South West Regional Skills Enterprise and Employment Analysis 2007/2008

Final Report

1.3 Background

This report is published against a backdrop of significant change in the skills, enterprise and employment sectors as a result of legislation, policy directives and organisational restructuring. Much of this has been reviewed as part of this analysis, and at the time of writing, government responses are awaited in relation to a number of national policy reviews. One such is the Leitch Review of Skills which published its final report as this analysis was nearing completion. The extent to which government will accept the recommendations of the Leitch Review, and the further structural changes it proposes, is awaited with the outcome of the Comprehensive Spending Review 2007 (CSR). This may have significant implications for the skills agenda within the region.

This Analysis has taken in a broad sweep of the key issues in relation to skills, enterprise and employment. All the key partners have played an active role in its development and the authors are grateful for access to information and intelligence as well as the direct input into the development of the recommendations for action.

A strong sectoral analysis sits at the heart of the Review, both in the data analysis of skills needs in the region, and in the more qualitative review of Sector Skills Council (SSC) information including Sector Skills Agreements (SSAs). A more detailed Sector Analysis accompanies this report. This Sector Analysis (see Section 4 below) demonstrates a high level of agreement on a range of cross-cutting themes. There is much to build upon in terms of developing a sector approach in the region and to ensure that public interventions are effectively focused.

Alongside this analysis, the ESP commissioned a Review of Level 3 Skills(2) in the region. The Skills White Paper, Skills: Getting on in Business, Getting on at Work 2005, asked Regional Skills Partnerships (RSP) to:

… assess how best to use existing public funding to meet Level 3 priorities in colleges and training providers and in the workplace. These will take account of both regional and sectoral needs.(3)

The main findings of that Review have been incorporated into this analysis and are also published as a separate report.

Another central feature of this Report is the analysis of partner plans and priorities, in order to identify area where gaps exist. This has been somewhat challenging as organisations plan and prioritise in a range of ways. Comparisons of plans and priorities are therefore far from straightforward; indeed not all partners have regional plans. This has inevitably limited the analysis to some degree.

(2) Review of Level 3 Skills in the South West, Learning Theme report produced by SLIM on behalf of the SW RSP, April 2007
(3) Skills White Paper, Skills: Getting on in Business, Getting on at Work 2005, DfES, p19