Agenda item

The Panel considered a report to update on national policy changes in relation to Employment and Skills and was asked to comment on the implications for a local approach of the national policy changes including Wave 2 Institutes of Technology (IoT).

IoTs are a key government policy to address the gap in higher technical education in STEM providing £120 million for eight institutions only for cap funding and West Yorkshire are eligible, the deadline fir the application is December.

The Panel was asked to agree the forward workplan for the Employment and Skills Plan and note the next steps for the local skills plan, a requirement of the Panel’s Skills Advisory Panel duties.

In addition to the report a verbal update was provided to the Panel. 

The panel agreed to pause the current timescales for the plan refresh in light of significant national policy changes including the Further Education reform white paper.  A draft plan will be submitted in February 2021. The Business Innovation and Growth panel are currently developing a business productivity and resilience plan and innovation framework. There is a proposal to have a joint workshop with BIG and ESP in January ahead of finalising the plan coming to ESP for approval in February and an update on the Local Skills Plan and the requirement of being a skills advisory panel

DfE have set out a standardised approach and the Local Skills Plan will report for the national skills and productivity board influencing future policy design.

Officers are more engaged with Government officials, other MCAs and LGA to discuss emerging policy and it has been useful to be at the table.

On 29 September 2020, the Prime Minister’s Exeter College Speech made announcements about national skills policy that follow from the 2019 Conservative election manifesto.  This was followed by a statement from the Secretary of State for Education on 1 October 2020 that headlined further national policy reforms, with a focus on technical skills and the creation of a £2.5 billion National Skills Fund.

The National Skills Fund replaces the National Retraining Fund.  Lifetime skills guarantee aims to enable lifelong learning to fund first L3 for adults and some loan flexibility to undertake retraining at any point in career and use loans for higher and tech education, issues that were raised by FRSC. L3

Provision is also delivered through devolved AEB. Whilst DfE has made clear until this point that National Skills Fund will not be devolved, even though some overlap in funding, there is some opportunity in West Yorkshire to think about how we can enhance local provision.  Department for Education delayed publishing list of quals available and funded but there are concerns about gaps inc. by sector (quals funded are deemed to be economically viable) in being economically viable will there be a gender bias.

Peter O’Brien has met with Vice Chancellors and Chief Executives and Gillian Hillier Government Head of Place for Yorkshire and Humber in DfE.

Resolved:

(i)             That the contents of the report be noted.

(ii)            That the feedback and comments of the Panel on the implications for Leeds City Region of the national policy changes including IoTs be noted.

(iii)          That the progress and next steps of the Employment and Skills Plan and the Local Skills Plan be noted.

(iv)          That the Local Skills Plan be brought to the Employment and Skills Panel Meeting in February 2021.