Movement to Work is a voluntary collaboration of UK employers committed to tackling youth unemployment through provision of high quality vocational training and work experience opportunities for young people.
Government has confirmed that from April 2021, adults without A-Levels (or equivalent) will be eligible to study for a free Level 3 qualification, as part of its new Lifetime Skills Guarantee. All courses have been selected to ensure good job prospects, considering factors like wages, which skills are in demand by employers, and which skills are essential for society and the growth of key sectors.
There are nearly 400 courses on offer in a range of different sectors, from construction, manufacturing and agriculture, to digital, ICT, health and social care. For more information visit: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-skills-fund
In addition, new Skills Bootcamps offer flexible courses of just 12-16 weeks, giving adults aged 19+ the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with a local employer. These are currently available in the West Midlands, Greater Manchester and Lancashire, the Liverpool City Region, the Leeds City Region, Heart of the Southwest, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. If you live in one of these areas, visit your local authority website to find out more. In 2021, Skills Bootcamps will expand into new regions with even more course subjects on offer.
This announcement should be of interest to three key audiences:
Prospective learners – the Level 3 offer is available to adults aged 24 and above without an existing Level 3 qualification (equivalent to A Levels) in England, whilst Skills Bootcamps are available to adults aged 19+ in six locations.
Employers – Government would like to raise awareness of how these key parts of the Lifetime Skills Guarantee can help employers in key sectors fill their skills gaps and for them to encourage their staff to take advantage of the opportunities available.
Providers – Government needs to support providers in preparing for increased interest in their courses, ahead of Level 3 qualification offer becoming available in April 2021.
Call to action:
Adult Learners – Find out more at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national- skills-fund
Contact the National Careers Service today for advice on your next step.
Employers – Find out more at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national- skills-fund
Providers -Visit https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-skills-fund to see the full course list
Why is this important?
Tens of thousands of adults will be able to benefit from almost 400 free courses next year, in the first major development in the Lifetime Skills Guarantee announced by the Prime Minister in September.
The fully-funded courses, ranging from engineering to healthcare to conservation, will be available to adults without a full qualification at Level 3 (A-level equivalent) from April 2021 to help them gain in- demand skills and open up further job opportunities.
Designed to help our country build back after the pandemic, the qualifications have been carefully chosen to help adults improve their career prospects and meet the needs of the economy.
This announcement marks an important step in the development of the Government’s landmark Lifetime Skills Guarantee, which will transform the skills system to ensure more people, no matter their age or background, can get the skills they need to progress in employment.
Backed by £95 million from the National Skills Fund, the new courses will be available from April to all adults without a full Level 3 (A-level equivalent) qualification and will open doors to new and better jobs.
This funding will not only enable thousands of adults to gain new qualifications and access better job opportunities; a proportion will also be used to support providers to scale up their provision to deliver the courses and meet the needs of learners.
Since 2018, Movement to Work Head of Outreach Debs Gordonhas supported employers with the delivery of their work placement programmes, in partnership with training providers and youth outreach organisations. Previously a Director of Resourcing at Centrica, Debs has a deep understanding of the strategic design and operation of the recruitment lifecycle and in this blog, she shares her recent reflections including: What are some of the emerging themes to support employees? Which skills are in demand? What is happening to social mobility?
VIRTUAL LEARNING AND VIRTUAL WORK EXPERIENCE
Virtual learning and virtual work experience are now part of the employability landscape and, most likely, here to stay. Advantages to employers include larger cohorts and the ability to reach many people who are challenged geographically, physically or need to learn flexibly. I anticipate the future will be a combination of virtual and face-to-face employability learning dependent upon the skill set, e.g. digital, IT and some customer service may continue to operate remotely whereas other skill sets requiring presence at a site or office are currently and will continue to utilise a blended approach of virtual and physical presence rather than solely face-to-face.
Alongside the above advantages of increased reach and flexibility is the disadvantage of those being left further behind due to a lack of connectivity and digital skills awareness. For those granted a device and access, support cannot end there. Many need guidance to effectively use the tools necessary to operate in today’s business world, such as that provided by the Department for Education’s Skills Tool Kit.
I have now seen a number of virtual ideas in action and would be delighted to share if you are considering virtual in your organisation.
COLLABORATION
I am delighted to see many of us coming together to support those who are having a tough time.
Springboard, the hospitality training charity, has revolutionised its careers portal, www.careerscope.uk.net. CareerScope now pools the support available from five key partners – Springboard, UK Hospitality, Institute of Hospitality, Hospitality Action and Savoy Educational Trust. Advice and support (e.g. redundancy, financial, wellbeing), training, career advice and jobs are now in one place. Also, Springboard to 2022, will be training 10,000 young people over the next 18 months to ensure they are ready for work as the industry recovers from the pandemic.
