Barnsley College

APPRENTICESHIPS AT THE FOREFRONT

OF ECONOMIC RECOVERY

Ahead of National Apprenticeships Week, the team at Barnsley College share with unLTD how apprenticeships allow young people to develop their potential and enter the workforce earlier – and look ahead to their own events during the week, too

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact the labour market, job prospects for young people aged 16-24 remain an increasing cause for concern, whilst the Office for National Statistics reports that the national economy faces a record-breaking jobs crisis.[1]

Analysis by the Institute of Fiscal Studies[2] reinforces this fact, painting a bleak picture for several groups within society who are hardest hit by sector shut downs during the pandemic. Those aged under 25 are 2.5 times more likely to work in a shut down sector than other employees, whilst low skilled, low earners are seven times as likely as high earners to work in such a sector.

To support the nation’s economic recovery from the pandemic, the Government launched its ‘Plan For Jobs’[3] in July 2020. This acknowledged that these groups are amongst the hardest hit and promotes a raft of initiatives and incentives to protect them from long-term unemployment. An investment of £1.6 billion is aimed at scaling up employment support schemes, training and apprenticeships, to help society’s most vulnerable onto the career ladder. Last month’s ‘Skills for Jobs’[4] white paper puts even greater emphasis onto the conversation around skills, strategic support to employers and co-developing future technical education; the green economy and the levelling up agenda.

Until the end of March, employers may be awarded funding of £2,000 for hiring new apprentices aged 16-24 years, or £1,500 for those aged 25 and older. This is in addition to the existing £1,000 grant that can be obtained by employers who hire an apprentice aged 16-18 years, or those under 25 years who have an Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP) or are in local authority care.

Apprenticeships allow young people to develop their potential and enter the workforce earlier, whilst employers benefit from access to the next generation of

talent. Those new apprentices are immersed in their employer’s culture and practices whilst they earn a wage and learn essential skills, knowledge and behaviours to invest back into the business.

In fact, the benefits to both apprentice and employer stretch much further than this. That is reflected in the fact that employers in England got 271,900[5] apprenticeships underway in the first nine months of the 2019/20 academic year, despite the economic turmoil inflicted by COVID-19.

Those aged 25 and over made-up 44.7 per cent[4] of those apprenticeship starts, demonstrating that employers value apprenticeships not only for growing their workforce by recruiting school leavers, but also to upskill those members of their team who are more experienced or qualified. The majority of those older apprentices are likely to be studying apprenticeships up to Level 7 (university/degree level qualifications).

Barnsley College supports around 1,500 employers across Yorkshire and even more beyond, with a growing team and portfolio of training programmes and qualifications which is designed to support the entire workforce development strategy.

The College is rated outstanding by Ofsted and employs a dedicated Business Development team to work with employers, identifying talent to nurture and skills gaps to fill, whilst also supporting succession planning for key roles.

Barnsley-based XPO Logistics supports new and existing employees to achieve the Level 2 Supply Chain Warehouse Operative Apprenticeship Standard with Barnsley College. Florin Florea, apprentice co-ordinator at the firm, said: “The apprenticeship helps us to retain talent and it often propels an existing employee into a different role that offers them new challenges and greater fulfilment. Others are very happy to return to the same job and they give back more to the business having become more qualified, knowledgeable, and skilled. Over time, we are nurturing the development of our whole workforce so that each colleague is multi-skilled and has an in-depth understanding of the core business.”

Barnsley College offers more than 70 apprenticeship pathways from Level 2 to Level 7. These serve a multitude of job roles and sectors from Accountancy, Construction and Beauty Therapy to Management, Teaching and Warehousing and Logistics. Historically, the College has enjoyed apprenticeship success rates above the national average.

Angela Kerley, assistant principal - apprenticeships at Barnsley College, said: “Our team has recently extended to Shropshire and the West Midlands, where we have a locally based apprenticeship team and training facilities to serve a growing regional client base. Additionally, our acquisition of Independent Training Services Ltd./SmartStyle Training Ltd. (ITS) extends our reach to employers, apprentices and students in the North West and East Midlands regions.

