The Panel has invited representatives from Employ Crawley and the Council’s Economic Development and Environmental Services Team to help inform their investigation.
Ana Maria Maddock from Employ Crawley together with Stass Kolakovic, Employment and Skills Coordinator (CBC) will offer views on education, skills and employment in West Sussex and assist the Panel to understand the challenges the services face – now and in the future, together with the provision of initiatives and support currently being provided.
Clem Smith, Head of Economic and Environmental Services (CBC) has also been invited in order to provide additional information and a detailed update on the status of the Crawley Employment and Skills Plan (2016-2021), together with any current data.
Whilst the individuals named above identifies those witnesses anticipated to speak at the meeting, this may change subject to availability and, at the discretion of the Chair. Further witnesses may be called in addition or instead of those listed above should they be unavailable.
Minutes:
The Chair provided some background information on the Panel and then witnesses were asked to offer views education, skills and employment in West Sussex and assist the Panel to understand the challenges the services face – now and in the future, together with the provision of initiatives and support currently being provided.
The Panel received a presentation from Ana-Maria Maddock from Employ Crawley which explained the background to Employ Crawley as “a collaboration between CBC and WSCC that offered a range of services provided by the public, private and voluntary sector to help local people get the right jobs and local employers the right people”.
Members were informed that:
· Employ Crawley ensures customers can access one to one support from a single point of contact, advice about finding work and how to secure job, direct from employers.
· It provides access to unique workshops and courses delivered by specialists.
· It provides continuing support when in employment with access to advice on how to develop a career.
· Activities include Gatwick Airport Ltd (GAL) Employability Programme, job fairs, workshops and community outreach. Work is undertaken with partners and businesses.
Following the presentation, the following views were expressed:
· Acknowledgement that upskilling of individuals provides an opportunity to aspire and build confidence.
· Recognition that many large companies exist within the town (eg Thales, Elekta, B&CE as well as CBC). There is a need to promote organisations.
· Acknowledgement of the potential barriers to employment that had been observed since the introduction of Employ Crawley.
· The ongoing work with partners and businesses strengthens the aims of Employ Crawley whilst highlighting the value of individuals.
· It was noted that further resources would benefit the support offered and upward trend in footfall and access to jobs.
Clem Smith, Head of Economy and Planning (CBC) had also been invited in order to provide additional information and a detailed update on the status of the Crawley Employment and Skills Plan (2016-2021), together with any current data. Panel Members received a presentation updating them on current progress and were informed that:
· There was disparity in average wage levels between Crawley residents and Crawley employees (as documented in report PES/194).
· There were 4 aims of the Employment and Skills Plan:
o Development & Infrastructure – strengthen collaboration between CBC, developers, education providers and construction industry to boost opportunities.
o Employability & Social Inclusion – increase employability of disadvantaged and hard to reach groups by helping them overcome barriers to work.
o Business & Employers – enable discussions between training providers and businesses to develop new training courses to address business skills gaps.
o Education & Schools – increase number of local employers taking on apprentices and expand local career advice and access to higher education.
· Town Centre Skills Academy due to launch autumn 2018.
· Gatwick Skills Laboratory will reside as part of Crawley College offer. Analysis will be undertaken for the Crawley Business Skills Gap Needs analysis to provide a menu of business training needs to feed into the Gatwick Skills Lab Programme.
· Careers fairs take place annually and enterprise advisors provide regular advice to secondary school students.
· The long term aims of the Employment & Skills Plan was for local residents to access better jobs and for businesses to grow by being able to recruit to fill skills gaps.
Following the presentation, the following views were expressed:
· Acknowledgement that there had been challenges in partnership engagement with higher education provision, however the work being undertaken in the Employment and Skills Plan and the work with Crawley College and partners sought stronger partnership working.
· Clarification regarding the regular careers fairs and the businesses attendance. It was felt it would be beneficial for students to view a wide variety of organisations.
· Recognition that key priorities involved marketing the town in order to aspire young people and promoting the opportunities that exist.
· Acknowledgement that there was a gap in provision for adult learning and re-training was challenging. There was an opportunity for bringing training providers together to embark upon a solution.
· It was noted that aspiring primary school children was important and it would be beneficial to deliver intervention and careers advice at junior levels.
· Future investment from businesses may assist in the volatility of the job market, resulting in sustainable living and working in the same place.
RESOLVED
That Panel Members thanked all witnesses for their attendance and contribution.