As labour demand in travel, hospitality and much of the retail market collapsed, demand in food production, plus associated transport and delivery services, massively outstripped supply. Staffline which owns PeoplePlus, quickly launched two initiatives, Feed the Nation and Deliver to the Nation.
So far, these initiatives have supported over 25,000 people who have lost their jobs to reskill and secure employment with recruiting organisations.
Andrew Porter, Group Resourcing Director and Marisol Milsom, Head of Social Resourcing Programmes for Capita are working with The Youth Group to deliver great initiatives. They invite collaboration by creating a ‘collective’ of like-minded organisations to support youth employment. You can read more here on Andrew’s recent LinkedIn Blog.
IN-DEMAND: HEALTHCARE
The NHS employs more than 1.5 million people and offers over 350 different roles. Health Education England (HEE) supports those from underrepresented backgrounds to access careers in healthcare. HEE has launched a national NHS work experience network to connect and share good practice and are assessing the potential for a national NHS work experience management platform. These initiatives provide a national resource repository including toolkits to support both face-to-face and online work experience initiatives. Find out more: https://www.e-lfh.org.uk/ and https://www.healthcareers.nhs.uk/
IN-DEMAND: DIGITAL
In October, LinkedIn stated that 150 million tech jobs will be available globally over the next five years. Microsoft has launched a UK campaign, ‘Get on 2021’ to help 1.5 million people build careers in technology and help 300,000 connect to tech job opportunities (find out more here). Additionally, working with LinkedIn to establish the top 10 most advertised jobs, Microsoft along with GitHub has produced skills training for these in-demand jobs. These courses are currently free until March 2021. Find them here: https://opportunity.linkedin.com/en-us
Amazon Web Services (AWS) is expanding its ‘re/Start’ programme in EMEA. AWS re/Start partners to access certain groups, i.e. NEET, those leaving the care sector, returners etc. A 12-week bootcamp prepares the student to become an AWS practitioner. Support to secure a job is also provided. Find out more: https://aws.amazon.com/training/restart/
IN-DEMAND: CONSTRUCTION
““Construction has a massive impact on the performance of the wider economy; for every £1 spent on construction output, an additional £2.84 of total economic activity is generated.” – Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) strategic plan, 2021 – 2025. CITB is investing £110m for apprentices and employers, on top of grant support, supporting 28,000 taster experiences, investment in Go-Construct, and using the Grants Scheme plus other funding to help employers invest in training, to first rebuild after the pandemic and then to modernise and raise productivity. Find out more: https://www.citb.co.uk/about-citb/what-we-do/mission-and-plans/#
IN-DEMAND: GREEN
Spending Review 2020 states that the recovery from Covid-19 must be green which impacts many industries. Transport and logistics as one of our growth industries and highest-emitting sectors has prioritised investment to zero-emission vehicles, homes and buildings need to be net zero-ready and there is investment in clean energy technologies. This includes a Carbon Capture and Storage Infrastructure Fund and additional investment in low hydrogen carbon production, offshore wind, and nuclear power. In our new green space, there is a smorgasbord of opportunities for all age groups. Speakers for Schools will launch ‘Green Skills Week ‘in April 2021, targeted at 14-19-year-olds – this is a great platform for us all to educate ourselves. Find out more: https://bit.ly/3oievP6.
SOCIAL MOBILITY
Many businesses want to include social mobility objectives and there is a growing trend to link social mobility targets to supply chain contracts. Below is some information (in alphabetical order) and contact details if you would like to know more.
Care leavers
“Covid-19 has had a significant impact on the care leavers we support through our Employment, Training & Skills programmes. We have seen the number of support services available to care leavers become more limited, leading to increased feelings of loneliness, mental health issues and a general increased vulnerability. Specifically, they have told us that without specialist face-to-face contact they are struggling to access crucial resources and coaching to enhance their chances of reaching positive destinations with employers.” – Rebecca Knowles, Barnardo’s Service Manager, Employment, Training & Skills.
Disabled
Published in October 2020 by Leonard Cheshire, a UK disability charity, over seven in 10 (71%) disabled employees have lost income, become unemployed or been furloughed by their employer since March 2020. This data was collected after Leonard Cheshire surveyed 1171 working-age disabled people and 502 employers. Additionally, over two in five employers (42 per cent) stated that they were discouraged from hiring a disabled person due to feeling they were unable to properly support them during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ethnic diversity
A Lloyd’s of London report titled “Ethnic Diversity in the Workplace”, which surveyed over 900 professionals in July-August of 2020 revealed that 71% of Black employees reported facing barriers when it came to recruitment. This was in comparison to only 35% of White employees. The 10,000 Black Interns programme will offer paid work experience across a wide range of sectors, providing training and development opportunities and creating a sustainable cycle of mentorship and sponsorship for the Black community. Find out more: https://www.10000blackinterns.com/programme
Ex-offenders
Duncan O’Leary from New Futures Network (NFN), the specialist part of the prison service that works with employers, confirmed that employment for people leaving prison has been secured with Greene King, The Civil Service and Government contractors, amongst other national organisations. NFN also administers a partnership programme with the major banks to ensure that people leave prison with a bank account, which is vital for accessing employment, accommodation and universal credit. Duncan can be contacted at duncan.oleary@justice.gov.uk
Refugees
Janice Lopatkin, Programme Manager for the Refugee Employment Network said:
“The effect of Covid-19 on refugee employment has meant that 1 in 3 refugees have lost their jobs and unsurprisingly the majority of those are in the hospitality and retail industry. The Refugee Employment Network (REN) is focusing on finding opportunities in industries that have the potential for growth in the coming months and therefore we are working with supermarkets, care providers and construction companies. In addition, we are looking at local needs by assessing the opportunities for employment is in the NE, NW and Midlands areas of England. Refugee employment is always challenging and it has been made more difficult by the pandemic. REN needs more than ever to partner with Movement to Work who can access training and jobs for refugees so they can start to rebuild their lives in the UK.”
