AT A MEETING of the SKILLS AND EMPLOYMENT COMMITTEE held in the Skills and Employment Centre, Spennymoor on MONDAY 19 JULY 2010 at 4.00 pm. Present Bishop Auckland College: A Armstrong, P Fisk, A Isherwood and C Middlemass Durham County Council: Councillor N Foster, G Williams and G Wood Also in attendance W Brown (Deputy Clerk) N Brough (Manager for Community Learning) R Richardson (Head of Business Development and Enterprise). 1
Appointment of Chair In accordance with the Management Agreement, P Fisk nominated and A Isherwood seconded A Armstrong as Chair of the Committee. A ARMSTRONG in the Chair
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Appointment of Vice Chair In accordance with the Management Agreement, Durham County Council nominated Councillor N Foster as Vice-Chair of the Committee. (Nominated by A Armstrong, seconded by P Fisk).
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Apologies for Absence Apologies for absence had been received from L Oliver, N Davison, N Brewster and S Ruddock.
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Declarations of Interest There were no Declarations of Interest made prior to the commencement of the meeting.
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Minutes The Minutes of the meeting held on the 26 April 2010 were confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.
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G Williams offered an update regarding the development of rural diplomas. The College proposal for £95k spend was considered. However there was uncertainty about the fund and also the possible removal of the entitlement by the Coalition Government of the entitlement to Diplomas for young people. The County Council is presently awaiting confirmation of whether year 2 of the capital budget will be funded. Confirmation of a substantial diplomas fund would also involve the College. G Williams will speak to A Isherwood about manufacturing and retail, food and other growth area opportunities. 7
Performance Report – Work Based Learning The profile year to date for contract for apprentice performance showed a £88k variance which had been agreed with the Skills Funding Agency, even though the College is over profile by 26 candidates. Presently, there are 70 apprentices programme. Apprentices are monitored on a monthly basis. P Fisk recommended continuing to pursue an aggressive marketing campaign to continue recruitment. There is a Hardship Fund accessible through the SFA which has enabled Apprentices to receive an allowance of £95 per week. Recruitment continues to raise concern; presently have 29 vacancies but not enough applications. Key factor is advertising to be able to notify the public of these vacancies although due to financial constraints have to rely on the good general marketing undertaken by the College without specific reference to apprentices. R Richardson suggested it would be better to advertise weekly. In the meantime the College is utilising the National Apprentice website. Marketing and publicity continues to be the main focus. There is a lot of Train to Gain monies to support training for those apprentices up to the age of 30 years. However will need to consider branding to ensure that employers know what it means regarding commitment. R Richardson will look at delivery models and to think about the employer in everything that is done to be able to match their needs. At the recent College Awards Evening, Matthew Bland, an apprentice in bricklaying was awarded the “Apprentice of the Year”. Matthew is employed by Derwentside Homes and has also recently won external competitions. Undeniably this confirms that delivery is good. Curriculum delivery and development is now embedded within the relevant teams to enable a consistent approach. This is in response to employer demand. Mears required apprentices in maintenance operation which is a combination of basic construction skills and in light of this the Sales Team are now targeting companies as to whether this is a kind of skill they want and have subsequently met with Durham County Council to look at tradesmen opportunities. Page 2 of 5
Also considering opportunity of developing NVQ apprenticeship in housing ie social housing and would expect demand from the public sector. Due to new Sainsbury’s and Tesco stores opening in Bishop Auckland, there is also retail and warehousing opportunities. Subsequently due to movement of people between businesses, there will be impact on other retailers and the possibility of retraining their staff. P Fisk questioned the contract for the next academic year which appears to be significantly higher than achievement to date particularly due to apprentices being made unemployed; no marketing budget, and queries how confident R Richardson is that he will meet next year’s target. R Richardson stressed the requirement of a marketing strategy but to understand that with the limiting budget it may not have the desired impact. A draft budget has been submitted to the Finance Section which upon consideration may need to be improved. In addition, The Northern Echo have been approached who offered a better deal if the College signed up to a campaign. However, it was proposed to offer a report to the paper about some of the problems being experienced by apprentices. P Fisk requested an action plan of the marketing campaign to support the recruitment of apprentices. The Working Neighbourhood Fund is now in a desperate state. The in year cut by the Government includes £1.6m of WNF which was managed through the programme without affecting delivery partners and therefore have no flexibility. Also reduces flexibility beyond March 2011 as it appears unlikely to be replaced. County wide are looking at £15-£16m of employability support and therefore it is not expected to be replaced. There is uncertainly of the future provision of this programme which raises uncertainty around single work programme, no idea of unit cost or whether flexible delivery programme. The SFA is pushing a move from TtG to convert to apprentices which will raise question as to how TtG can go forward. Within that there is provision of Level 2 becoming foundation apprentices and this has been flagged as important. There is potential of future jobs fund to enable Jobs Fair to highlight apprenticeship vacancies and G Wood will speak to the Durham County Council team and try to offer a push in this direction. The College’s first Jobs fair is being held on Wednesday 21 July 2010. The start of the new term is important due to places not being taken up. A Isherwood raised the issue of rebranding in order to raise aspirations and clarify parents perceptions of apprenticeship programmes, the graduate apprenticeships and links to foundation degree in level 4 and other future developments. It was recognised that the College needs to get better at targeting schools before the end of term and to raise the profile of apprenticeship vacancies.
