort of employability provision in theLiverpoolCityRegionisfundedbytheEUStructuralandInvestmentFundsStrategy(ESIF)2014-2020fundingstream,andexamplesofprojectsinclude:

• Pathways to Success–thisprojectbringstogetherarangeofPrince’sTrustprogrammesto provide support to 16-24 year olds who are notinemployment,educationortrainingandneed intensive and sustained help to overcome thebarriersthatpreventthemmovingintoemployment.Theprojecthelpsyoungpeoplewithintensivepersonaldevelopment,coachingandmentoring,employabilityandjob-relatedtraining.Oncompletionofthesupport,youngpeople have the opportunity to access a trained volunteermentorforuptosixmonths.

• The Access to Work project – delivered by theNeighbourhoodServiceCompany,thisprojecthelpsdisadvantagedyoungpeopleaged16-29yearsold,whoarenotineducation,employmentortraining,accessworkexperienceandtraining.Placementsarefor26weeksinarangeofsectorsandthereareasmallnumberof52weekplacementsavailabledependingon individual circumstances and barriers to employment.Participantsreceiveaneedsanalysis to identify any barriers to employment theyareexperiencingandarethenallocatedasupervisorwhoprovidesmentoringsupportwhilsttheyareonplacement.Thementoralsoprovidesadditionaladviceandguidanceforprogressionintoemploymentortraining.

• The Single Parent Employment Pathway project–deliveredbyGingerbread,thisprojectaimstogivesingleparentstheskillsandconfidencetoaccessemployment,educationandtraining.FourdaysoftrainingaredeliveredbyGingerbreadexperts,includingconfidencebuildingandworkskills.Allsupportistailoredtothe needs of the participant and is followed by atwo-weekplacementatatopUKemployer,suchasMarksandSpencerandRoyalMail.Allexpensesarecovered,suchaschildcare,lunchandtravel,andplacements/trainingonlytakeplaceduringschoolhours.ParticipantscanthenaccessvolunteeringandtrainingschemeswithorganisationssuchasMerseysideChildren’sCentreandTomorrow’sWomen.Theyalsoreceivesupportinfindingemploymentthroughjobclubs,helpwithCVwriting,applicationformsandinterviewskills.

26

Approaches to deliveryEmployability skills provision is offered both to peopleseekingwork,andtoemployedpeoplewho need support with employability skills in order tomaintaintheirjobrole.Itcanbedeliveredinarangeofways,includeddiscreteorstandalonecourses,aspartofawiderprogramme,asin-workprovisionorthroughcommunitylearningprovision,andtakeasector-specificorevenemployer-specificapproach.

Discrete employability provisionStandalone or discrete provision includes Entry LevelandLevel1coursesinemployabilityskills.Thesecanbetailoredtoindividuals’needsbutbroadlycoverbasicskills,behavioursandcompetencies that employers require in the workplace,includingmanagingtime,working

inateam,beingmanagedbyothersandappropriate communication in the workplace6.Oneproviderdescribedafoundationemployabilityqualificationtheyofferedtostudentswithlearningdifficultiesanddisabilities.Thequalificationwastailoredtothe particular barriers to employability faced by the students,whichoftencentredaroundimmaturity,anxietyormentalhealthissues,andprovisioncouldincludereferralstocounsellingifthatwaswhat a student needed to overcome barriers toemployment.AnotherexampleofgeneralemployabilityskillstrainingincludesjointworkingbetweenLiverpoolCityCouncil’sandJobcentrePlus,wherebyparticipantsinjobclubscantakepart in courses in employability skills which cover themes such as how to present yourself in the workplace,CVwritingandinterviewskills.

Digi-bus – Adult Learning Service, Liverpool City CouncilLiverpoolCityCouncil’sAdultLearningServicedeliverWaystoWork;anemploymentsupportprovisionwithinwhichtheyoperateamobilefacilitycalledDigiBus.Sinceitsinceptionin2010,thebuswasprimarilyusedformarketingpurposes,butin2017,achangeincommunityneedspromptedthebustoberevampedandequippedwithlaptops.ThebusnowtravelstovariouslocationstoofferemploymentsupportsuchasCVadviceanddigitalskillstraining.ThebusalsodeliversaUniversalCreditroadshow,travellingtochildren’scentresandschoolstoprovideparentswithbasicdigitalskillsrequiredtoaccessUniversalCreditonline.Inaddition,thebustravelstoJobCentreswheretherearestafforequipmentshortagesinordertosupplementsupportprovision.Thebusengagedwitharound900learnersin 2017andhasreceivedmuchpositivefeedback.

