o Local labour market intelligence
o Good Work Bromley
o Open discussion on employment and skills
Minutes:
The Chairman welcomed Neil Coates – LSEC Deputy Principal Apprenticeships, Adults and Higher Education (“Deputy Principal”), Liz Lake – LSEC Group Strategic Director for Projects and Partnerships (“Group Strategic Director”), Nina Sian – LSEC Director of Employer Engagement and Innovation and Bethan Doran – LBB SEND Employment Project Officer to the meeting to deliver a presentation covering the local labour market, Good Work Bromley and employment and skills (attached at Appendix C). Further information regarding the Good Work Bromley Exchange Launch is attached at Appendix D.
In response to a question from Christopher Evans – Community Links Bromley regarding the quality of jobs created, the Deputy Principal advised that this could be looked at in further detail as it could be measured by median wage data within the borough and sector roles. ACTION: LSEC
It was noted that in addition to getting people into work, there was a need to get people better jobs and provide them with more skills and experience – as well as employers getting more staff which allowed them to become more productive and widen their offer.
Gary Hillman – N. Hillman & Sons asked where jobs were advertised. The Deputy Principal advised that online platforms such as LinkedIn, Indeed and Reed were used to advertise jobs, as well as Jobcentre Plus. Christopher Evans – Community Links Bromley highlighted that recruiters needed to give consideration as to where adverts should be placed. It was noted that a separate issue to consider related to the London Living Wage and in-work poverty. The Group Strategic Director noted that a key performance indicator (KPI) of the work should be to measure the number of ‘good’ jobs, which met the London Living Wage.
The Group Strategic Director informed the Partnership that the Bromley People & Skills Programme (2023-25) focussed on Good Work Bromley, supporting care leavers into employment and the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) programme. The programme was funded by Local London, through the GLA – it would identify people who were on the margins of employment and find the labour market required by employers. The LBB SEND Employment Project Officer advised that the SEND programme was a collaboration with partners including Good Work Bromley Exchange, Bromley Mencap and CASPA to support young people with SEND or an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) into employment. The Group Strategic Director noted that the work was also focused on care leavers and those not in education, employment, or training (NEET).
The Group Strategic Director advised the Partnership that the Good Work Bromley Exchange was based at The Hive, LSEC Orpington Campus. The team received client referrals through the LSEC website (lsec.ac.uk) – their needs were assessed during a 1-2-1 meeting and the relevant pathway was identified. As part of the universal pathway, LSEC delivered Sector Work-Based Academy Programmes (SWAP). In response questions from the Chairman, the Group Strategic Director said that LSEC would work in partnership with employers that had vacancies to fill – the SWAP was a 5-week programme with a guaranteed interview at the end. The Director of Employer Engagement and Innovation noted that the people who participated in the SWAPs were close to the job market – they were eager to work and just wanted the opportunity to have an interview. The employer attended the SWAP during the second week to provide an overview of their business and meet the candidates that had been identified as wanting to work in that sector. The Deputy Principal highlighted that, as per the economic modelling, the largest proportion of job vacancies in Bromley were no/low-skilled and this was what the SWAPs were focussing on – preparing candidates for interviews and helping them get back into work. The Group Strategic Director said the vacancies were for lower skilled jobs – there was a proportion of the borough’s population that were economically inactive. The programme focussed on identifying these people and getting them to fill the vacancies. Christopher Evans – Community Links Bromley suggested that volunteering could be considered as an element of the pathways.
In response to a question from Michael Humphries – Handelsbanken regarding the targets for the year, the Deputy Principal advised that the project had funded targets, but they aspired to exceed these figures. The funded targets included engaging with 79 economically inactive people; demonstrating that 25 people were more employable; getting 25 people into work; and getting 5 people into ‘good’ work by March 2025. In response to a question from the Chairman, the Group Strategic Director advised that around 6% of the borough’s working age population were unemployed. Some of these people would never enter into employment, however since the pandemic there had been a government push to get those that retired early back into work – the whole 6% should be seen as an opportunity.
In response to a question from Bruce Walker – Lansdown Asset Management regarding the work with schools, the Group Strategic Director advised that the Good Work Bromley Exchange had officially launched earlier that day. A Multi-Academy Trust was part of the LSEC group, and the schools included Pupil Referral Units (PRU). These children had a high level of need and families had been identified, but they would like to speak with other Trusts to market the programmes. In response to a question from the Chairman, the Group Strategic Director said that the College had 650 learners with EHCPs and SEND support. It was noted that the more able students often went on to Sixth Form, while LSEC’s learners did not meet the criteria – many learners had additional needs, and they worked closely with them to boost their morale. The LBB SEND Employment Project Officer said that the SEND school population was growing and noted that from Year 9 pupils should discuss careers/employment as part of their EHCP. The Director of Employer Engagement and Innovation said that LSEC were also looking at a programme for NEET learners, Routes into Work. This was still at the development stage, and they would be happy to receive suggestions from employers regarding the skills needed.
Elena Diaconescu – Bromley Adult Education College said that the College would like to collaborate more closely with the LSEC initiatives, and she would contact the Group Strategic Director following the meeting.
Members of the Partnership were advised that any questions could be directed to: goodworkbromley@lsec.ac.uk and employers interested in offering support to candidates, developing a SWAP programme or sharing current vacancies could contact: employers@lsec.ac.uk. It was suggested that further discussions take place at a future meeting or consideration be given to setting up an Employment and Skills subgroup.
ACTION: LBB Economic Development Team
The Chairman thanked the LSEC Deputy Principal Apprenticeships, Adults and Higher Education, LSEC Group Strategic Director for Projects and Partnerships, LSEC Director of Employer Engagement and Innovation and LBB SEND Employment Project Officer for their presentation to the Partnership.
RESOLVED that the update be noted.