“Our resources and provision are continually evolving and improving with the addition of T Levels (Technical qualifications) and content to our curriculum that will prepare our apprentices and students for an increasingly digitised world. We continue to invest heavily in our estate and facilities, having most recently transformed our SciTech Campus into the Digital Innovation Hub which opened its doors in September 2020.”

Investment in the College’s digital curriculum is aligned with Barnsley’s ‘TechTown Five Year Action Plan.’ This aims to create ‘more and better jobs’ and businesses by promoting the acquisition of digital skills, digital entrepreneurship and the use of digital technology to transform existing businesses, all towards addressing the digital skills gap which threatens to cost the UK economy over £100billion in GDP growth. Apprenticeships added to the curriculum cover areas such as Digital Marketing, Cyber Security, Data Analysis, Software Development and Network Engineering.

Barnsley College will be hosting virtual events during National Apprenticeship Week (8-14 February) which will cover benefits to businesses, courses offered, positives of studying, how to apply, finance and funding and more.

FLORIN FLOREA, APPRENTICE CO-ORDINATOR AT XPO LOGISTICS

Barnsley College offers more than 70 apprenticeship pathways from Level 2 to Level 7. These serve a multitude of job roles and sectors.

A BARNSLEY COLLEGE STUDENT (CATERING AND HOSPITALITY)

Register at barnsley.ac.uk/events or find out about workforce development from Barnsley College at barnsley.ac.uk/employers

References

1. ‘Employment in the UK:

January 2021’ (Office for National

Statistics)

2. ‘Sector Shutdowns during the coronavirus crisis: which workers are most exposed?’ (Institute for

Fiscal Studies)

3. ‘Plan for Jobs’ (Gov.uk)

4. ‘Skills for Jobs’ (Gov.uk)

5. ‘Apprenticeships and Traineeships, England

THE BREXIT ERA BEGINS

Following years of debate and discussion the Brexit era has begun with a new trade deal. Brightfinch’s Zeeshan Ashraf talks unLTD through the deal and its impact in terms of planning, duty mitigation and risk management

The last-minute deal may offer tariff free access to the single market for UK goods, but the cost of doing business with the EU has increased significantly. Apart from the customs declaration fees, businesses are now facing an extra administrative burden in an already challenging economic climate due to the covid-19 pandemic.

Although no import duties are payable for goods of EU origin imported into the UK and British goods exported to the EU, UK exporters must ensure that their goods meet EU requirements in many sectors such as food and drink. Tariff free trade is welcomed by all sides however some British goods may also be subject to EU quotas.

In addition, import VAT must now be taken into account when exporting to the EU if UK companies wish to continue trading on a duty paid basis in order to overcome the extra administrative hurdles for EU customers.

The treatment of foreign entities for import VAT purposes is not uniform across the EU. Some countries offer Limited Fiscal Representation (LFR) which doesn’t necessarily require a local VAT registration number. Other countries are offering the option of General Fiscal Representation (GFR) which requires local VAT registration, but allows the exporter to apply for a VAT deferment account. Some EU nations offer both options and others neither.

Both of these solutions are likely to require a fiscal representative which could incur a monthly fee for VAT returns even if there are no imports into the EU.

Brexit has realised some of our worst fears with a clear lack of customs professionals both in the public and private sectors to facilitate the necessary processes. Those that are able to provide customs services are working around the clock up to seven days a week.

Some companies importing into the UK before supplying customers in the EU are now facing a potential double duty cost when exporting to the EU.

Delays at the border crossings, running into many hours and in some cases days, have halted a large proportion of the export trade in perishable goods - such as seafood and meat - which require seamless frontier operations to thrive. In addition, health certificates are now required for these goods which are both costly and time consuming.

An increasing number of EU hauliers are refusing to undertake UK journeys due to the extra time, cost and unpredictability, which are crucial factors in logistical planning. The global picture is equally bleak as some traders have reported sky-rocketing fees for shipping containers owing to the pandemic in China and the hesitance of some shipping operators to trade with the UK.

