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6 Assessment of SAP Progress

Introduction

The Heart of the South West has a long history of joint working and collaboration around skills and employment matters, stretching back to the development of sub-regional arrangements in the late 1980s and 1990’s. As such, the area benefits from both a long-standing commitment to joint working and collaboration on skills matters between business, providers and public sector partners, with extensive experience in taking forward shared projects and ambitions.

Whilst this document encompasses the first iteration of a shared Skills Strategy and Action Plan for the Heart of the South West area, partners within the Heart of the South West have been working together around its core themes and ambitions for a number of years. At a LEP level, partners first formed the HotSW People Leadership Group in 2014, bringing together public, private and business representative to agree shared skills and employment objectives for the area’s Strategic Investment Plan, and direct the emerging European Social Fund and FE Capital Programmes. Partners have been active since this point in developing and implementing a range of programmes and shared projects across the area.

The launch of the Heart of the South West Skills Advisory Panel and the development of this document therefore, marks more of an evolution and acceleration of existing activity in the HotSW, then a revolution. The implementation of the SAP over the past year has provided an opportunity to reaffirm local partners commitment to working together to advance skills delivery and achievement, and to align behind key opportunities and needs.

The rest of this chapter provides a broad description of the current and recent activity of the SAP and SAP partners within the HotSW, and the progress already being made around the crucial themes of this document.

Impact on local skills provision

The Heart of the South West SAP benefits from a mature and long-standing set of relationships with local providers, including close working links between the LEP / SAP and its 11 colleges, 4 universities and the areas’ two training provider networks (Dorset and Somerset Training Provider network, and Devon and Cornwall Training Provider Network).

As such, provider and LEP / SAP prioritisation have been broadly aligned through partnership working in the Heart of the South West for a number of years, with strong growth across technical, STEM and high demand disciplines across the local provider landscape. Notably areas of joint work / delivery since 2014 include:

  • Development of the South West Institute of Technology, bringing together 4 of the area’s Colleges (City College Plymouth, Exeter College, PETROC and Bridgwater and Taunton College) and its two universities to successfully bid for one of the UK original 12 IoTs, the consortia worked closely around the development of the scope and focus of the SW IoT, with its emphasis on engineering and digital skills at Level 4 and beyond.
  • Delivery of skills provision linked to Hinkley Point, working closely with Bridgwater and Taunton College, DSTPN members and wider partners. Closely working around successive skills programmes emerging from Hinkley Point, including Bridgwater’s development of associated engineering and construction capacity, successful bids to secure the Southern Campus of the National College for Nuclear, and wider investment in engineering and construction capacity across the area.
  • Delivery of Digital Skills within Exeter. Championed and funded by Exeter College and University of Exeter for several years, digital and STEM based provision has been an area of enhanced focus in the city. The LEP, working alongside the HotSW DSP, has sought to support this approach over recent years, seeking to reinforce investment and support for related programmes and projects as far as possible.
  • Support for High Tech Engineering and Innovation in South and Northern Devon. Working with South Devon College and PETROC, the LEP has supported the development of STEM and engineering capacity at both colleges, seeking to enhance both their business responsiveness within core sector and apprenticeship capacity within LEP growth areas.
  • Co-Development of Growth Fund Business Cases, ESF Projects and other provision. The SAP core team has also worked closely over the past 2 years with colleges, universities and wider provider partners to develop a range of joint applications and projects which have extended curriculum and delivery across the LEP area. This has included cross sector investment in digital capital development within the area’s Colleges; joint business cases to support the development of specialist sector capacity in nuclear, digital and marine with funding from BEIS and DFE; European funding support to enhance technical skills and apprenticeship provision covering engineering, health and other high demand skills areas; and most recently, funding to support digital and technical bootcamps and fast track retraining, working with both college and independent training providers.

Looking ahead, deepening integration between provider and SAP approaches is a key priority, with work already ongoing with multiple College around their future business plans and delivery approaches. It is anticipated that this joint working will be reinforced through new funding programmes, such as the Lifetime guarantee, Community Renewal Funding and wider opportunities, due to come online later in 2021.

