Presentation to LSP Meeting 15

th

February 2007

Economic Development Learning and Skills Partnership Jane Bracewell, EDLSP Chair Learning and Skills Council and Stuart Kitchen, Assistant Director, Economic Development, Salford City Council

Employment Achievements to Date:

• Rising Employment Rate since 1995 • Increased employment for groups in Salford, except low skilled • Improved partnership working – merger of ED Forum and Lifelong Learning Partnership • City Strategy Pathfinder Status • Developing 2 new Skills Groups: Sector Skills and Skills for Life & Adult Learning • Effective delivery of targeted projects, including: Jobshops, Stepping Stones (LPSA2), Co-ordination of Skills For Life (& LPSA2), Salford Construction Partnership, and LPSA1.

Understanding the Labour Market CESI Labour Market Analysis:

• Improved understanding of Salford’s labour market position • Baselines and trajectory planning for EDLSP Strategy and LAA • Identified key disadvantaged groups – priority for older workers, sick & disabled and low qualified • 34,700 residents are Economically Inactive (26.7%), of which: • 16,860 residents claim Incapacity Benefits • child poverty rates are above average, nearly 12,000 children / 37% are in families receiving a workless DWP benefit

Employment Future Priorities:

• The challenge is more and better jobs for Salford residents – improve supply-side, more employer-led • JSA – improve performance of ND 18-24 • IB – substantially increase those wanting work

and

seeking work • Lone parents – maintain employment rate increase and improve NDLP • Over-50’s – need more emphasis and new initiatives • Low skilled – concerted effort to increase skill levels • Child Poverty – focus on families and audit all activities • Geography – greater focus on wards with highest levels of claimants.

Employment Issues/Barriers:

• Understanding what ‘mainstream provision’ will deliver • Data – improved & more local information and increased sharing • Enabling Measures to deliver LAA and City Strategies • Flexible and local approach to delivering integrated services, constraints on JC+ and others may prevent joint working • Short term/disjointed funding rounds – will City Strategies deliver a more strategic and co-ordinated approach?

• • • •

Delivery of Adult Skills Provision 2006/07

Level 2

– only 87% of GM planned FE provision expected to be delivered (2,132 learners in Salford colleges – 47% full Level 2; 29% first full Level 2)

Level 2

– only 50% of planned Train to Gain provision delivered to date – mostly in care sector

Level 3

– achieving planned provision across GM (1,180 learners in Salford colleges – 69% full Level 3; 32% first full Level 3) -

Challenges

Level 2 – 24% increase in FE provision in 2007/08 Level 2 – increase proportion of provision on employer premises Train to Gain – Stimulate employer demand; further flexibility of skills offer

Delivery of Skills for Life Provision

• Over target for GM (over 68,000 people aged over 16 achieving at least one SfL qualification between 2003/04 and 2005/06) •

Challenges

increase proportion of provision which leads to target qualification (70%: 30% split) focus on adults rather than young people focus on numeracy rather than literacy funding to meet Salford’s needs

•

Young People’s Participation in Learning 2006/07

Achieving planned numbers across GM

• growth in FE (4,975 learners in Salford colleges) 10% decline in Entry to Employment, Apprencticeships 35 learners at Irlam and Cadishead Community High School sixth form • 2.8% growth projected in 2007/08 across GM compared with cohort growth of 1.1% - Salford colleges projecting 13% growth

Challenges

258 (9.47%) Salford Year 11 leavers NEET on 1 November 2006 ‘drop-out’ at 17 (around 10% in Salford) expansion of ‘programme-led’ Apprenticeships

• •

Salford Young People’s Success in

•

Learning

Level 2 by age 19

51% in 2004 (17% more than by age 16) 56% in 2005 (21% more than by age 16) 2006 data not yet available but 55% already achieved by age 18

Level 3 by age 19

27% in 2004 31% in 2005 2006 data not yet available but 27% already achieved by age 18 -

Challenges

Level 2: success to include English and Maths Level 3: lowest percentage attainment across GM

