Agenda item

Report of the Director of Economy.

6.1      The Committee received a report which provided an overview of apprenticeships, recent apprenticeship reforms including the introduction of the Apprenticeship Levy and the activities planned to promote and stimulate apprenticeship growth across Westminster.

6.2         The item was introduced by Greg Ward, Director of Economy.  He stated that the Council was trying to address two specific issues in particular with the services provided.  The first was that London has a very low level of apprenticeship take up.  Parents in the city often did not want their children to become apprentices and companies often did not want to take on apprentices.  It was important to inform both parties of the benefits of apprenticeships.  Secondly, despite the new Apprenticeship Levy having been introduced which was designed to fund apprenticeship training and increase the number of high quality apprenticeships, there had been a fall nationally in the number of apprentices.

6.3      The Committee in scrutinising this item also heard from Eileen Gallagher, Apprenticeship Development Officer and Ben Drain, Head of Apprenticeships at The Knowledge Academy.  The matters raised included the following:

·           Would a communications led approach persuade the public that vocational apprenticeship training was as valuable as learning provided at university?  Mr Ward replied that communications was one element in a number of significant strands to an overall strategy.  There was also scope to improve the integration of the work of the Economy Team with the education careers services.  This would enable young people to be aware of the available opportunities.  The Apprenticeship Levy also gives incentive to companies to employ people (for instance ten apprentices  are already working for the Council) who are quite mature in terms of age and their careers and decided to take on apprenticeships later in life. 

·           What was the gender split of the 54 apprentices within Council services and were there people who had applied to be apprentices who had been rejected?  Mr Ward said that he would obtain this information for the Committee.  He advised Members of the Committee that over the past two years the number of local residents who have become apprentices working for the Council has increased from around 10% of all apprentices to 25% and this proportion is growing.  When candidates who were local residents were not successful in securing an apprenticeship, they received strong support from the Westminster Employment Service and the Westminster Adult Education Service and were assisted in applying for future roles.  

·           The point was made that there are world class creative, cultural and technical industries in Westminster that offer the best possible start for any apprentice.  A question was also muted on whether the Council could support  external apprenticeship schemes such as at The Goring Hotel.  The Goring Hotel was helping homeless people get into employment and they were learning skills from world leading chefs. 

·           Mr Drain stated that the biggest challenge in terms of encouraging young people into apprenticeships was parent perception.  Most parents of children who would currently be considering their career had been advised over time that university was the path to follow in order to be successful.  The parents were not aware of the possibilities that apprenticeships could offer.  Schools were required under legislation to allow apprenticeship providers to speak to pupils.  However, there is still a bias towards university.  Mr Drain referred to the benefits of an IT apprenticeship programme in terms of the skills provided in comparison to a computing degree.  University courses had not always kept up with technological advances. 

·           Ms Gallagher emphasised that she would like to support businesses and help them with their workforce planning, including how they could employ apprentices and would have the skillset that the businesses need.  She also believed that teachers would benefit from case studies setting out the achievements of the apprentices.

·           Members of the Committee were agreed that there was often a perception problem for parents, children and employers in terms of vocational and technical training.  It was necessary to ensure that apprenticeships programmes had a good reputation in order to receive the take up required from employers.  It would be beneficial to make children at a younger age aware of the benefits of apprenticeships.  University was not the best career route to follow for everyone.

·           The point was made that in the event businesses had concerns about a potential loss of staff and skills following Brexit this could provide an opportunity for apprentices.  Mr Ward commented that regardless of the politics of Brexit, companies were saying that in the current climate they were struggling to find workers.  There were potential opportunities there.  With businesses having to pay the Apprenticeship Levy, they were likely over time to focus on this aspect.

6.4      In response to the question set out in the report under the heading ‘Key Matters for the Committee’s Consideration’ in terms of what more could be done to support apprenticeships in Westminster, the Committee was keen to explore the idea as to whether there was an ability to transfer a percentage of the Apprenticeship Levy to external apprenticeship schemes, in particular The Goring Hotel.  Mr Drain advised that depending on the size of another organisation, if the organisation was not an Apprenticeship Levy payer it was possible to transfer up to 10% of the Council’s Levy annually to that organisation.  It was recommended that the Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Business, Culture and Heritage, Councillor Robert Davis, who has responsibility in his portfolio for apprenticeships, investigate with officers whether there is the option of transferring up to 10% of the Council’s Apprenticeship Levy to external apprenticeship schemes, in particular The Goring Hotel. 

6.5      The Committee also recommended that the Council work closely with the Greater London Authority, notably Jules Pipe, Deputy Mayor for Planning, Regeneration and Skills whose portfolio includes apprenticeships.  The Council should continue to focus on any potential additional funding available for apprenticeship growth, including from Central Government or the Greater London Authority. 

6.6     The Committee requested that Apprenticeships in Westminster be scheduled on the Work Programme for the meeting on 21 November 2018.  At this meeting officers would be asked to give an update on the progress of the activities planned to promote and stimulate apprenticeship growth across Westminster.

6.7       RESOLVED:

1.    The Committee recommended that:

1)     The Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Business, Culture and Heritage investigate with officers whether there is the option of transferring up to 10% of the Council’s Apprenticeship Levy to external apprenticeship schemes, in particular The Goring Hotel;

2)     The Council work closely with the Greater London Authority, notably Jules Pipe, Deputy Mayor for Planning, Regeneration and Skills whose portfolio includes apprenticeships.  The Council should continue to focus on any potential additional funding available for apprenticeship growth, including from Central Government or the Greater London Authority.

2.    That Apprenticeships in Westminster be scheduled on the Work Programme for the meeting on 21 November 2018.