CASE STUDY


Embedded employability provisionProviders explained that most of their provision has embeddedemployabilityskillselements.Someofthisprovisioncoversgeneralemployabilityskills, forexample,involvinglearnersinteam-buildingexercisessuchasfundraisingevents,andcoversskillssuchasconfidence,personalandsocialdevelopment,andthemessuchashowthe welfare state and National Insurance system works,whatitmeanstobeagoodcitizenandthevalueofemploymenttosociety.Itwasnotedthatemployabilityskillstrainingtolong-termunemployed people or those with particular barriers to employment needs to help learners understand thebasicexpectationsofemployeesintheworkplace. It was noted that support with these skills needed toberelativelylong-termandin-depth,particularlywhenaimingtochangeattitudestowardswork.

Inaddition,aspartofemployabilityskillstraining,providersarrangeavarietyofemployerengagementopportunities,includingvisitstoworkplaces,guestspeakers,workplacements,andvolunteeringopportunities.Thisisdesignedtogivelearnersabetterunderstandingofwhatisrequiredofemployeesintheworkplace,includingappropriatebehaviourandexpectations,aswellasincreasetheirunderstandingoftheneedforemployability skills and therefore their motivation toacquiresuchskills.

Work and Health programme – Halton Adult and Community Learning ServiceHaltonAdultandCommunityLearningServicedelivertheWorkandHealthProgramme;anemployment supportprovisionforthosewithhealthconditionswhichmaylimittheirabilitytowork.Thesupportproviderinitiallycollectsinformationonclients’healthconditionsandhowtheseconditionsaffecttheirlives,andinparticulartheirabilitytowork.Supportisthentailoredtoeachclient’sindividualneedsandplacesanemphasisonhelpingclientstomanagetheirconditions,thinkpositivelyandidentifywhattheycandodespitetheirconditionsratherthanwhattheirconditionspreventthemfromdoing.Theproviderthensupportsclientstolookforjobsthattheyareabletodoorthattheycanworktowardsdoing.OfstedrecognisethissupportprovisionasGood.

CASE STUDY

“They need a lot of support and help. It’s not

a half hour CV workshop and half hour interview techniques. It’s more fundamental than that. It’s understanding what work is,

understanding how you behave, that type of stuff. So that takes a lot

more time and resources as well.”

Local authority

“It’s a case of having to really go back to basics and explain to them, this is

the expectation of you, if you want to come to this course or you want to engage in our

services, or you’re about to go into employment

for instance.”

Local authority

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In-work provisionEmployability skills provision also includes support forexistingemployeesintheworkplace.Thiscantaketheformofformaltrainingofemployees,suchasthatprovidedbyaChamberofCommerce,which,basedonatrainingneedsanalysisofabusinesscandeliverapprenticeshipsandtrainingtoexistingemployees,includingaccreditedandnon-accreditedqualifications.Employabilityskillssupport in the workplace can also take the form ofin-workmentoringfromexternalproviders.Forexample,oneemploymentsupportserviceassignsaRAGratingtonewstartersinpositionswithemployers,andthosewhoareratedamberorredareprovidedwithongoingsupportintheirnewroleto ensure their position remained sustainable and employerssuccessfullyretaintheirstaff.

This type of In-work support can also be provided to help employees achieve their potential by progressingtofurtheropportunitiesidentifiedbytheemployer,suchasgainingqualificationsorpromotiontomoreseniorroles.

Foremployeeswhoarefoundtobelackingincertainemployabilityskills,mentorscanprovidemore in-depth support than an employer is able tooffer.Mentorswillspendtimetalkingtotheemployee to uncover any personal issues they areexperiencingthatmightbeaffectingtheirworkperformance.Mentorscanthencommunicatethese issues back to the employer and work with theemployeetoencouragethemtochangetheirbehaviour,tohelpmaintaintheirposition ofemployment.