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Performance Report – Adult Provision The success of the Gateway to Work programme was acknowledged. South West Durham has a high performance figure compared to other providers. FTET and BET New Deal Skills Programme has 80% achievement for this qualification. Performance on the ESF Route Ways Training is 48% and is unaffected by the change in Government. Some are below benchmark which is expected due to the present economic climate. The Rural Diploma is to be shelved although G Williams hopes there will be further news available regarding this by September. However, the deadline to spend has been extended to August 2011 rather than March as originally notified. The College is involved with the new Tesco and Sainsbury’s stores being built in Bishop Auckland by linking to adult provision and 6 month unemployed. N Brough is pursuing leverage of funding to link to employer training programmes to run from July to September. Open days held so far have seen 358 clients pass through. Hope to engage further apprentices, such as warehousing, through Launchpad. Durham County Council is presently in discussion with the HR Manager of Asda regarding pre-employment programme; interest for retailing remains strong – particularly leading up to the Christmas demand. In addition, there is to be a new Aldi store built in Newton Aycliffe as part of the redevelopment. The routeway of directing into employment is good to take forward. Speedy Chef, linked to hotels and public houses, is training kitchen staff to NVQ level 2 in 12 weeks. The college is looking at relevant courses. Newcastle College have had significant success with this provision. First attempt to recruit has not had much response so considering to run in September. Need to be careful about improving tourism and perception of hospitality programme. It is an intensive job but raises questions about the quality of programme. Another sector where apprentices can fit in is in health and social care and it was agreed to monitor demand in this area. Key is that curriculum development is meeting demand. N Foster offered update regarding Durham Gate – highways work contract is out to tender. It is envisaged that 2,500 jobs will be available.
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The College is in the process of development apprenticeships in care and which has just received acknowledgement from the SFA. This provision is developed in response to employers needs. However, the College need staff to be able to deliver, although can sub contract if necessary. There is a forthcoming opportunity to offer advice and guidance at The Work Place to enable marketing of health and social care through a one day taster opportunity to schools. 8
Finance Report Main areas of curriculum are employer responsive, learner responsive and adult programmes. Adult programmes increased contribution to 59% opposed to budget of 53%. Short fall of £92k below target probably reaching £100k for the year Decline in learner responsive in technology although the College have over achieved its overall target. New deal structures and impact – expect to see changes to funding stream during 2010. Capital – retain funding although presently waiting for confirmation of revenue. Income and expenditure is for a full year; important to draw investment for next year. In view of FIP it is ahead of target; although presently at 73%. FIP work will reduce staffing expenditure significantly; first stages show significant savings in this area of work. RR is to look at sub structure below management level which will lead to savings and efficiencies. Cost of expenses of 74k is now being strictly scrutinised. Expenditure on Chilton is finished. Budget for 10/11 will be available for next meeting. Results reflect the concerns and problems with TtG and apprentices. In addition to staff need to look at other expenses. The Income and Expenditure document is transparent and it would be useful for it to be spread across other areas of the organisation. There were no items raised under any other business.
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Date of next meeting The Committee agreed that its next meting be held on 18 October 2010.
Meeting closed at 4.40 pm. Page 5 of 5