ESRC Seminar Series

Stakeholder perspectives: how employers, trades unions and human resource management professionals see the

purpose and practice of careers support in work settings

WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT

29th March 2012

1

As a small and dynamic organisation our 100 people are grouped into three professions:

To secure these outcomes the Commission has five distinct assets to draw upon:

Business Plan for 2012 – 13

Key to our ambition is the need to encourage greater employer ownership of skills, working to secure sustainable partnerships for the long term. Over the next 12 months Commissioners will focus on four outcomes:

More employers investing in the skills of

their people

More employers stepping up and taking ownership

of skills

More career opportunities for young

people

More collective action by employers through stronger sectors and local networks

National Occupational

StandardsInvestors in People

Commissioner Insights & Networks

Investment Funds

Ambition

Strategic objectives

• Provide outstanding labour market intelligence which helps businesses and people make the best choices for them

• Work with businesses to develop the best market solutions which leverage greater investment in skills

• Maximise the impact of employment and skills policies and employer behaviour to support jobs and growth and secure an internationally competitive skills base

Outcomes

Assets

Resources

To transform the UK’s approach to investing in the skills of people as an intrinsic part of securing jobs and growth

Research & Technical

Project Delivery

Business Services

Our delivery , core services and people are supported by the following budgets for the year:

Organisation’s running costs

£8m

Programme funding £20m

(excl investment funds)

Investment funds of up

to £62m

Supported by efficient, high quality core services

Finance, HR, IT, Facilities, Procurement,

Communications

Dr Bill McGinnis CBE DL, N. Ireland Advisor, Employment and Skills

Commissioners

Charlie Mayfield, Chairman, John Lewis Partnership

David Fairhurst, Chief People Officer, McDonalds Europe

James Wates CBE, Deputy Chairman, Wates Construction Ltd

Valerie Todd, Director of Talent and Resources , Crossrail Ltd

Trevor Matthews, CEO,Aviva UK

Nigel Whitehead, Group Managing Director of programmes & support, BAE Systems

Lucy Adams, Director of Business Operations, BBC

Jeremy Anderson CBE, Chairman Global Financial Services, KPMG LLP

John Cridland CBE, Director General, CBI

Sean Taggart, Owner & Chief Executive, The Albatross Group

Julie Kenny, CBE DL Chairman & Chief Executive,Pyronix Ltd

Grahame Smith, General Secretary, Scottish Trade Union Congress

Dave Prentis, General Secretary, UNISON

Brendan Barber, General Secretary, TUC

Seyi Obakin, Chief Executive, Centrepoint

Liz Sayce OBE, Chief Executive, Disability Rights

Lord Victor Adebowale, Chief Executive, Turning Point

Dr. Deidre Hughes OBE, Lead Consultant, European Lifelong Guidance Policy Network

Tony Lau-Walker, Chief Executive Officer, Eastleigh College

Prof. John Coyne, Vice Chancellor, University of Derby

Key: Chairman Devolved Administrations Large Employers Small/Medium Enterprises Trade Unions Voluntary Sector FE and HE

If we don’t succeed our economic renewal is at riskOur global performance is NOT world class and is fallingSkills have a role to play in raising future performance

Source: OECD Employment Outlook 2011 and OECD Productivity Database 2010

Geography mattersSignificant variations across the UK

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East of England

East Midlands

London

North East

Northern Ireland

North West

Scotland

South EastSouth West

Wales

West MidlandsYorkshire and Humberside

UK England

65

66

67

68

69

70

71

72

73

74

75

60 70 80 90 100 110 120 130 140

High employment /Low productivity

High employment /High productivity

Low employment /Low productivity

Low employmentHigh productivity

Em

plo

yme

nt r

ate

: UK

=7

0.3

Productivity: GVA per hour worked (UK=1000), 2010

Productivity and employment in the nations and regions of the UK

Source: ONS

What are the key messages?: Is training investment sufficient?

Total UK investment = £49bn BUT

Around 40% of

employers don’t invest

Just under half of

employees miss out

More training is

provided to “most

skilled” staff

In decline and inflated

by “opportunity

cost”

“Trainers” say cost is key barrier

to more training

Varies by sector

Public sector tops the

league tables

Only 12% of

employees train to qualifi-cations

Non-trainers feel staff

are already proficient

More collective action by employersKey role for our Investment Funds

The UK Commission’s Investment Funds will stimulate and drive employer led action leading to increased ambition and employer investment in skills. So far we have invested over £70m in nearly 90 projects across 20 different employer-led organisations. Our investment has been matched by £19m of direct employer investment and £38m of employer in-kind support. Summaries of all projects can be seen at www.ukces.org.uk

The Employer Investment Fund:The Employer Investment Fund is open only to licensed Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) and is a UK wide fund . Phase 1 delivery commenced in June 2011 and has invested in 14 projects totalling £5m. Phase 2 was launched on 30th June 2011.  £61m of investment has now been announced in 63 employer led projects.

The Growth and Innovation Fund:The Growth and Innovation Fund (GIF) is open to all employer representative organisations (including Sector Skills Councils) and is an England only fund. In Round 1, the UK Commission has invested in 10 ‘Best Market Solutions’ totalling £6.3m for projects running until March 2013. Further GIF bidding is currently underway (appr. £30m available).

• Employers should have the space to own the skills agenda – leadership and commitment

• Skills solutions should be designed by employer-led partnerships to reach more people and businesses and raise quality and support innovation

• Public contributions for vocational training should move to employer incentives and investments to support sustainable investments

• Transactions should be transparent to support better evidence, outcomes (VFM)

Securing Employer OwnershipEmployer ownership pilots fund

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“We need to take determined steps to encourage greater employer ownership of skills, working to secure a sustainable partnership for the long term”

Charlie MayfieldUK Commission for Employment and Skills - Chairman

Opportunity to act nowEngland fund

• Up to £250 million employer ownership investment fund over two years

• Jointly led by BIS, DfE and UKCES

• Need bold propositions from employers, in partnership with colleges and training providers

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Career Adaptable Competencies(Bimrose et al. 2011)

Career Adaptable Competencies

• Control: exerting a degree of influence on their situations

• Curiosity: broadening horizons by exploring social opportunities & possibilities

• Commitment: experimenting with new & different activities

• Confidence: believing in yourself & ability to achieve your goal

• Concern: developing a positive optimistic attitude to the future

Reference: Savickas et al. (2009). Life designing: A paradigm for career construction in the 21 st Century. In Journal of Vocational Behavior, 75, 3, pp.239-250.

Next steps and more information

• Ownership Prospectus document available from www.ukces.org.uk/employerownership

• Further research information from http://www.ukces.org.uk/ourwork/research

• Further investment information from http://www.ukces.org.uk/ourwork/investment

• Research on Career Adaptability & Skills Supplyhttp://www.ukces.org.uk/publications/er35-role-of-career-adaptability

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Thank you

For additional information contact:

Dr Deirdre Hughes OBE

Commissioner

UK Commission for Employment & Skills

Email: deirdre.hughes3@btinternet.com

Tel: 07533 54505713