The above highlights the perils facing many as unemployment and particularly youth unemployment escalates. Training providers are receiving feedback that employers worry about supporting work experience and vocational opportunities. MtW continues to collaborate, support and promote initiatives which will lead to employment. One such initiative is the Ride Out Recession Alliance (RORA) launched by The Big Issue, which is all about sharing and helping mobilise ideas by working as one.
Debs Gordon is Head of Outreach for Movement to Work, a vibrant not-for-profit community of UK employers, youth-outreach organisations, training providers and government allies – all aiming to level the playing field for young age people aged 16-30 facing barriers to work.
Neptune Energy has teamed up with Movement to Work to identify opportunities like work placements, that help to break the ‘no experience, no job’ cycle that many young people face. Movement to Work’s CEO, Sam Olsen, said: “Movement to Work is delighted to have Neptune Energy as a partner committed to supporting our young people during this challenging period and beyond. We hope many other employers will continue to join us in the fight against youth unemployment.”
The Metropolitan Police Service is holding a virtual Meet the Met event for Special Constables (volunteer police officer), on the 27th November at 2:30pm or 30th November at 7pm.
Officers & Special Constables from different ranks and backgrounds will discuss and share their journey followed by a Q&A.
The Recruitment & Employment Confederation (REC) have urged the Government to to reduce employer national insurance contributions, in light of the significant impact Covid-19 is having on the labour market. The REC argues that minimizing the biggest business tax employers must pay would slow redundancies and allow employers to take on new staff. They have also called for: the apprenticeship levy to be expanded, to support the retraining of UK workers in light of Covid-19; the introduction of flexible immigration laws from 2021 (to allow key sectors to access the skills and talent that they need); and funding of Statutory Sick Pay for all employees.
To read more about the REC’s Government recommendations, click HERE.
FastFutures is a completely free, 12 week online learning and virtual mentoring programme to help young people (18-22) from all backgrounds become job-ready. Following the first successful programme in September, which provided 1000 funded places, applications are now open for 2000 learners for the second programme, commencing in January 2021.
The programme consists of a variety of modules focused on developing key skills for work, including: the use of technology in modern day business; data; finance; and marketing. Learning will take place through a combination of self-paced learning, online classes, and virtual mentoring
Applications are open now until November 30th 2020.
Springboard have recently announced a new project, ‘Springboard to 2022’, the hospitality, leisure and tourism industry solution to join together the Government’s various support
packages. The project aims to train and prepare 10,000 young people for work in the hospitality sector in 2022, to avoid a gap in the talent pipeline as the industry recovers from the Coronavirus pandemic.
To find out more information about ‘Springboard to 2022’, click HERE.
In response to the current needs of the hospitality sector and its workers, Springboard, the hospitality charity, has transformed its careers information and advice portal, CareerScope. This portal pulls together the support available from five key partners – Springboard, UK Hospitality, Institute of Hospitality, Hospitality Action and Savoy Educational Trust – to provide a comprehensive package of advice and support (e.g. redundancy, financial, wellbeing), training, careers advice and jobs.
On 30th November – 8th December Accenture are hosting a virtual Movement to Work initiative, designed for unemployed people who are interested in a technology career. The programme provides opportunities to learn about the latest IT languages like HTML and Java, provides hands on activities and employability skills like communication skills and CV writing.
The London Learning Consortium have launched a skills programme to teach young people the skills needed for a successful career in the games industry. Using industry games development software, participants will learn how to create their own games and assets, organise and take part in their very own game jams, and discover the many technical and creative roles within the games industry! The course is free and open to anyone aged 16-19 years old (or up to the age of 25 with an EHC Plan). Start Date: 24th November 2020
End Date: 9th July 2021 Hours:
Tue / Thu: 9.45 am – 4.20 pm
Fri: 9.45 am – 12.40 pm Fees: Fully funded subject to eligibility criteria
For more information, or to save your free place, clickHERE.