Business and Investment

Achievements to Date: • Business - 3rd quarter results show good performance against key performance indicators (ED Strategy, Community plan, Best Value plan) LPI 97 no of new start ups - 83 out of annual target of 87 LPI 98 no of business support enquiries - 525 out of annual target of 740 • Investment - 3rd quarter results show excellent performance against key performance indicators LPI 95 no of inward investment enquiries (inward and indigenous) - exceeded the annual target, 534 compared to 250 LPI 101 no of jobs created/safeguarded through intervention - exceeded the annual target, 1,336 compared to 1,005 LSP 32 no of inward/indigenous investments - 24 compared to annual target of 30

• • • • •

Understanding the Business and Investment Market

Business Headlines: Healthy, rapidly growing, city-wide business economy Salford grew faster than any other district in GM significant increases in the number of micro enterprises (1 – 10 employees) significant growth in the number of large businesses (200+ employees) Micro business economy - 78.6% of businesses employ 1 – 10 employees Higher than average number of medium and large employers (50+ employees) (5.8%), compared to GM, NW, and England averages. Key growth sectors represented; Public, FP,

Creative/Digital/New Media

, Manufacturing Significant Employment Growth – 11.4% compared to nat/reg averages (5.3/6.6%)

Understanding the Business and Investment Market

• • Business Headlines : Business growth concentrated in 2 of the 5 priority wards – Ordsall and Irwell Riverside; highest start up & failure rates; density and stock very dynamic (99/06) Other priority wards playing catch up – Langworthy and Little Hulton largest growth in stock, density and start ups since 2002 • Some areas of under-performance/concern low start ups in certain areas low rates of female self employment international trade – lower than average no of businesses exporting (6.75%) compared to sub regional average (9.5%) business crime identified by businesses as a key barrier to growth access to finance identified by businesses as the number one barrier to growth

Understanding the Business and Investment Market

Investment Headlines : • City-wide economy is prospering growth and development of Salford Quays take up of employment land for office and industrial development (154 hectares) increase in the number of property enquiries over the last three years (268 – 329) increase in the number of relocations into Salford in the last 3 years (9 – 24) strong local economic benefit results from Salford and other GM investments (37% of employees from 20% most deprived wards) • Strong developer interest in the city and growing trend for speculative build

Business and Investment

Future Priorities - Business: • Support for growth/key sectors; Skills issues of priority sectors, e.g. financial and professional – we need more young people getting L3 and L4 vocational and occupational skills • Work with Manchester: Knowledge capital to promote the knowledge economy and science city in Salford • Increase the businesses base (6th in GM behind Man/Traf/Stock/Bolton/Wigan) Promote entrepreneurial activity (start ups) in disadvantaged areas and to groups (women) Support services for micro enterprises Retain large businesses Encourage increased growth and capacity of social enterprises Work with MIDAS and UKTI to encourage international trade Address key barriers to business growth – access to finance and business crime

•

Business and Investment

Future Priorities - Business : Understand mainstream delivery: engage with NWDA/Business Link on the rollout of Agency start up services and Business Link ‘universal‘ services, ensuring Salford’s priorities/sectors are picked up. • Promote and encourage take up of Train to Gain by local employers • Engage with Manchester Enterprises and GM LA’s on ‘business simplification’ • Deliver LAA enterprise targets • Develop new LEGI bid • Derive local economic benefit from businesses • Develop new KPIs and adopt new ED Strategy

•

Business and Investment

Future Priorities - Investment : Employment Land Review, providing: Baseline information on the use and condition of employment land and property Ongoing information, monitoring and intelligence Evidence for the protection of key employment land and release of unsuitable employment land • Support the development of key UDP allocated sites, e.g. Barton • Develop the regional centre (CS URC) • Monitor and mitigate against the risks of the new economy, i.e. outsourcing, by working with MIDAS to encourage new and indigenous investment

Business and Investment

• Future Priorities - Investment : Attract large businesses from key/growth sectors • Ensure balanced property portfolio for micro, medium and large firms • Reduce vacancy rates – encourage investment into refurbishment of old and poor quality industrial stock • Spread investment successes across the city • Derive local economic benefit from investors such as BBC • Develop new KPIs and adopt new ED strategy

Business and Investment

Issues and Barriers: • Key partner engagement sign up to LAA is problematic - Business Link and NWDA unwilling to engage at local authority district level • Data and information sharing – systematic collection and sharing of data needed • ‘Universal service’ – need to see what it looks like in practice – potential issues around pre start and pre start training