South West Regional Skills Enterprise and Employment Analysis 2007/2008

Final Report

8. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION

F Employability, Skills for Life and Migrant Workers

F1 Issues

• Skills for Life continues to be a major issue of importance for the region. ESOL provision in particular is a hot spot due to the recent and increasing presence of migrant workers. Numeracy is also an issue of significance for the region when compared to other regions in the UK.

• Skills for Life issues have been identified by few sectors to date. However, those sectors where they have been identified - Retail, Health and Tourism - are significant employers and are priority sectors for the region.

• There is a need to promote the value of Skills for Life as a business improvement measure and for employer investment.

• The demands placed on the Skills for Life budget may argue for a higher budget to reflect current high ESOL demand.

• Access to ESOL provision remains an issue.

F2 Recommendations

• There is a strong case for targeting specific Skills for Life initiatives within key sectors.

• The RSP should ensure partners support the LSC in the most effective delivery of Skills for Life across the region.

• The RSP should have a continuing role in co-ordinating efforts to promote Skills for Life to employers.

• The RSP should take the initiative in the region to convene a multi-agency Task Group to support a coordinated approach to support migrant workers in the region.

• There also appears to be a need for more Skills for Life embedded provision.