Skills 4 Plymouth

SKILLS 4 PLYMOUTH

Skills 4 Plymouth is an ambitious transformation programme, which focuses on making sure people have the right skills to get a job and progress in work and employers have people with the right skills they need for growth.

Our vision is to develop a responsive skills system that meets the demands of employers, increases the number of highly skilled jobs and improves educational performance.

Vision: An outstanding skill system, which drives high aspirations and attainment and meets the needs of employers and individuals across all ages and communities.

A skills system where:

Residents and workers access skills, jobs and support (on their doorstep) to thrive in Plymouth, with a specific focus on those currently furthest away from the labour market
Employers can secure growth and increased productivity through access to a more diverse and better skilled workforce
Educators and providers become more responsive through access to information about the labour market and local needs to improve the quality and relevance of the education and training they offer and inspire all stages of education

Through a new evidence based approach collating real-time Labour Market Intelligence (LMI) direct from employers and working closely with our Resurgam sector leads, we know what skills are needed to fill the jobs in the city today and in the future. This in turn means we can help people to gain the skills they will need through re-training, up-skilling, access to impartial careers advice and to become work ready in order to help them transition into meaningful employment, ensuring no one gets left behind.

4,000

School leavers

10,000

Further and Higher Education Leavers

What have we done so far?

Plymouth has a strong track record of collaborating with Department for Work and Pensions, skills delivery and support partners. We know that to succeed we need to understand the demand for skills from businesses as well as support local people looking for employment. We've already started work to understand this demand and the challenges that are being faced, and in response have undertaken the following:

Set up Skills Launchpad Plymouth - – the city’s one-stop-shop for skills, training, education, careers and jobs. Working in city wide partnership, Skills Launchpad Plymouth aims to help local people in and around the city access independent information, advice and guidance. We are supporting those who are facing redundancy through the Adult Hub, and offering targeted support for our young people including those with additional needs through the Youth Hub. Skills Launchpad Plymouth offers local people a chance to be better informed and equipped for next steps through our virtual service and sign-up offer to access 1:1 tailored support. In the first 6 months, over 9,000 residents have accessed this virtual service.

Working in partnership with DWP, Plymouth and Devon Chamber and other key stakeholders we have a localised skills response including a coordinated approach for Kickstarts.

Created an emergency response task force to support businesses in need of support and to advise to local people at risk of redundancy.

In association with Barclays Bank, we have recently opened a city centre location for ‘Skills Launchpad Plymouth’, housing both the Youth Hub and Adult Hub, providing face to face coordinated services for young people and adults delivering:
- Tailored impartial careers information, advice and guidance support aligned with Plymouth’s real-time Labour Market Intelligence
- Employability skills support and work readiness skills
- Skills triage and diagnostic services
- Mentoring and coaching support
- Job matching or signposting to training/ skills/ education opportunities
- Introduction to self-employment/ business start-up
- Access to mental health support
- Access to debt management and claimant support

Deliver outreach activities and an extensive events programme with our local communities aiming to engage with young people who are not in education, employment or training.

Set up weekly job shops for the Health and Social Care and Construction and the Built Environment sectors.

Recruited Community Leads to take Skills Launchpad into the community and provide additional support to long-term unemployed residents.

Recruiting Sectorial leads in Health and Social Care and Construction and Built Environment to improve recruitment into these two growing sectors.

What are we going to do now?

Working together with other services and agencies to support the increase in vulnerable learners in education, employment and training
Secure additional skills funding investment aligned to both the short term and future demand from local employers and sectors so that local people can train for skills which will improve their employment prospects
Undertake a skills gap analysis to identify gaps in training provision and develop an action plan to close the skills gaps through better alignment of skills, training and education provision to match the demand in the city, so our residents are best prepared for real jobs that exist in the city today, and in the future
Develop the new Employer Hub to support local employers to better navigate the complex skills and employment landscape, aiming to grow apprenticeship, traineeship and Kickstart opportunities
Develop the new Education Hub to deliver careers informed curriculum relevant resources and engagement with children and young people in the education system, including a number of high profile, high footfall events across the city throughout the year