Employer Support – St Helens Chamber of CommerceStHelensChamberofCommerceworkwithbusinessestoperformafulltrainingneedsanalysis,takingintoconsiderationanemployer’sskillsneedsandskillsgaps,aswellastheirshort,mediumandlong-termgoals.Thechamberthenhelpsemployersrecruitnewstaff,and/ordeliveraccreditedtrainingtoexistingstaff.Thechamber,forexample,deliversfully-fundeddigitaltrainingtotheworkforceofemployerswhohaveidentifiedalackofdigitalskillsamongsttheirworkforce.Asurveyisconductedbeforeand3monthsaftertraininginordertomeasureimpact.

CASE STUDY

“[An employer] will call us often before they

dismiss someone and say, “Can you send one of your

mentors out? We need to sort this out”… the automatic position would be to dismiss but often we

can bring it back and save the person’s job that way.”

Local authority

“We have got people who we would rate in the red

category, where you may have people who have fairly chaotic lives and… we

are aware that if one of those instances arises that would probably involve them no longer attending work because they just fall

into this state of panic, or whatever it may be. We are able to carry on working with them and supporting them, both for their benefit, but also for the employer’s benefit if any issues do start

to arise, so that then we can try and prevent them losing that employment opportunity and

hopefully increase their opportunity of that becoming a sustainable outcome.”

Local authority


Community learning provisionCommunitylearningprovisionisoftenthefirsthookforpeopletoengageinalearningpathwaythatcanleadtoemployment,andthereforeincludesemployabilityelementsinitscourses.Forexample,ajewelleryclasswouldincludeafocusonhowtosetupabusinesstosellthejewellery,includingemployabilityskillsrequiredtosetupamarketstall. Communitylearningcourses,likeallotherprovision, alsohaveanexpectationofpunctuality,highattendancerates,andcooperationwithtutorsandclassmates,aswouldberequiredintheworkplace.

Sector-specific provisionOtheremployabilityskillsprovisionhasaspecificfocusonaparticularsector,forexample,awelding course would cover the health and safety requirements ofthesector.CityandGuildsqualificationsinSkillsforWorkinginvariousindustries,includingconstruction,retailandhospitalityandcatering,alsocoverindustry-specificemployabilityskills.Forexample,thosetakingthequalificationinretailwillstudycustomerservice,usingatill,handlingmoneyandstock-taking.Anotherexampleofthis

isthesectorroutewayspre-employmentlearningprogrammesdeliveredthroughlocalsector-basedworkacademies(SBWA).Theseacademiesareapartnershipofemploymentservices(suchasJobcentrePlus),learningprovidersandemployers.Theroutewaysprogrammecanlastuptosixweeksandincludesclassroomlearningaswellas workplace visits or work experience and a guaranteedjobinterview.Itisdesignedtogivelearnersanintroductionto,andtherebyrealisticexpectationsof,workingintheparticularsector.

Employer-specific provisionAnother form of employability skills provision ispre-employmenttrainingdesignedthroughcollaboration between providers and employers inordertofillspecificvacancies.Theproviderswill offer courses that cover the employability skillsrequiredinspecificroles,includinganunderstandingofwhattherolewouldentailandwhatwouldberequiredofthem,andtraininginanyspecificinterviewtechniquestheemployerwilluse,suchastelephoneinterviews.

Halton Employment Partnership Awards – Halton Adult and Community Learning ServiceHaltonAdultandCommunityLearningServicedelivertheHaltonEmploymentPartnershipAwards,whereintheproviderworksdirectlywithemployerstoidentifyjobvacanciesatleast6weekspriortothosevacanciesbeingadvertised,aswellasidentifytheskillsrequiredtofulfilthosejobs.Ashortprogrammeisthendesignedandimplementedinordertoprovidejob-searcherswiththeskills,accredited qualificationsandworkexperiencetofulfilthejobsidentified,aswellasaguaranteedinterviewwherepossible.Eachprogrammehasminimumentryrequirementswhichreflectthelevelofskillrequiredtobeabletocompletetheprogrammewithintheperiodrequiredandperformthejobtoasatisfactorystandard.Aprogrammewillgenerallybedelivered3daysaweekfor5weeks,butdurationisflexible.

CASE STUDY

30

Key considerations and challengesAkeyviewamongstakeholderswasthatdialogue andcollaborationbetweenemployersandproviders, enablesproviderstounderstandemployers’skills needs.Thisiscriticalinensuringlearnersaregaining the skills that will be required of them in the workplace andmoreover,needstoincrease.Thiswasparticularly pertinentintheareaofITskills,whichisabroad,diverse,andanever-changingcategoryofskills.