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Taking a Local Leadership Role

Inheriting the role of the LEP’s People Leadership Group, the Heart of the South West Skills Advisory has rapidly taken on the mantle of strategic leadership around skills matters and shared priorities across the Heart of the South West area. Bringing together a strengthened body of lead partners and decision makers, the SAP now provides the local area with a central and formal recognised leadership mechanism for skills policy development, intelligence sharing and decision making.

Whilst in many ways, this reflects the previous role of the LEP’s People Leadership Group, the renewal and strength of membership provides the SAP with a differing personality and authority to its predecessor. In particular, integration and membership by the area’s five formal Employment and Skills Board, nominated membership from the area’s 11 colleges, 4 universities, and two training provider networks, and business membership from key local businesses including EDF, Waitrose and Kawasaki, the Chambers and FSB, provide the SAP with significantly greater depth of knowledge and breadth of intelligence then its predecessor.

This capacity and reach, as well as renewed commitment to partnership working, has proven invaluable during the recent Covid-19 crisis, providing a shared forum for discussing issues arising, feedback sector by sector intelligence around impact and local challenges, and work together to develop joint solutions and approaches. SAP members have been involved or led the formation of each of the LEP areas four local recovery plans; SAP team members have jointly come together to formulate and launch new projects around supporting redundancy and reskilling, and SAP structures and inter relationships have provided opportunities to bring together partners around wider initiatives such as the Kickstart programme.

Enhancing local knowledge

Over the past 18 months, the HotSW Skill Advisory Panel has taken forward an extensive analysis of local skills demand, skills performance and overall economic as part of its lead role on skills and employment evidence. Developed in partnership between the SAP Core Team and the University of Exeter’s Marchmont observatory, the final document has provided the local area with core data and skills information which has both informed our LIS, this document and wider recovery and local economic development activity.
Data has also been shared extensively with local business and provider partners / SAP members, informing their work with Government, developing relevant business cases and plans, and supporting local priorities for spend and sector development.

Of particular importance, evidence resources linked to the SAP have been crucial during the recent Covid-19 crisis in allowing for real time understanding of issues emerging across the Heart of the South West area. Data tools and evidence shared through the SAP on local vacancy rates, apprenticeship data, skills and training performance and wider social economic indicators, have been used across every local area over the past 9 months to inform evidence-based recovery strategies, develop associated business plans and project applications, and shape delivery.

Leading on the Skills Action Plan

This document sets out an ambitious and wide-ranging series of shared priorities and areas for action within the Heart of the South West, seeking to build on the gap between demand and supply in some areas, and address ongoing challenges around performance amongst those with a barrier to work or learning or from disadvantaged background.

The SAP benefits from substantive funding provision already being rolled out around many priorities outlined within this document. This includes around careers advice and guidance, apprenticeship provision, technical skills support and around basic skills and digital provision. Additional funding is also due to come forward over the next period, including through the Community Renewal Fund and via National Retraining Funding.

In many of these cases, the challenges faced within the HotSW often relate less to funding being available for the activity, and instead are issues of alignment and coordination between multiple funding departments and organisations. This is notably the case around support for the unemployed, where duplicative funding for basic skills is often deployed by DfE and DWP, but no flexible funding is in place to support mental health preparedness. Others policy priorities, such as support for Career advice are funded, but subject to one year rolling funding settlements that make surety and planning a significant challenge.

Look ahead therefore, and seeking to build upon the reinforced partnership approach between business, providers and wider stakeholder outlined with the recent Skills White Paper, the focus of the SAP into the next period will be around aligning provision and resources to meet the objectives of this strategy. In particular, this will include working together to support the most disadvantaged to access training
and go beyond Level 2; additional activity to promote progression beyond Level 4 across multiple sectors; and support for those sectors and individuals most impacted by the recent pandemic.

The HotSW SAP, and the partners it brings together, start however from a strong foundation, with a business and demand focused partnership incorporating all key players within the skills and employment environment ready to play its part in ensuring that the HotSW area is now able to meet its potential.