SLIM Alliance Papers

This briefing paper has been written at the request of the Heart of the South West Local Enterprise Partnership (HoSW LEP) and the South West Employment and Skills Partnership (SWESP). Its purpose is to inform a discussion about how the partners who make up the LEP can support manufacturing in Devon and Somerset. This discussion will start with a workshop on 14 November. Organised by the HoSW LEP, the SWESP, Engineering Employers Federation and Semta Sector Skills Councils (SSC), the workshop will focus on identifying and responding to employment and skills challenges facing the industry. This paper explores these issues and is provided as a briefing in advance of the event.

The following documents are available for download:

Supporting manufacturing in the Heart of the South West - Executive Summary
Supporting manufacturing in the Heart of the South West

This Briefing Paper sets the scene for the Alliance meeting, Valuing Voluntary Action – helping voluntary organisations understand changes in employment and skills, organised by the SW Forum in conjunction with Employment and Skills Partnership. It will explore the issues and challenges emerging for the voluntary sector as the employment and skills policy landscape changes. The Briefing Paper was produced by the Skills and Learning Intelligence Module (SLIM) of the South West Observatory, based at the Marchmont Observatory, University of Exeter.

The backdrop to this discussion of course is the Government’s Big Society agenda, which seeks to shift power from government to local people. The main themes of this agenda promise much:

• Devolving power to communities and local government.
• A greater role in public services for Voluntary and Community Organisations and civil society organisations.
• Supporting the voluntary and community sector.

The Big Society agenda is one where social purpose organisations could justifiably expect to be at the forefront of delivery. Not only do they play an important role as providers of services; they are also employers, contributing to the economy. Indeed, the contribution that the voluntary sector makes to the economy has been well documented and acknowledged. In the context of the reform of public services, they also play a vital role not only in delivery but in identifying need, including unmet need, in supporting people and communities to shape the services that they require and in terms of evaluating services, advocacy, and in working with other sectors to improve services. This role becomes even more important in the context of increasingly decentralised services and funding cuts, particularly where individuals and communities have greater opportunities and responsibilities around public services.

Yet to what extent has this new rhetoric become reality in terms of the delivery of services?

Here we are concerned about the role that the voluntary sector plays in delivering employment and skills support. The purpose of this Briefing Paper is to outline the changes that are taking place in the employment and skills field and to identify the issues and challenges which the voluntary sector organisations face at present. We have drawn on the latest literature and conducted a series of interviews with voluntary organisations delivering employment and skills programmes, together with representatives of key agencies. We are indebted to these organisations for their time and ideas. Through a series of case studies, we have also explored in detail some of the changes that are taking place and how organisations are responding.

Download the Report
Download the 4 page summary
Meeting Summary
Download Presentation

This report is timed to coincide with the launch of the Work Programme in June 2011. It is written for local authorities, employment and training providers, Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) and Employment and Skills Boards (ESBs), who may be asking themselves:

• How will the Work Programme work in the South West of England?
• Are there areas or groups of people who are most likely to benefit?
• What should we be watching and monitoring?
• How can we help to ensure that none of our people and places gets left behind?

The task of this report is to: sketch out the structure and goals of the Work Programme; identify the risks that may arise from its design and delivery; assess its chances of success in the South West; and highlight matters that partners may wish to monitor or influence in order to ensure that the Work Programme works for those in their area.

The Work Programme In South West England : Full Report.

The Work Programme In South West England : Executive Summary.

Meeting Summary.

View all Alliance publications on our Alliance page .

The Employment and Skills Partnership (ESP) Alliance met on 11 May 2011 to discuss the topic, Apprenticeships – Delivering the Coalition’s Vision.

Apprenticeship numbers have grown significantly in recent years, yet if the challenging targets that have been set for training providers in England are to be achieved, there will need to be a further ramping-up of delivery. To support this, the ESP organised an Alliance workshop, supported by research from the Skills and Learning Intelligence Module of the South West Observatory (SLIM), to help identify challenges and potential solutions. The delegates attending the Alliance event are given in Appendix 2.

A previous Briefing Report reviewed recent research on Apprenticeships to shed light on employer engagement, improving participation and achievement, and access and equality issues. The report reviewed the Apprenticeships data to look at recent trends, and it also drew on the views of some key stakeholders. It informed regional and local stakeholders and set the context for the discussions which took place at the workshop.

This Summary Report explores the issues that emerged at the meeting and is largely taken from the presentations given by the participants and the subsequent, documented discussions. This report, like the Briefing Report, has been produced by SLIM.

Download Summary Report

This report sets the scene for the Employment and Skills Partnership Alliance meeting which will explore the challenges facing those seeking to expand Apprenticeships. The report has been produced by the Skills and Learning Intelligence Module of the South West Observatory (SLIM), based at the Marchmont Observatory, University of Exeter.

The expanded provision of Apprenticeships is a pivotal element of the new Coalition Government’s skills strategy. The recent 2011 Budget announced a £180m package for a further 50,000 Apprenticeships, aimed at helping young people into work or training. This builds on the £250m to fund 75,000 new adult Apprenticeships (mainly transferred from other programmes) announced in the autumn 2010 spending review. The expansion of Apprenticeships comes against the background of rising unemployment, particularly youth unemployment. More recently, the decision to raise fees for those seeking to enter University has made Apprenticeships a more popular choice than ever with young people. Yet expanding Apprenticeship numbers in the current economic climate presents significant challenges, not least finding employers to take on new Apprentices.

This report reviews recent research on Apprenticeships to shed light on employer engagement, improving participation and achievement, and access and equality issues. The report reviews the Apprenticeships data to look at the recent trends, and highlights the views of some key stakeholders.

Download Summary Report

See also: our Local Reports page, for more detailed analysis.

For a full list of Alliance reports, please see our Alliance Page.