Elevate (formerly Sefton Education Business Partnership)Elevate oversee the Enterprise Advisor Network; an employer-provider partnership supported by theCareersandEnterpriseCompanywhereinemployers’seniorrepresentativesworkwiththesenior leadership teams of local education providers in order to inform providers of what skills those employersneed,butalsosothatproviderscaninformemployersoftheregulationsandrestrictionswhichaffecthoweducationcanbeprovided.Occasionally,teachersaresupportedtogainindustrialplacementsinsectorssuchasmanufacturing,logistics,andengineeringinordertogainfirst-handsectoralandbusinessknowledgetobesharedwitheducationprovidersandstudents.Outcomesarerecordedandthepartnershipprojectevaluated.

CASE STUDY

“I’ve also had an employer who stated that she’d

spoke to a uni to say, “Listen, you’re delivering these quals in the digital,

technical sector and they’re not fit for purpose for me as a business,” and the

uni sort of said, “We know, but this is what we have to deliver, this is our curriculum,” and I just think there needs to be a shift. I think education and employment just

need to come together and look at curriculum better and whether it’s fit

for purpose in the world of work.”

Employer-provider


“IT moves at such a pace that there’s

new software, hardware technologies coming out monthly in some cases. How do we as a college and all the other colleges in the area invest in that level of

technology, keep it up to date and find people who can teach it?”

Further education college

Stakeholdersidentifiedalackoffundingforproviderstoaffordthetechnologiesandteachingresource required to keep IT skills courses up todatewithdevelopmentsinthesector.ItwasexplainedthatITprofessionals,suchascoders,couldgenerallyearnmuchhighersalariesinindustrythaninteachingroles,withtheresultthatprovidersstruggledtorecruitteachersofdigitalskills. Itwasalsoachallengetobeabletocontinuetoinvestinthelatesttechnologythatemployerswanttheiremployeestobeabletouse.

32

Thereisabenefitthentoconsideringalternativeemployment models for such tutors to ensure that studentsarebeingtaughtbyinformedindividuals.

Therewereotherbarriersidentifiedbystakeholders toindividuals’engagementwithemployabilityskillsprovision,whichtheskillssectoritselfcouldonlypartially,ifatall,assistwith.Theseincluded:

• Lackofaccesstotrainingforpeopleinwork-thiswaspartlyduetoitnotbeingfinanciallyviableforemployerstoputontrainingforsmallcohortsoflearners.Inaddition,peopleinwork often did not have the time to travel to a provider to attend a course and providers found itchallengingtoofferprovisionwhichisflexible,accessible and continues to be relevant to the changingneedsoftheworkplace.Toovercomethisbarrier,oneproviderisplanningtotrialtheuseofvideoconferencingtodelivercoursesinthenearfuture,sothatlearnerswhowouldnotbe able to physically travel to a classroom can stillattendaclassviaonlinevideoconferencing.

• Migrantworkers–theselearnersareoftenhighly qualifiedintheircountryoforiginfacealackofrecognitionoftheirqualificationsinthiscountry.Thisresultsinmigrantswhoarehighlyskilledandqualifiedapplyingforlowskilledjobssuchascleaners,representingaseveremismatchofemployabilityskillstoemployerneeds.

• Childcare-althoughfundingisavailablefor providers to supply crèche facilities for learnersstudyingundertheadultskillsbudget,thereisnofundingforchildcareforlearnersoncommunitylearningcourses.Thosewithchildcare responsibilities also rely on provision beingavailableatsuitabletimes,forexamplewithinschoolhoursandtermtimeonly.Oneprovider explained that they provide family learningcoursesinschoolstoengagewithlearnerswithchildcarecommitments.

• Travel costs – learners on low incomes were reportedtostruggletoaffordtotraveltounpaidworkplacementsorevenpaidpositions,andbuy appropriateclothesforinterviews.Someproviders were able to contribute towards some travel costs,butthisformofsupportwasnotuniversal.

Whenaskedaboutfuturechangesintheemployability skillsneedsofemployers,stakeholdersmostcommonlyidentifieddigitalliteracyasanareaofskills needs that would most likely increase and evolveinthefuture.ItwasexplainedthatbecauseITisrapidlyandcontinuallychanging,theneedfordigitalskillswouldonlygrowandbecomemorediverseasworkplacesystemsbecomeincreasinglydigitised.Asdiscussed,providersexplainedthattheyfacedachallengeininvestinginandkeepingpacewithchangingtechnologytoequiplearnerswithup-to-datedigitalskills.

