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SKILLS


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We’ve got a real challenge in Lancashire in terms of the post-16 to 18 education piece. Businesses look at level 4 and level 5 qualifications to add that competitive advantage, certainly in the technical professional space.


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Martin Blunt, University of Lancashire’s head of enterprise and engagement unit


We are actually seeing an uptake in demand for degree apprenticeships. I’m talking about a phenomenal change.


The challenge we always have, and where we really struggle, is in vacancies. We can’t fill those roles.


So, we really need to get that message out to the companies to help us recruit, to help take on that new future talent.


We run an apprenticeship matching event, called Spark, and every single employer that is there interviewing or recruiting is not looking for experience, they’re looking for that passion, that energy, that enthusiasm.


It is imperative that we encourage these young people coming through. Yes, they need the grades, of course, but they need that will and that passion. A degree apprenticeship, specifically, is seen as a golden ticket, absolutely, without a doubt, hence the demand is brilliant. But the work has got to be done at school really, to really get young people engaged.


Nicola Clayton, executive director business development and external engagement, Blackburn College


Things are quite complex at the moment, with the curriculum landscape changing constantly. It’s confusing for employers, parents and schools.


There’s been the introduction of T Levels, which has led to some employers asking, ‘Do I need to do apprenticeships, or should I just be doing T Levels, where people are coming on a free placement?’


The government has got to create more clarity and make decisions quicker. Decisions to keep BTECs in August aren’t very helpful when you’ve done the pre-work with young people and their parents as to what their programme will be.


Some SMEs don’t have a full-on HR team and are worried about how they can support an apprentice in the business. The support is


We’re finding in some of our conversations In association with:


with businesses that they are just taking their foot off the pedal while they see what the landscape is going to look like


Andrew Dewhurst, vice principal East Lancashire Learning Group


The challenge is engaging and inspiring and providing clear pathways for those young people who might not have the support at home - the encouragement and the realisation that there is a bright future for them. We’ve got a massive role to play in that.


There’s constant change, we’ve got the DfE with skills white papers and we’ve got to be cognisant of the Lancashire Skills Improvement Plan in terms of feedback of what the marketplace needs.


But if we can harness our passion and dedication to help those young people, the future’s bright.


It’s all about collaboration and engagement. Get into the schools, get the message out to parents and make sure it’s filtering through to our young people so that they know there’s a career and a destination at the end of whatever they do next.


We’re providing businesses with choices and different routes, but we have to explain them and the pros and cons of each.


From a UK perspective 44 per cent of the workforce have got that level 4 plus, from a Lancashire perspective it’s 34 per cent. And when you add in Blackburn and Blackpool, it goes further down to 28 per cent.


The need to address that, to really futureproof from a business perspective, is obviously really quite critical. How do we do that? It’s about that clear messaging, data and evidence, because it always engages people. It is about understanding, collaboration and promotion.


Carolann Thompson, co-founder Amplify Business Success


The businesses I am working with are crying out for younger people because we’ve got this massive skills gap and this aging workforce. The biggest downfall is the pupils don’t know enough about the businesses that are in Lancashire.


My first question to employers when they say they have an ageing workforce is, what are you doing about it? And 95 per cent of them are not engaging at school level or at colleges.


There are SMEs in Lancashire that don’t have a dedicated person to do the general


recruitment, let alone the next generation recruitment, so it’s generally fallen to HR, which has got a million and one other things to do.


Businesses are not aware of the funding that is available. It is just making things really clear as to how this can help their business, how it can help the next generation and how collaboratively it’s going to move everything forward in Lancashire.


there from providers throughout the process. The engagement doesn’t have to be as big as starting an apprentice. It can be just chatting through our curriculum with us, having a conversation. There’s a whole toolkit of things we can provide.


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