Business West report reveals urgent need for skills training re-design in the aerospace and social care sectors as workforces shrink during the pandemic and post-Brexit

20th April 2022

Two key sectors of the West of England economy – aerospace and social care – need urgent changes to their skills training. 

The findings are the result of a report by Business West Chambers of Commerce Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIP), funded by the Department for Education (DfE). 

First outlined in the DfE’s Further Education white paper in January 2021, the aim LSIPs is to give employers more of a say over the future skills landscape in their locality and be part of addressing skills gaps. 

This LSIP trailblazer for the West of England Plus has been produced by the Business West Chambers of Commerce, one of eight employer representative bodies across the country testing an employer-led approach to skills planning. As a long-term champion of an employer-led education and skills agenda, Business West Chambers of Commerce was delighted to be able to work closely with employers to shape the future of skills in our region. This Trailblazer will help the DfE determine how best to roll out LSIPs across the country.

Chambers across England have stepped forward to play their part in ensuring more people can train and retrain for new and emerging jobs in their local communities, working in conjunction with local FE institutions, mayoral combined and local authorities, and other partners. 

The report was produced in collaboration with the West of England Institute of Technology and the West of England Combined Authority and based on 160 in-depth interviews with businesses. 

The above graphic summarises the range and depth of engagements across the sector conducted during the LSIP, the job roles of the individuals interviewed, and the size of business (based on employee numbers) they represent, where this is known.

Matt Tudge, LSIP Project Manager at Business West said:

“The social care and aerospace sectors in the West of England, of which there are over 7000 employers, are both facing increased demand for people as new skills are needed to utilise digital technologies to keep pace with industry demands while the roles of leaving workers need to be filled.

“In the social care sector, our report identified that higher skilled roles are needed to enable it to meet the rising levels of health needs following sudden shrinking of the workforce post- Brexit.”

The aerospace sector employs 36,460 people in 2075 businesses in the region. 

The above graphic summarises the range and depth of engagements across the sector conducted during the LSIP, the job roles of the individuals interviewed, and the size of business (based on employee numbers) they represent, where this is known.

Matt added: 

“With fourteen out of the fifteen aerospace Primes in the region this is the largest aerospace cluster in the UK and second largest in Europe. 

“We have both the opportunity and the facilities to lead the sector’s development of activities aligned with net zero and digitalisation globally.”

The report says larger companies in the social care sector have been able to bring in bespoke on the job training, but smaller employers do not have sufficient funding and rely on an increasingly fragile system of peer-to-peer learning.

In both sectors, companies highlighted the need to engage at an early age with schools, pre-16, to myth-bust and build an understanding of the range of jobs available. 

In both aerospace and social care, the report says recruitment remains a key challenge due to negative perceptions among young people. In aerospace, while areas such as green technology remain attractive, essential manufacturing-based work are often perceived as less skilled, and physically hard.

Employers in the social care sector reported how it had been portrayed as ‘a horrible place to work’ and ‘a sector in crisis.’ 

Matt Tudge commented:

“Despite all the challenges around pay, progression, and the intensity of the work, care was felt to be a potentially enormously rewarding, stimulating and long-term values driven career.”

 

Sam Hawker Managing Director of Able Care Homes based in Bristol said: 

“It is crucial for employers, like ourselves, to have the right skills and people to ensure a resilient workforce and future. We support Business West’s bid to deliver a Trailblazer Local Skills Improvement Plan in the West of England to ensure employers’ voices helps shape skills provision in the region.”

Andrea Hurkett, Financial Director at Sentinor, intelligent security solutions firm in the aerospace sector based in Cheddar in Somerset said:

“We need young people involved in the actual training, and not just somebody that makes the numbers up Monday to Friday. We need them to have worth, a goal, progression, and opportunities.” 

Chris Steel, Advanced Engineering and Aerospace Strategic Partnership Engagement lead at Business West said:

“Business West Chambers of Commerce in partnership with the National Composite Centre is leading a Consortium of key Regional Industry and Academic stakeholders to develop the learning and training provision required to enable the use of hydrogen in the regional economy over the next 5 years. 

“This Consortium is seen as a trail blazer in the UK and there is a considerable appetite for cross Regional collaboration with the North East, North West and the Highlands/Isles.”

The LSIP Trailblazer has been published as the Office for National Statistics has released a report highlighting record job vacancies which show the historic hiring crunch facing firms.

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