“…we’ve invested quite heavily in a lot of engineering

equipment and programable logic controllers, thermal dynamics, all of that

kind of stuff. CAD testing, non-destructive testing – all of that relies on a computer and

literacy based knowledge to be able to perform the tasks and understand what the recorder is

saying. So, I think it’s only going to grow and all of those companies, certainly if there is any kind of economy of scale there, are reliant on those

types of systems to keep things moving. So, our students being able to repair them, understand them, programme

them, it’s huge.”

Further education college


Anotherkeyemployerresponseidentifiedbyproviderswasengagingindialoguewithrecruitmentsupportagenciesaboutthespecificskillsneedsforparticularroles.Bydiscussingwithrecruitmentsupportagencieswhattheyrequiredofacandidate,employerscouldbesupportedinfindingpeoplewithsuitableskills.Stakeholdersexplainedthatinsomecases,employerscouldmistakenlyjudgeacandidateasunsuitableforarolebecausetheywereusinginappropriatecriteriatoformtheirjudgement.OneemploymentsupportservicegaveanexampleofacandidatewithAsperger’swhohadbeensupportedinapplyingforadataentryrole.Theemploymentsupportservicehadexplainedtotheemployerthatalthoughshedidnothavetheskillsrequiredforajobinterview,shewashighlycompetentindataentryandthereforewouldbeproficientintherole.Discussionbetween the employment support service and the employer enabled the employer to focus on the skills they needed rather than be deterred by a lack of skills that they would ordinarily look for but actuallydidnotneedfortheparticularrole.

From employersBecauseonlylargeorganisationsenjoyedtheeconomyofscaletoprovideskillstraininginhouse, stakeholdersreportedthatthemajorityofemployers relied on providers and employment support agenciestohelpthemrespondtoemployabilityskillschallenges.Itwasfeltthatemployershadakeyroletoplayinworkingwithproviderstomaximisethevalueofthesupporttheyoffer.

Akeyapproachidentifiedwasemployersworkingwithproviders to explain what skills they needed from employees,sothatproviderscouldtrainlearnersintherequiredskills.Thisincludedemployersparticipating inemployerengagementactivitythatprovidersoffered,suchasemployertalks,visitsandworkexperienceplacements.Italsoinvolvedcollaboratingwithproviderstodesigncoursesyllabuses.

Key Actions

Summary of key issuesEvidencefromexistingresearchandconsultationswithstakeholdersidentifiedanumberofkeyissuescontributingtoandresultingfromtheemployabilityskillsgapintheLiverpoolCityRegion:

• Employersacrossallsectorsreportedgapsingeneralemployabilityskillsoftheiremployees,particularlyincommunicationandbasicIT.Stakeholdersalsosuggestedthatemployersexperienceissueswiththequalityofemployees’writtenandspokenEnglish,basicdigitalskillsandmoregeneralemployabilitycompetencies,suchastimekeeping,presentationandattendance.Thishighlightstheneedtoimprovethe employability skills of residents already in employment,aswellasthoselookingforwork.

• Employersalsoexperiencegapsinmore intermediateemployabilityskills,suchasleadership,people,projectandconflictmanagement,andmoreadvancedcommunication andpresentationskills.Thedemandforthesehigher-levelskillslooklikelytogrowwiththe future expansion of more technical and managerialrolesintheCityRegion.

• Theemployabilityskillsgapislikelytobelinked tothegenerallylowerqualificationlevelsamongst residentsintheLiverpoolCityRegioncomparedtothoseintheNorthWestandEnglandasawhole.Therefore,itisimportanttolinkgeneralemployabilityskillstrainingtothedevelopmentofbasicliteracy,numeracyanddigitalskills.

• Gapsinemployabilityskillsamongstjobapplicants andemployeesarecreatingarangeofchallenges foremployers,includinghardtofillandskillsgapvacanciesacrossallsectorsandoccupationlevels;difficultiesinretainingstaffandsuccession planning;andcreatingefficienciesandfutureproofingtheirorganisationintimesoffast-pacedtechnologicalchange.

• Thereisarangeofgoodpracticetakingplacein basic employability and skills provision acrosstheLiverpoolCityRegion.Thisincludesstandalone and embedded provision offered byfurthereducation,vocationaltrainingandcommunitylearningproviders.Thisgoodpractice needs to be replicated across the City Regiontoensurethatemployabilityprovisionisholisticandaddressesthefullrangeofcompetenciesrequiredbyemployers.

