Minutes of the EDF Skills Sub-group meeting held on 16 May in Adelaide House, Adelaide Street, Belfast

Present: Declan Billington – Chair

Joanne Stuart (Institute of Directors)

Trevor Neilands (NRC)

Damien McGivern (UU)

Mike Mullan (Dale Farm)

Victor Jordan (Invest NI)

Nuala Kerr (DEL)

Noel Griffin (DEL Secretariat)

Apologies: Prof Ken Brown (QUB)

Robson Davison (DE)

Tom Gillen (ICTU)
Michael Gould (DEL)

1. Welcome and Minutes of Previous Meeting

Declan welcomed everyone to the meeting and noted that the minutes had already been agreed by email that they provided an accurate record of the previous meeting.

Matters Arising

Apprenticeship Enrolment Statistics

Nuala Kerr presented a paper to the group that provided a statistical breakdown of the enrolments on Training for Success. It was noted that while there was a drop in the over all numbers of participants on the provision, in comparison to its predecessor Jobskills, there was a 10% increase in the number apprentices. As all apprentices are employed from day one this is considered to be a significant development for the new provision. A new marketing campaign will also be launched shortly to increase the public awareness of Training for Success and it is hoped that this will address much of the issue with regard to the updake.

There was general agreement within the group with regard to the apprenticeship provision being fit for purpose however there were concerns raised concerning the ‘Job Ready’ part of Training for Success. Also raised was the issue of the current age cap of 25 for Apprenticeships and the possible impact of a downturn in the domestic construction market may have on the number of apprentices. Nuala Kerr stated that a review of Training for Success is currently been undertaken with its recommendations will be released shortly and it is hoped that these will address many of the concerns with regard to ‘Job Ready’.

Vocational Enhancement Programme (VEP)

A paper outlining the VEP pilot was provided to the group. There was general agreement within the group that the pilot had been successful in both engaging with young people but also building relationships betweens schools and FE colleges. The group expressed the hope that good work of the programme would continue as the Department of Education took over responsibility for starting September 2008.

2.       Skills – The Business View

Declan Billington gave a brief overview of the presentation he gave to the EDF Plenary in March 2008 outlining the main issues it raised, (namely the lead in time of current programmes and interim interventions required to bridge the intervening gap. ICT was taken as a case study .

Declan then went on to discuss some of the recommendations contained in the presentation as well as the subsequent responses that was provided to the Plenary.

On the issue of forecasting skills need Nuala Kerr outlined that the review of the Skills Strategy would include a body of work which seek to quantify the skills needs for the NI economy in 2010, 2015 and 2020 (providing a short, medium and long term view). As the deadline for the publication of the review is spring 2009, this work should be completed before the end of the year.

On the issue of Interim Interventions there was an acceptance of the group that there had to be sufficient justification for any proposed intervention to ensure that it met a real need and lead to actual jobs, In determining the job potential it was also accepted that future needs of existing and new growth sectors needed to be factored in order to insure a sufficient quantity of skills were available at the point when they were needed . It was also accepted that while there was always a risk with any intervention it would not succeed without sufficient business buy in. While it was suggested that the process that had produced the ICT Action Plan could serve as a model for engagement with other sectors it was essential that employer engagement continued throughout implementation.

An example of lack of engagement on ICT was provided, of a proposed recruitment trip that DEL had organised to Budapest through EURES.  Only four companies expressed interest, two had no vacancies, while the other two were private recruitment companies so all were ineligible.

[ACTION POINT DEL to explore a method of providing the Business Alliance an update of the sectors where it is seen that there is room for more proactive employer engagement to enable them to proactively explore any impediments to engagement.]

JS also raised the issue of the challenging timescales for implementation of the various strategies and in particular relating Careers Advice Information and Guidance considering its importance to facilitation business engagement with schools.

DB raised the question as to whether STEM subjects should be made compulsory at school.

3.       Draft ICT Sector Action Plan

NK provided an update on the ICT Future Skills Action Plan that had been produced by DEL in conjunction with Invest NI, e-Skills and Momentum. The plan is based around three themes:

· Skills Provision – improving the relevance, quality and accessibility

· Career Attractiveness – improving access to information and promotion of the industry

· Additional Sources of Talent – National and International Outreach

Ministerial approval for the plan was expected within the next few weeks after which it will formally announced.

There was general agreement among the group there was very strong engagement among between all stakeholders in the preparation of the plan that it should prove as a example of the way forward for other sectors.

4.        Review of EDF structure/subgroups/chairs

DB gave the group an outline of the proposals to refocus the remit of the EDF. These proposals would see the disbandment of the sub-groups. In their place the EDF would be able to set up specific time-bound sub-groups with a specific aim. The group was asked on their opinions on the prospect of the sub-group being disbanded.

There was general agreement that the sub-group had been successful in providing a platform for the various stakeholder groups to discuss issues. The size of the group combined with the level of interest and expertise that the members brought had allowed much more detailed discussions than could have been possible in a larger group with a wider remit. While it was generally accepted that there was a need for the continuation of such a platform there was some debate on the vehicle of such a delivery. On the one hand, the Skills Expert Group (SEG) (which is due to be reconstituted following the establishment of a UK-wide Employment and Skills Commission) and the upcoming appointment of a NI Employment and Skills Advisor might provide the platform required.

However another viewpoint expressed was that it was better to retain the current focus of skills delivery and its impact on Economic Development, delivered with a business focus drawing on specialist cross departmental and cross sectoral knowledge.

DB agreed to summarise the views and submit to the Plenary session for reflection as it determined the future of the various Sub Groups.

[ACTION POINT Nuala Kerr to circulate papers on the proposed remit of the reconstituted SEG]

[ACTION POINT Declan Billington to circulate his thoughts on the future of the sub-group]

5.       AOB

DB took the opportunity to thank the members of the group for their contribution