It seems that nobody is immune to the new realities of Brexit as consumers have discovered that an innocent online shopping trip can land them with a bill for customs charges and even import duties in some cases. This is due in part to the customs declarations that must now be submitted and to EU traders using tools such as customs warehousing whereby goods of Chinese origin for example are held without ZEESHAN ASHRAF, BRIGHTFINCH incurring EU duties if the final destination is outside of the EU.

However, a crisis can also present opportunities. Despite the difficulties mentioned above, businesses can mitigate some of the fallout by utilising customs authorisations such as customs warehousing, Inward and Outward Processing Relief and various other trade facilitation tools. Many traders are exploring their customs arrangements for the first time which should lead to positive outcomes both in terms of planning, duty mitigation and risk management.

STAY IN TOUCH WITH YOUR CLIENTS, WHATEVER THE CIRCUMSTANCE

The team at Hydra Creative tell unLTD why marketers shouldn’t cut their budget during the pandemic – and explain why the benefits of ongoing marketing are ‘limitless’

As the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the UK, many marketers had the knee-jerk reaction of pausing all activity and cutting their budgets.

In principle, this seems like a wise move. Why try to sell if your doors are closed, or not legally permitted to sell?

But this was a short-term solution to what would soon become a long-term problem. Historically, recessionary periods actually provide ‘fertile ground to grow market share’. Why?

⚫ With competitors pulling their spend, we have a bigger opportunity to gain market share ⚫ We need to remind our clients, existing and prospective, that we are ‘still here’ ⚫ Statistically, companies that increased their advertising budget had a more successful

‘bounce back’ post-recession.

While some of these figures date back to as far as 100 years ago, the message still stands. Today, we have the power of digital marketing – removing barriers to market and providing a cost-effective, measurable alternative.

So, what techniques should we be using to survive during a pandemic?

Google Ads

In 2020, Google announced a $340 million grant for small businesses to use on Google Ads. While the deadline has passed now, the effects of COVID-19 on advertising spend remain positive. The same competitive keywords are now less expensive per click than they were before.

For best results, try:

⚫ Using Google’s extended features (which are expanding all the time), for example, targeting campaigns based on specific goals such as traffic, leads or app promotion ⚫ Focusing on existing customers, getting their attention through remarketing display ads ⚫ Reviewing your market share more often to check how consumer habits are changing.

Social media marketing

Like Google Ads, social media pay-per-click advertising has fallen to record lows. For best results, you should combine both ads and organic posts into your messaging. For example:

⚫ Regular updates on the company for the ‘personal touch’, plus information on how you’ve ‘pivoted’, if appropriate ⚫ Paid ads with a sympathetic tone of voice – acknowledging the crisis but changing the message to reflect how you can help the customer ⚫ Facebook ads can be combined with Instagram to provide a cost-effective insight into your customers.

Strategise your content

Content without a purpose is simply content for content’s sake. Everything you produce should have a goal in mind, thinking about the customer funnel. For example:

⚫ It’s not always about the sell – your content could inspire or show empathy, provoking discussion and increasing your reach ⚫ Content needs to help people. Look for ‘newsjacking’ opportunities – for example, an accountant might write a guide to COVID-19 small business grants ⚫ Distribute! B2B content should be shared on

LinkedIn, for example, while

B2C infographics might serve better on Instagram.

Continue with your email marketing

With more time on their hands, your customers will engage with your emails more than ever before. In fact, email marketing increased by 44 per cent during 2020, with many businesses taking to newsletters to keep customers updated. Remember:

⚫ Clean your data regularly and segment based on the intention of the campaign ⚫ Use a mixture of promotional and informative content ⚫ Promote the newsletter through other channels to gain new subscribers.

Above all – stay connected!

The pandemic has given us all a chance to be more ‘personal’, with the prevalence of Zoom and new channels such as TikTok. Video marketing does not have to be expensive, and can provide a much more human experience if possible.

Talk to your customers. They’re going through it, too, and would sooner speak to a human than a faceless brand. The pandemic may be short-term, but the benefits of ongoing marketing are limitless.

Talk to Hydra Creative today to discuss your marketing strategy.