• Stronglinksandcollaborationbetweenproviders, employersandrecruitmentagencieswereidentifiedaskeytothedevelopmentanddelivery ofresponsiveandgoodqualityemployabilityprovision.However,itcanbechallengingfororganisationstofindthecapacityandbuildthelinksrequiredforthistotakeplace.

• Lack of access to employability skills provision for residents already in employment was highlightedasachallengeinensuringthatemployees have opportunities to continuously improvetheirskills.

• Providersalsoexperiencedchallengesindeliveringeffectiveemployabilityskillsprovision,includinginrecruitingandretainingteachingstaff,lackoffundingtokeepupwithchangesintechnologyandcapacitytosupportmigrantworkerstodeveloptheirspokenEnglishandbroaderemployabilityskills.

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Skills for Growth Action Plan for Employability

Priorities Toaddresstheseissues,12keyprioritieshavebeenidentifiedfortheLiverpoolCityRegionCombinedAuthority,providers,employersandotherstakeholderstotakeforward.

1. Develop frameworks of the entry and intermediate employability skills required by employersintheLiverpoolCityRegion,basedonthetableincludedintheAppendix.

2. Identifyanygapsinexistingemployabilityskills provision which need to be addressed in order to meet current and future skills needs throuhgouttheCityRegion.

3. Workwithproviderstoensurethatskillsandemployabilityprovisioncoversthefullrangeofskillsandcompetenciesrequiredbyemployers.

4. Develop professional development programmesforemployabilitytutorstogainindustry expertise and tailor their provision to meetemployerneeds.

5. Facilitatecommunicationbetweenproviders,recruitmentagenciesandemployersaboutcurrent and future employability skills needs in theCityRegion,andhowprovisioncansupportthedevelopmentofthese.

6. Raise awareness of the importance of employability skills in the workplace – both for thoselookingforworkandthosealreadyinemployment–acrosstheCityregion.

7. DevelopprogressionpathwaystohigherlevelemployabilityandEnglish,mathsanddigitalskillsforthoseinlowerlevelroles,inordertosupportsuccessionplanningandaddresspotentialfutureskillsgapsarisingfromthedevelopmentoftechnicalandprofessionaljobsintheregion.

8. Boostprogrammeswhichincludeworkexperience and industry placements to supportyoungpeopletodevelopemployabilityskillsandtransitionintowork,includingapprenticeships.

9. Increase support for residents already in work toimprovetheiremployabilityskills.

10. Gainadeeperunderstandingofthebasicdigitalemployabilityskillsneedsofemployersandhowthesecanbemet.

11. Ensure that employability and basic skills programmesdelivertheskillsneededbyresidents.

12. Develop basic skills and employability provision intheworkplace.

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36

Actions Tomeetthe12prioritiessetoutabove,theLiverpoolCityRegionshouldcompletetheactionsoutlinedbelow,whichincludesuggestionsastowhatsuccessshouldlooklikeandmeasuresofimpact.

Priority ActionWhat does success look like?

How do we measure success?

Develop frameworks of the entry and intermediate employability skills required by employers in theLiverpoolCityRegion.

Conduct further consultations with stakeholders and reviews of evidence to identify the skills requiredbyemployers.Thiscouldbebasedon the table in the Appendix of this action plan,whichsetsouttheskillsidentifiedbystakeholdersinvolvedinthisconsultation.

A comprehensive framework of the employability skills required at entry and intermediate levels in Liverpool City Region.

Engagementofstakeholders and development of frameworks.

Identifyanygapsinexistingemployabilityskills provision which need to be addressed in order to meet current and future skills needs in the City Region.

UndertakeamappingexerciseofemployabilityprovisionacrosstheLiverpoolCityRegionagainsttheemployabilityframeworksatentryandintermediatelevels.Thisshouldidentifytheneedsandprovisionavailabletospecificgroups,suchaspeoplewithhigherlevelsoftechnicalskills,butwhowouldbenefitfromimprovingtheiremployabilityskills.

A detailed map of existingemployabilityprovision at different levels across the City Region.

Mapofprovisiondevelopedandgapsidentified.

Workwithproviderstoensure that skills and employability provision coversthefullrangeofskills and competencies requiredbyemployers.

