Area Focus: Coventry
Coventry City of Culture Trust signs MOU with industry union bodies
Front l/r
Stephen Brown, Martin Sutherland, Millicent Stephenson. Middle l/r, Tonia Daley Campbell, Michael Corfield, Fanklyn Spencer. Back l/r Paul Fleming, Ian Manborde, Lee Barron, Ian Bayes
Midlands TUC Cultural & Leisure Industries Committee, Equity, BECTU and Musicians’ Union. The trust and the unions shared aspirations to ensure that all creatives and freelancers are paid and recognised appropriately and signed an agreement that commits the trust to offering terms that “exceed those in recognised industrywide contracts and rates”. This MOU is the foundation of a Fair Pay Manifesto that the trust aims to launch early next year. This will seek to further promote the need for those working in the creative and cultural sector to be appropriately and fairly compensated for their time and experience. Coventry City of Culture Trust will also encourage its partners and stakeholders to engage with appropriate unions to create agreements for creative sector workers they employ.
Martin Sutherland, chief executive of Coventry City of Culture Trust, said: “This is a very important commitment by the trust, one which recognises that those who work in the creative and cultural sectors have a right to be employed with good terms and conditions. “Coventry 2021 seeks to leave a legacy of a stronger arts and culture sector in the region and that can only be done if the work of artists and creative freelancers is valued, both through recognition and conditions of employment.” Paul Fleming, general secretary of Equity, said: “This ground-breaking MOU sends a really clear message. Not only are today’s artists doing important work which deserves proper terms and conditions, but the artists of tomorrow, inspired by the City of Culture, can rely on the union movement to build a stable and inclusive industry.”
Cabinet Office recognition for Coventry engineering Coventry’s apprenticeship boost company Coventry City of Culture Trust has signed a pledge to ensure that all artists and creatives who work on their projects, as part of Coventry UK City of Culture 2021, will do so on terms that exceed the industry standard. The trust signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) after working with the cultural sector union bodies including
Whiteley Brooks Engineering has been awarded a certificate from the Cabinet Office thanking it for the invaluable contribution to its Ventilator Challenge UK team on behalf of Penlon. The Coventry-based engineering company, which specialises in CNC machining, wiring and grinding, produced components for a company for its ventilators. The components were manufactured with many design changes and there was an increase in numbers produced. This work meant that the company didn’t have to furlough as many staff as first thought, given that the main customers are predominately motorsports companies and this industry has been affected by the pandemic. The company utilised a number of machines and hours available to produce parts for the ventilators. Time was critical and colleagues pulled together to work around the clock to hit deadlines and in some cases exceed them. The duration of the project was two months. The company has a real sense of pride to have been able to help in a time of need. Gear Purewal, managing director, said: “I’m delighted with the recognition we have received and for the company to have helped in these unprecedented times. As a company, we take great pleasure in how we can diversify our skills and knowledge to meet customers’ needs.”
Coventry is experiencing the beginnings of an apprenticeship recovery, according to the city’s leading further education provider. Coventry College – which teaches around 8,000 students – has enrolled nearly 100 apprentices since September, despite the ongoing challenges faced by the region’s businesses due to the coronavirus pandemic. The construction, plumbing and automotive sectors are driving apprenticeship demand at the college. It follows the introduction of the government’s Kickstart scheme, where employers receive state funding for taking on 16-to-24-year-olds
who are on Universal Credit for a six-month job placement. This includes a £1,500 grant if needed, while each apprentice’s national minimum wage is also paid for by government. Lorraine Cole is a team leader for sales and recruitment at Coventry College, and helps to connect employers with the next regeneration of talent. She said: “The business community has been in damage limitation mode for quite some time, so to see nearly 100 of our apprentices securing placements in industry over the past three months is a really encouraging sign – and a strong platform to build on.
“The financial aid provided by the government’s Kickstart scheme has undoubtedly helped small businesses to be able to recruit young people, while others are sole traders who have had to carry on working through the pandemic when they’ve been allowed to, and have turned to an apprentice to help them meet demand. “For example, our motor vehicle apprentices have been assisting their wider industry’s efforts to meet a backlog of demand for MOTs and vehicle servicing, while some plumbers have needed extra resource to respond to more domestic enquiries
because more people are now spending more time at home. “We are also starting to see more companies using the government’s traineeship programme, where they receive a £1,000 payment for each young person they provide work experience to for six months before potentially offering them an apprenticeship.”
A crucial time for the events and exhibitions sector
The events and exhibitions industry in Coventry and Warwickshire is facing disaster without a clear roadmap to reopening. The warning was sounded at a virtual round-table meeting between members of the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce and Coventry South MP Zarah Sultana. Representatives from the 16 businesses that attended
said they felt they had been pushed to the back of the queue and needed to lobby harder for a clear timetable of when events and exhibitions will be allowed to begin to take place. They questioned why similar sectors had been allowed to open up over the summer while events and exhibitions companies had been forced to stay shut, despite proving they could operate COVID-19-safely in a national pilot. Among the other issues raised were the need for a bespoke financial package that included more grants rather than loans that were currently on offer, an extended business rate holiday beyond the current financial
year, and for the VAT reduction to five per cent to continue for the foreseeable future. Sean Rose, Policy Officer at the Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “This is a very crucial time for the events and exhibitions sector, which in 2018 was reported to be worth £42.3bn to UK plc. While there is the need for further financial support, the clear message is that the best way forward for them is to have a clear timetable for reopening. “Our members say want to know the Government understands their situation and want it to acknowledge that. This is a sector of the economy that feels it can play a major role in
post-Covid-19 recovery, but one that is left scratching its head as to what their future looks like.” Zarah Sultana, MP for Coventry South, said: “It’s an understatement to say this sector has missed out on the support that’s been available so far. There is clearly a need for a bespoke financial package from the Chancellor with more grants crucial, otherwise by taking on debt they will be simply kicking the can down the road. “But more importantly they need a reopening date that they can work with. Exhibitions and events cannot simply open up overnight, businesses need a clear timescale to work to. At the moment they don’t have that.”
Manufacturing Technology Centre wins top placement award The Coventry-based Manufacturing Technology Centre has won a top university award for its commitment to providing exceptional opportunities and support for students on industrial placements. The MTC was named “Best Large Placement Employer” in the University of Leicester’s Placements Awards 2020. Presented at a virtual ceremony, the awards were created to recognise the invaluable industry experiences that employers give degree students out on placement. The in-work experience gained by students on the placement
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element of their degree builds on their academic training so they can apply their knowledge and deliver tangible value to employers in the workplace. George Cattle, one of the latest University of Leicester students to embark on a placement at the MTC, said the university’s judges were looking for a company that showed dedication and encouragement to placement students while helping them gain transferable employability skills. He said: “The university chose the MTC as the award winner because of the brilliant
opportunities and support that the centre offers to young people. I’m just one of many lucky students from all age groups and backgrounds who have had an opportunity to gain fantastic practical experience in both engineering and business within an innovative, exciting organisation.” Over the past eight years, the MTC has provided placement opportunities for more than 40 students from academic institutions including its founding universities, the University of Birmingham, Loughborough University and the University
of Nottingham, as well as others including Aston, Cambridge, Coventry, Sheffield and Swansea. Dr Clive Hickman, MTC chief executive, said: “The MTC’s core purpose is to create a significant positive impact on society. Providing high-quality placements that provide real-life experience of our emerging technologies is a natural part of our commitment to helping to empower industry through skills, and creating the next generation of engineering professionals.” For further information visit www.the-mtc.org
George Cattle with the University of Leicester student placement award
www.cw-chamber.co.uk
