Employment & Skills Group

Role and purpose

To develop a local workforce with the right skills base for our economy and tackle economic inclusion

Background

The Swindon Employment & Skills Group is charged with delivering the ‘Skills and Labour Market’ block of the Swindon Economic Development Vision and Framework (2006).  It also takes ownership of achieving Outcomes 2 and 4 of the Swindon Local Area Agreement, which focus upon, in 2, developing a local workforce with the right skills base for the economy, and in 4, increasing the proportion of working age people who are economically active, particularly in Neighbourhood Renewal Areas.  Those two Outcomes are of particular importance to the LAA as they attract Pump Priming Grant to assist their delivery.

Priorities

The group has identified three areas of work upon which it intends to focus its activities in the immediate future. The themes will change as new priorities emerge and when the appropriate level of support is in place to focus partnership activity, but for the time being they are:

• To encourage Swindon employers to invest in local people by providing training and employment opportunities
• To identify and overcome the barriers to accessing learning and employment in Swindon
• To ensure the fulfilment of the two LAA targets (ED&E Outcomes 2 and 4)

The core, steering group will have the following roles:

• Set up the task groups, provide support and receive reports
• Develop future ideas for future task groups (which may include a task group to draw up a project to promote economic inclusion in the Borough)
• Coordinate employer engagement in the Borough
• Participate in the Swindon Policy Task Group, particularly with the aim of carrying out labour market research
• Communicate sideways and upwards including reporting on agreed LAA targets
• Communicate as broadly as possible with local business and receive thoughts back from business representative groups
• Input to the regional skills forum proposed by the South West Regional Skills Partnership

The structure will be supplemented by an annual strategy meeting of all interested businesses, agencies and volunteers that contribute to the core and sub groups.

Membership

The group is intended to be, firstly, led by a business agenda, and secondly, inclusive of those organisations (public and private sector) that are both providers of learning services at the strategic level, and are recipients of those services.  

The core steering group comprises strategy bodies whose remit includes enhancing skills provision in the Borough, alongside businesses and business representative bodies.  The group is currently chaired by Sue Watkins, Economic Development Manager of the Learning & Skills Council, although that is on an interim basis, and until a private sector lead can be attracted.  The SSEP Management Group currently has a vacancy from within the private sector who would act as a lead member on skills issues, and who would also sit on the group.  The secretariat is provided by Swindon Borough Council.

The thematic sub groups comprise key individuals from those organisations that can make a difference to the subject matter, be it through strategy, funding or delivery of services.  Each group is led by someone with a particular expertise in the subject area who sits on the core group.