SharecasestudiesofthegoodpracticealreadytakingplaceacrosstheCityRegionandworkwith providers to develop more comprehensive employability skills provision which covers attitudesandbehavioursaswellaswritingCVsandjobapplications.

Moreopportunitiesfor residents to access holistic employability provision which meets the full needs ofemployers.

Gaps in the map of employability provisionarefilled.

Develop professional developmentprogrammesfor employability tutors to gainindustryexpertiseand tailor their provision to meetemployerneeds.

Identifyhownationalprogrammesofprofessionaldevelopment(suchasTeachToo)arebeingusedintheCityRegionbyproviderstoencourageindustryexpertsinprioritysectors(e.g.digital)tosharetheirexpertisewithlearningproviders – or consider the development of a similarlocalschemethathasagreaterfocusonsectoremployabilityskillsratherthanhigherleveltechnicalskills.

Moreopportunitiesforemployment,learningandskillsproviders and practitioners to benefitfromindustryinput.

Number of opportunitiescreated,number of providers andpractitioners,industry experts and sectorsparticipating.Monitoringofimpactoncurriculumoffer/content.

Facilitate communication betweenproviders,recruitmentagenciesandemployers about current and future employability skills needs in the CityRegion,andhowprovision can support the developmentofthese.

Setupaforumofproviders,recruitmentagenciesandemployerswhichmeetsbiannuallyto support the development of provision for the newacademicyearandreviewitsprogressmid-waythroughdelivery.Itcouldmeetmorefrequently at times when decisions need to be maderegardingprovisionthatdoesnotfollowtheacademicyear.

Improved communication betweenproviders,recruitmentagenciesand employers about current and future employability skills needs.

Regularmeetingsof the forum and strongengagementfromstakeholders.Feedback from forum members on its usefulness in developingprovisionandmeetingskillsneeds.

Raise awareness of the importance of employability skills in the workplace – both for those lookingforworkandthosealready in employment – acrosstheCityregion.

RunajointcampaignbetweenLiverpoolCityRegionCombinedAuthority,providers,JobcentrePlus,employersandotherstakeholderstohighlighttheneedforemployabilityskillsatalllevelsandinallsectors.Thiscouldbeledbythestakeholderforumsuggestedinthepreviousaction.

Greater awareness amongstresidentsand wider stakeholders of the employability skills required across sectorsandjoblevels.

Feedback from members of the forum,residentsandwider stakeholders suggeststhatviewsof the importance of employability skills havechanged.


Priority ActionWhat does success look like?


DevelopprogressionpathwaystohigherlevelemployabilityandEnglish,mathsanddigitalskillsfor those in lower level roles,inordertosupportsuccessionplanningandaddress potential future skillsgapsarisingfromthedevelopment of technical andprofessionaljobsintheregion.

Workwithprovidersandotherstakeholders(possiblyviathestakeholderforummentionedpreviously)toscopethepotentialfordevelopingprogressionpathwaystohigherlevelemployability skills and develop approaches to achievingthis.

Employees have opportunities to gainintermediateemployability skills andprogressintomoreseniorroles.

Progressionpathwaysexist.Participation and outcomesdata.Feedback from employerssuggeststheyareconfidentemployees have the intermediate employability skills required for more seniorroles.

Boostprogrammeswhichinclude work experience and industry placements tosupportyoungpeopleto develop employability skills and transition intowork,includingapprenticeships.

Workwithlearningandskillsproviders,employers and key stakeholders such asJobcentrePlusto:understandcurrentopportunitiesandchallengesintheworkexperienceelementof16-19studyprogrammesinFEprovision;ensurethatyoungpeopleareabletobenefitfromtraineeships,whichofferworkexperience,Englishandmathsqualificationsandpreparethemtoprogressintoanapprenticeshiporjob;andfacilitategreatercollaboration.

Highquality work experience is available in all employment and skills provision that requires or would benefitfromit,andinsectors with hard to fillvacancies.

Provider reports on work placement availability.Inthelongerterm,employers’perceptions of work readiness of prospective employees improve.

Increase support for residents already in work to improve their employabilityskills.

Consider further development of employability skills provision to include follow-up support for newstartersintheworkplace,forexample,in-workmentoringandongoingtraining.Thiscouldincludeexploringhowtheuseoftechnologycouldsupportthedeliveryofin-workemployabilitytraining,particularlyforthoseinsmallerbusinesseswhichcannotaffordtailored,in-housetraining.

