Documents

The impact of the recession and rapidly changing global context means that this is a crucial time for skills policy, with challenges in both the shorter and longer term.  In the short term the challenge is to respond now to the skills needs that will help us get out of recession.  In the longer term the challenge is to ensure we have the right skills to build a strong economy, and achieve our goal of becoming a world leader in skills.

West Midlands councils are helping people back into work.  But they could do more, says watchdog.  West Midlands councils are helping people back into jobs or training.  But the numbers being reached are small in comparison to the size of the problem and the situation is worsening in the recession, according to an idependent report released today bu the Audit Commission.  Audit Commission inspectors looked at all seven metropolotan councils in the West Midlands to see, amongst other things, how well they understand and respond to residents'  needs in tackling unemployment.

The outcome of this MAA is the delivery of increasing numbers of people in sustainable employment with training across the area of the City Region of Birminham, Coventry and the Black Country.  This will be achieved by removing a number of barriers, inflexibilities and inconsistencies in the current operating framework, and the delgation of decidion making and funding from national and regional agencies to the City Regions.

The Learning and Skills Council exists to make England better skilled and more competitive.  They have a single goal of improving the skills of England's young people and adults to drive towards a workforce of world-class standard.

Their commitment id threefold:

to deliver an effective and comprehensive learning offer for young people in every area, in partnership with local authoritie, schools, colleges and training providers;

to support businesses to find the skills they require, and

to help adults to train, retrain and secure sustainable employment.

This Annual Report covers the financial year up to 31 March 2009.  It includes a review of the activities carried out during the year and the accounts for the same period.

There can be little more important than equipping the UK with the skills it needs, for the jobs it needs, today and tomorrow.  Our prosperity depends on the success of our economy.  That depends on the jobs we are able to create; and having the skilled workforce we need to do them - and to do them well.

The ability to speak English is critical for everyone living and working in the UK.  It underpins employability and gives people the ability to support themselves and their families, engage more fully with the wider community and access necessary services. 

Because it is so important, the government are spending around £300 million a year investing in English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) provision.  The approach set out in this document builds on the changes introduced over the last two years to ensure that those able to pay for training do so and that government funding is focussed on the groups most in need of help.

Informal adult learning matters.  It is human nature to seek out stimulation and enrichment, and to create social bonds through shared interests and passions.  Learning for its own intrinsic value makes an enormous contibution to creating the kind of society we can be proud of.

Over the past few years there has been a groundswell of people and communities creating and organising learning opportunities for themselves.  The response to this by the Government is set out in this White Paper. How Government can best support the vibrant and diverse opportunities out there for private and collective engagement.  To support a flourishing landscape of informal learning, engaging libraries, museums, the arts and sports, community organisations, healthy living centres, online communities, colleges, universities and schools and encouraging learning in all its many guises.

Making the best use of everyone’s talent, and enabling and exploiting innovation is crucial to our success in meeting the challenges of the current economic climate and ensuring success in the future. Creating a strong economy, and enabling everyone to take part in it, also provides the best chance of achieving social justice. Our two Departments have a central role in supporting some of the most important pillars of a strong economy – skills, science and research, and innovation – as well as directly supporting individuals and hard working families.

Investment in further education skills and training for our young people and adults has never been more important.  This Statement of Priorities sets out how this investment will continue to increase as we respond to the current economic conditions.

This Consultation Paper continues the overall of our welfare system, ensuring that everyone on out of work benefits are subject to an active regime that offers more support but expects more in return. A desire for everyone who can work to work.  This means more help with gaining skills alongside a requirement to take up these opportunities. 

This is a wide ranging consultation on the future of welfare. It set out plans for improving support and work incentives to create a system that rewards responsibility and delivers greater choice and control over the support that is provided.

The LSC is introducing a new Skills Capital Projects Fund and a new Regiuonal Skills Capital Development Fund that will be accessible to providers that have not previously been eligible for FE capital funding.  This is intended to offer a wider range of providers the incentive to support facilities for publicly funded training (such as apprenticeships) in key areas of the economy.  Government is investing record amountsin state-of-the-art buildings and facilities, and - through the updates set out in this prospectus - will continue to do so.

In the future it will no longer be the shortage of jobs but the shortage of skills that will be the biggest barrier to full employment.  So Britain's long-term prosperity depends more than ever on developing the talents and potential of all our people to the gfull.

This document should be read in conjunction with the West Midlands Regional Commissioning Plan and the West Midlands Regional Strategic Analysis.

