5 minute read
Skills and Employability
COLLABORATION IS THE KEY TO
BRIDGING THE SKILLS GAP
Peter Sandman Commercial Director at The City of Liverpool College
The challenge of skills and talent gaps continues to widen in key sectors and industry continue to experience barriers in bridging the training needs for a sustainable workforce. As educators, we have a responsibility to equip young people with the skills and knowledge employers are looking for and ensure they are primed for industry post-study.
Committed to building a skilled workforce, The City of Liverpool College tailors curriculum based on industry connections. In line with this, I have recently been appointed as the College’s first Commercial Director, to enhance industry relationships, gain insight into the needs of business which can then be applied to studies, and strengthen the connection between student and employer.
While we’ve already made great progress in our city region, the impact of Covid-19, the increasing impact of digital innovation and the region’s commitment to net zero is central to our planning. This will mean increased collaboration between the College and industry will be essential if regional targets for economic growth and productivity are to be met.
Many institutes offer workplace opportunities for students which employers can utilise to source talent and assist in building the future workforce. Apprenticeships, for example, unlock the potential of workers at all career stages, allowing employers to grow the talent and skills they need, and that’s a game changer for any business. The introduction of T Levels, the technical-based qualifications for 16 - 19-year-olds, provides a new blend of study and work experience that will play a pivotal role in building the talent pipeline into employment and progression into higher level training. As more institutes begin introducing T Levels from September – the College’s offering covering digital, health, education, engineering and manufacturing – there’s huge scope for collaboration.
Alternatively, work placements are an opportunity to inspire new perspectives among those within business. Young people bring fresh ideas which could open new and emerging markets for employers, along with helping employees increase their understanding of modern learning processes.
The responsibility for upskilling, reskilling, and progressing our nation’s workforce is a duty that falls on us all – as educators and employers. By working together, we can blur the lines between academia and industry and ensure our next generation learners have the knowledge and skills required for the working world.
Find out more at www.liv-coll.ac.uk
UNICOURSE ACADEMY 2022
UniCourse is delighted to confirm the official commencement of UniCourse Academy in September 2022. The academy’s core goal is to focus on filling skills gaps that local employees are facing in the post-Covid economy and beyond.
The first course to take place in UniCourse Academy is a six-week, one afternoon per week City & Guild ILM Level 3 Performance Management pathway, targeted to employees who have or will soon have leadership or management responsibilities but lack relevant formal qualifications. The academy has been fitted with state-ofthe-art equipment and technology to facilitate a learning model in touch with the demands of the digital era.
Employee performance is recognised as the backbone of organisational success. A well-executed performance management framework can encourage the development of a high-performance culture and provide a clear link between individual goals and organisational objectives.
UniCourse Academy will be holding an open day on Friday 2nd September at UniCourse HQ at 1 Old Hall Street. The open day will serve to provide an introduction to UniCourse Academy, its goals, an introduction to ILM (Institute of Leadership & Management), and an open discussion about the training that can be provided in the future to help local businesses achieve their organisational targets and goals.
LCR GRAD SCHEME
Every year, thousands of students start their university journey at one of the Liverpool City Region’s higher education institutions. They study here for any number of reasons – the course is best-in-class; the nightlife is buzzing; Liverpool is home and staying here will minimise the financial burden.
Every year, we have an unbridled amount of talent learning in our City – many of whom also want to start their career here. However, this is where we fail as, put simply, there is not enough graduate level employment on offer. We are losing LCR grown talent to Manchester or Birmingham, where a significant proportion of highvolume graduate recruiters now have offices. Worse still, we also have far too many graduates in low skilled jobs, even at one year after graduating.
It is in our power to change the narrative. As the LCR Skills Strategy states, ‘Transformational change will only occur if Liverpool City Region partners build on their long history of working collectively and collaboratively across public and private sectors.’
The LCR Grad Scheme, part-funded by the European Social Fund and run by the University of Liverpool’s Careers and Employability Team, is paving the way to
do just this. On behalf of local SMEs, the project team headed up by Kerry McElroy, LCR Grad Scheme Project Manager runs a campaign to attract students and graduates, and a thorough recruitment process to send the right candidates for each SME to final round interview. Most importantly, graduates hired join a training and development programme to ease the transition into the world of work and build innovative skill-sets to benefit the SME, such as social media marketing and agile project management. This also creates a cohort of LCR Grads with an invaluable crossindustry support and professional network to enhance their future prospects.
Since inception in September 2021, 50 SMEs have registered and 25 graduates have been placed, with this number growing consistently. The project offers resources to support and develop graduates, a lack of which is often the stumbling block for small businesses otherwise open to hiring at this level. The feedback so far has been great, with one SME saying ‘We’ve had the chance to be introduced to applicants who wouldn’t necessarily have known about us had it not been for the LCR Grad Scheme. It has allowed us to pick the crème de la crème of candidates.’
This could be the blueprint to help local businesses create more graduate level jobs and transform Liverpool from a student city to a graduate destination.