Moreopportunities for residents in work to access employability provision and improve their skills in the workplace.

Moreprovisionfor,andincreasedparticipation amongst,employedlearners.

Gain a deeper understandingofthebasicdigitalemployabilityskillsneeds of employers and howthesecanbemet.

Undertake further work with employers to map outthebasicdigitalemployabilityskillsrequiredbyemployerslocally(drawingonthenewnationalstandards,whenavailable),andsupportemployabilityandskillstrainingproviderstoincluderelevantcontentintheirprogrammes.Considerhowtheforthcomingbasicdigitalskillsentitlement,fundedthroughtheAdultEducationBudget,canbeusedtosupportthis.

A comprehensive mapofbasicdigitalemployability skills required by employers exists and is used to inform the commissioningofthebasicdigitalskillsentitlement.

Mapofbasicdigitalemployability skillsdeveloped.Commissioningplanforbasicdigitalskills entitlement referencesthemap.

38

Priority Action What does success look like?


Ensure that employability and basic skills programmesdeliverthe skills needed by residents.

Consider how the devolved Adult Education Budgetcanbeusedtoprovideintegratedbasicskillsprogrammesofstudywhichaddressarangeofbasicdigital,literacy,numeracy and other skills needed for employment(ratherthanprovidingseparate courses).Thiscouldincludenon-accredited elementswhereappropriate,todeliveremployabilityskillsmoreefficientlyandwithreducedaccreditationcosts.

Identify the extent to which employability programmesembedbasicskillstoequipparticipants with an improved and wider rangeofskillsinliteracy,numeracyanddigitalwhichcanbesustainedintoemployment,inadditiontospecificemployabilityliteracyskills(suchasCVandapplicationformwriting).

Employability and adult basicskillsprogrammesdeliver relevant basic and employability skills that meet the needs of residentsandemployers.

Stakeholder,employerandresidents’feedback.

Develop basic skills and employability provision in the workplace

Consider how the devolved Adult EducationBudgetcanbeusedtoprovideongoingsupportforadultsinwork,withrecentrulechangesnowpermittingdeliveryofEnglishandmathslearningintheworkplace.Providersshouldbesupported to work with employers to develop and pilot new models of workplace basicskillsprovision,incollaborationwith trade unions and other workplace representatives,anddeliverthesecoursesinwayswhicharelinkedtothejobrolesofemployees.

New models of workplace basic skills provision developed,pilotedandavailable.Providersareproactiveinengagingwith employers around the basic skills needs of theirworkforce.Employerscontribute to development ofprogrammes,andwhereappropriate,makea matched contribution tofacilitatedelivery(e.g.employeetimefortraining,facilitiesfortraining).Providers and employers work with trade unions and other workplace representatives to promote learningintheworkplace,engageemployeesandidentifylearningneeds.

Provider data on courses delivered.Feedbackfromemployer stakeholders onimpact,withlongerterm potential to measure efficiencysavings,reductionsinabsenteeism,staffturnover.Feedbackfromemployees.Potentialto measure in-work progressioninthelongerterm.


Endnotes1. UKCommissionforEmploymentandSkills(2010)EmployabilitySkills:A

ResearchandPolicyBriefing,UKCommissionforEmploymentandSkills,Wathupon Dearne

2. UKCommissionforEmploymentandSkills(2009)TheEmployabilityChallenge,UKCommissionforEmploymentandSkills,WathuponDearne

3. YouthEmploymentUK(2017)TheYouthEmploymentUKEmployabilityReview;andUniversityofKent,EmployabilitySkillswebpage,availableat:https://www.kent.ac.uk/careers/sk/skillsmenu.htm

4. Availableat:http://liverpoolcityregion-ca.gov.uk/uploadedfiles/Documents/lcrca_emp_ski_surv.pdf

5. UKCommissionforEmploymentandSkills(2009)TheEmployabilityChallenge,UKCommissionforEmploymentandSkills,WathuponDearne

6. Forexample,seetheEmployabilitySkillsqualificationsonofferfromCity&Guilds.

7. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sector-based-work-academies-employer-guide/sector-based-work-academies-employer-guide

DesignedbyG

avinWillisC

reativeMarketing

01604638200www.gw

cm.co.uk

www.lcrskillsforgrowth.org.uk

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