The main themes of the Black Country LSC Annual Plan in 2007-08 reflected the national priorities for the year, and the challenges for 2008-09 remain in the same broad areas.  Examples of key areas where progress has been made are:

• Increase participation of young people:
• Increase adult basic skills;
• Increase employer skills provision;
• Construct Neighbourhood Employent and Skills Plans for all City Strategy wards:
• Support regeneration of Black Country by renewing FE estate;
• Support providers under 'Notices to Improve'.

As identified by Lord Leitch in his review of skills to government, the challenge for the UK - to compete globally on the basis of our skills and knowledge - requires us to significantly raise our skills game. However, around the world others are investing more in skills and as a consequence, simply achieving our existing ambitions is no longer enough.
We have to bring about a step-change in our ambitions for the knowledge, skills and talents of everyone who lives, works and studies in the West Midlands.
That is why Advantage West Midlands and the Learning and Skills Council, in conjunction with key delivery partners, have developed a Skills Action Plan for the West Midlands.
 

Walsall is a place of ambition, diversity and vibrancy that is undergoing a transformation. The Local Area Agreement (LAA) is in place to build stronger partnerships and alliances within the Borough but also with partners who may have an international, national, regional and sub-regional focus. The LAA is an approach for the future, to build on and develop further. The Walsall LAA is one that partners own, understand and deliver.

A seven year programme of Neighbourhood Renewal Funding has been completed.  Over £36 million has been invested to close the gap in performance between Walsall and other UK local authorities on a range of issues.  We are now poised, ready to strengthen partnership working as we move into 2008-09.  The emphasis of the new year will be to gain greater alignment of the significant resources of the partners and apply this to our mutually agreed priorities.

Aims to provide an overall framework for driving and guiding the key policies and actions of partners.  This strategy is for everyone living and working in the borough and has been developed by Walsall Partnership, working together with organisations, communities and businesses.  They have listened to what people, living and working in the area, have told them about their aspirations for the future.  Using this, set out is an ambitious twelve year plan for the borough, stating the priorities and how these will be achieved over the next six years.

It used to be that natural resources, a big labour force and a dose of inspiration was all that was required for countries to succeed, economically. But not any more. In the 21st century, our future prosperity will depend on building a Britain where people are given the opportunity and encouragement to develop their skills and abilities to the maximum; and then given the support to rise as far as their talents will take them. This will require an enormous shift in attitudes and aspirations, not only in Government, but also within workplaces, schools, colleges, universities and society itself.
 

This Green Paper delivers a step change in the employment and skills support offered to those who are most disadvantaged in the labour market.  It builds on the measures in this year's Welfare Reform Act to ensure that those with health conditions and disabilities are never again written off.  It reinforces a strong commitment to the values of equality and opportunity, and to the principle of rights matched by responsibilities, with work for those who can and security for those who can't.

The leaders of Birmingham, Coventry, Dudley, Sandwell, Solihull, Telford, Walsall, and Wolverhampton Local Authorities have come together with the West Midlands Regional Assembly, the West Midlands Local Government Association, the Regional Development Agency, the Learning and Skills Council and Job Centre Plus to set a new vision for The City Region.

To succeed as a country in the emerging world economy we will need to build our skills levels like never before. To prosper as individuals in a flexible, constantly changing labour market, we must each do our utmost to work and to learn.  The countries that bring out the best in all their people will enjoy the greatest success in the global age.

This document sets out how the DWP and DIUS will work together to ensure that an ever increasing number of people are able to gain the training and support they need to move from benefits to work and then the ongoing training they need to progress in work.

The LSC West Midlands Annual Stock-take report is the first of a number of reports as part of an overall strategic analysis for the West Midlands which will help to inform the LSC regional Commissioning Plan and determine the future strategic direction and priorities for learning and skills in the region. The report draws information from a range of sources and provides a strategic assessment of the LSC’s impact in the region. It gives a summary of our significant investment in learning and skills to date and outlines the relevant local and regional issues providing an evidence base for change.
 

The future of the Black Country lies in a thriving economy where knowledge is a key element of what is sold. This can only be achieved with a highly skilled local workforce, yet the current situation is that far too many local people lack any qualifications whatsoever, and far too few possess higher level skills. Without turning this situation around, there will be serious limitations on the number of prosperous businesses and prosperous individuals in the Black Country.

The Policy Research Institute was commissioned by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to carry out a rapid review of research evidence on ‘what works’ to inform the development and activities of the Skills for Jobs programme.

This project was commissioned to explore some of the key barriers to engagement in learning and the labour market among some large and growing demographic groups, as well as their aspirations, motivations and triggers to engagement.