Agenda and minutes

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Contact: Martin Stevens  Email: martin.stevens@wolverhampton.gov.uk

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Items
No. Item

1.

Apologies and Substitutions

[To receive any apologies for absence and notfication of substitutions]. 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no apologies from Members of the Scrutiny Panel. 

2.

Declarations of interest

[To receive any declarations of interest].

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest. 

3.

Minutes of previous meeting pdf icon PDF 466 KB

[To approve the minutes of the previous meeting as a correct record]. 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

Resolved: The minutes of the previous meeting, held on 14 October 2021 were confirmed as a correct record. 

4.

Jobs, Skills and Learning Opportunities pdf icon PDF 2 MB

[To receive a presentation on jobs, skills and learning opportunities]. 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Work opened the presentation on Jobs, Skills and Learning Opportunities.   He gave a brief history on the education system in England over the last 100 years.  There was currently not a unified education, training or skills system.  It was an incredibly splintered, often poorly funded system and where control almost always seemed to be somewhere else.  He commended the report to the Panel.

 

The Head of Skills remarked that she had been appointed to the role in April 2021.  She stated it was important to generate jobs and learning opportunities in Wolverhampton as the City had high levels of unemployment at the fourth highest in the country and economic inactivity exacerbated by the pandemic.  Youth unemployment was the highest in the country, with over 2,660 young people aged between 18-24 not in education, employment or training.  This was from the Data used for the City Summit in November 2021.

 

She listed the barriers to employment or training as being: -

 

·       Lack of engagement with the job and learning opportunities.

·       Low skill levels, low academic attainment.

·       Lack of clarity over what opportunities available.

·       Ineffective careers information, advice and guidance.

·       Mismatch between supply and demand of job vacancies, leading to skills gaps and skills shortages.

·       Low aspiration and inter-generational unemployment.

·       Covid-compounded issues around low confidence, mental health and social isolation. 

 

The unemployment Claimant Count for Wolverhampton Local Authority area in the month of December 2021 was 13,345, this was 8.2% of the working population.  This was an improvement from the height of the Covid-19 pandemic when it had gone up to 17,435. 

 

The Vice-Chair commented that the slide showing the working age claimant count and rank referred to the closure of the Goodyear Plant in 2016.  He commented that most of the workforce had left by 2004 and so the job losses in 2016 were minimal. 

 

The Head of Skills stated that Wolverhampton had the highest percentage unemployment claimant count in the UK by Local Authority for people aged between 18-24.  This was using the figures from December 2021.  10.6% of people in this age group were claiming unemployment benefit.  The 16-17 year old participation rates were good and the City’s NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) levels were low.  The City consistently sat in the top quartile in the country for low NEET and not known figures.  The question to be asked was, “What happened at age 18.” 

 

The Head of Skills presented a slide on skill levels.  The percentage of people with no qualifications, using the data from January 2020 – December 2020, was a lot higher than the West Midlands and for Great Britain as a whole.  The Wolverhampton figure of 12.3% was almost double that of the Great Britain figure of 6.4%.  Wolverhampton did however have a high percentage of people with other Qualifications, this figure was at 11.35%.  These qualifications often related to overseas qualifications or industry and manufacturing - specific training.  The number of people with no qualifications  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.