Delivering Skills in the West Midlands - new opportunities, a new approach Rachel Egan Productivity and Skills Programme Lead

A West Midlands Renaissance Largest CA economy outside London A region that’s connected A region that’s growing A region that’s investing in the future A region that’s winning A region full of talent Population of 2m + Over 30% residents under 25 90% of the UK’s market within four hours High Speed Rail will connect the region to London within 45 minutes Significant growth in employment in recent years – fastest growth in jobs in UK 500,000 more jobs expected, fuelled by large scale investment in transport and connectivity - Commitment to building 215,000 more homes Competitive advantage in sectors like advanced manufacturing, digital and life sciences, and business/professional services Focus on new technologies: battery technology, connected autonomous vehicles, 5G digital etc FDI investment Employers relocating Coventry is City of Culture and City of Sport, 2021 Commonwealth Games, 2022 12 Universities teaching 65,000 graduates every year 23 FE colleges and many more providers training 000s more young people every year “Our Time is Now”

Key challenges remain Low educational attainment - 55% of schools in the area fall below the national state school average performance at Key Stage 4. Low employment rate - 65.5% of working age residents in work – with over half (56%) of BME groups inactive. (National average is 74.2%.) High youth unemployment – persistent numbers of young people are not in employment Low productivity – WMCA’s indexed productivity per head was 19 points behind the national average (80.9;100) CHILDREN IN POVERTY Only Dudley (26.9%) and Solihull (20.4%) have a child poverty rate that is below the national average of 30%. Key hotspots include Birmingham, Ladywood which has the highest child poverty rate of any constituency in the UK End Child Poverty 2016 SCHOOL PERFORMANCE BELOW AVERAGE There has been a decline in GCSE performance in the WMCA MET since 2013/14 (53.5% in 2013), 52.7% in 2015/16. Only 46% of schools are above the national average in 2016, compared to 48.5% in 2015. Department for Education

Increasing skills gaps Key challenges remain Increasing skills gaps Share of jobs requiring level 4+ skills will grow - by 2024 higher skills required in 42% of jobs Only 29% of working age residents in the region qualified to level 4 and above Share of jobs requiring skills at level 2 or below will fall to 36% by 2024 Half of our region’s current workforce is qualified to level 2 or below Skills shortages across all sectors, with increasing concern about the impact of Brexit on future labour supply

The devolution opportunity West Midlands is on a mission to deliver Focus on inclusive growth Devolved powers– opportunity to integrate Shift in power away from London/ national government Closer to businesses and communities – understand what works Active collaboration – business, local government, academia and skills Opportunity for new system leadership

The devolution opportunity c£100m+ Adult Education Budget £5m construction retraining fund £4.7m Employment Support £2m in-work careers and training support Integrated skills and employment strategy - from T Levels through to HE New funding Influence Wider system leadership

Skills at the heart of our drive for inclusive growth More people in employment More people in higher skilled jobs More skilled employees to support business growth and productivity All communities benefit from the region’s economic growth An agile and responsive skills system that is more aligned to the needs of business and individuals

A Skills Plan for the region to get behind Prepare our young people for future life and work Create regional networks of specialist, technical education and training Accelerate take-up of good quality Apprenticeships, across the region Deliver inclusive growth by giving more people the skills to get and sustain good jobs and careers Enable a more agile and responsive skills system

Key elements to our approach Focus on delivery – not more strategies Prioritise: Construction, Automotive, Digital, Business and Professional Services Sectors Shared endeavour with key stakeholders Co-design – employers and providers Build on what’s there and what’s working Use sector expertise – but challenge ourselves to do more The region taking ownership – leading on solutions

Shaping the Regional Careers Offer Create a Career Learning Hub to support, develop and co-ordinate an all age careers offer Inspire more young people Improve the focus and impact of careers education

Next Steps Publication of Regional Skills Plan Ongoing: keen to develop strategic and operational relationships in region Autumn 2018 Establish Regional Careers Partnership Publish findings from audit of existing careers activity July 2018 Publication of Regional Skills Plan

Questions?