W BUSINESS
L
Back Row: Andy Snell, Paul Vicars, Paula Basnett. Front Row: Mark Basnett, Rob Tabb, Chris Finn, Damian Burdin, Joanne Finnerty.
CO-OPERATION AND CO-ORDINATION
NEEDED TO CLOSE THE SKILLS GAP
Paula Basnett, CEO, Wirral Chamber of Commerce, writes…
For our recent In Business event we concentrated on highlighting
issues of the skills gap that employers are facing and the actions
that need to be taken. Attended by over 80 leading business
people, the seminar featured several presentations targeting
areas of concern. Chris Finn of Liverpool John Moores University explained how the
university is building partnerships with industry that will work for
both students and employers. Employers can contribute to course
design and to create students who are better skilled and more ready
for the workplace.
Mark Basnett (Liverpool City Region LEP) identified that for
businesses across the region the skills gap is one of the biggest
barriers to growth, and that being unable to effectively recruit
has negative impacts on growth, customer service and emotional
wellbeing of existing workers. “Students are struggling with the
transition from education to employment and this is reflected in low
employment rates for 16 – 24 years olds. The question we need to ask
is how do we improve on that? Our response is crucial to the future
economic success of the region and our workforce.” Joanne Finnerty (JF Recruitment) agreed, saying that many CVs
received do not contain details of any work experience, emphasising
that this can be a differentiator between candidates with similar
academic qualifications, “Work experience on a CV is important,
many candidates have excellent academic records and commendable
results but employers want to see work experience that shows
candidates have relevant life skills and work ethic to ease them into
a job role.”
Joining the discussion, Paul Vicars, Headmaster of Birkenhead
School spoke of its commitment to open up a broader avenue of
access to further education and the need to change perceptions of
the apprenticeship programme. “Modern apprenticeships have
changed greatly and provide a direct route into the widest range of
careers, including areas such as law, accountancy and engineering.
What perhaps is missing from the apprenticeship equation is a
centralised one-stop shop to coordinate and administrate employers
and applicants.”
This view was echoed by Damian Burdin (Progress to Excellence
Ltd) who focused on the Apprenticeship Levy. He said: “The
Apprenticeship Levy raises around £2.5bn annually to be spent
on training apprentices and also allows contributors to share their
funds with smaller businesses in their supply chain. By re-utilising
levy underspend we can build a better skilled workforce and keep
those workers employed locally to the benefit of the economy. Any
business that feels they have unspent funds and want to find out
more can contact Wirral Chamber of Commerce to discuss methods
of gifting levy underspend.”
80 wirrallife.com
Clearly the issues raised highlight the importance of a co-ordinated
and centralised approach to the way forward and it is key that we
must focus joint efforts on a structured and targeted focus in taking
positive actions and closing the skills gap.
To read the full event article, please visit the Wirral Chamber of
Commerce website - goo.gl/GR9R7p
If you would like to find out more about joining the Chamber,
please email [email protected]