Agenda and minutes

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Apologies had been received from Mark Allanson and Ruth England.

Verbal update.

The Chair noted that since the previous meeting of the Skills and Employment Board there had been a change in membership and the new members of the board, Helen Crossley, Paul Jones, Jacqui Old OBE, and Mark Davies, were welcomed.

The Chair also welcomed Simon Lawrence to the meeting, who joined Lancashire County Council in January as Director of Growth and Regeneration.

Everyone present at the meeting was invited to give a small introduction to the rest of the group.

None

Resolved: The minutes of the meeting held on 08 December 2022 were approved as an accurate record.

None

Verbal update.

The Chair agreed that this item would be moved up the agenda, due to scheduling conflicts with the Board members involved in presenting the item.

Councillor Karen Buckley, Leader, Fylde Borough Council, and Mark Davies, Chief Executive, Lancaster City Council, gave a verbal update on the Lancashire 2050 framework following the Leaders workshop which took place on 24 February 2023.

It was noted that the workshop went well, and that the discussions were positive. Councillor Buckley noted for the Board's information that the leader of Chorley Council, the leader of Ribble Valley council, and the Lancashire County Council Cabinet Member for Education and Skills were also providing steer on the theme of Employment and Skills.

The next meeting of Lancashire Leaders is planned for 16 March 2023, and it was noted that following this an update will be provided to the Board on next steps. Dr Michele Lawty-Jones, Director, Lancashire Skills Hub, noted that it was anticipated that there would be a move toward a refresh of the Skills and Employment framework in light of any next steps which are identified, and that this would be further discussed at the next Informal Meeting of the Board.

Gratitude was conveyed to the members of the Skills and Employment Board for all their hard work and it was remarked that this work was providing a strong foundation on which to build towards the Lancashire 2050 themes.

Resolved: The Board noted the verbal update provided.

Presentation – Bev Robinson, CEO, Blackpool and The Fylde College

Bev Robinson gave a presentation (circulated) on the ambitions of 'Multiversity' Blackpool following a successful bid for Levelling Up funding.

Congratulations were given to all involved in the successful bid, which has seen £40 million of Levelling Up funds allocated to the project.

Emphasis was placed on how this project will be a cornerstone of the regeneration of the heart of Blackpool, as well as providing a flexible curriculum which will be aligned with the current economy. It's planned opening to students is September 2026.

Resolved: The Board noted the presentation as delivered.

Presentation – Maya Ellis, Innovation and Digital Lead, Lancashire County Council

(to follow)

Maya Ellis, Innovation and Digital Lead, Lancashire County Council, gave a presentation (circulated) on the work of the LEP's Innovation Board.

The presentation outlined the Innovation Board's current Innovation plan and gave a brief summary of the key themes that they are looking to achieve over the next 5 years. It also included questions which were put to the Skills and Employment Board at the end, which sought to begin a working relationship between the two Boards in order to utilise the resources available to both in a co-operative way.

It was agreed that a working relationship between the two Boards would be beneficial as it was noted that there was a substantial crossover between Skills, Education and Innovation. It was also further agreed that an informal workshop would be the best forum in which to begin to understand how the Boards can work together effectively, and that a future workshop hosted either by the Innovation Board or by the Skills and Employment Board would be dedicated to this end.

Action Point: A workshop session between the Lancashire Skills and Employment Board and the Lancashire Innovation Board to be organised, details of which will be circulated to Board members once arranged.

Resolved: The Board noted the presentation as delivered.

Dr Michele Lawty-Jones, Director, Lancashire Skills Hub, presented a report (circulated) providing the Board on an update from the Lancashire Skills Hub and partners structured against its strategic themes. The following key points were highlighted:

Under the theme of Future Workforce:

·  Launched LMI Board Games into schools, with positive feedback from those schools who have used them. Thanks were given to Peter Caney and the Cornerstone Employer group for their contribution to making them a success.

·  Continued progress against Gatsby Benchmarks across the Careers Hub in schools and colleges, operating in the top percentile across the country.

·  3 year sponsorship agreement with BAE Systems of Create Education and Innovate Her, with a celebration event to be held on Friday 3^rd March.

·  Confirmation from Careers and Enterprise Company that another annual allocation of funding has been secured, through to August 2024.

Under the theme of Inclusive Workforce:

·  The Department for Education (DfE) have awarded the Lancashire Skills Hub £3million for Wave 4 of the Skills Bootcamps. The is currently a procurement progress underway, and market engagement events have been run. It is hoped to expand the Skills Bootcamps beyond digital for the next wave.

·  20 asylum seekers have been enrolled on Skills Bootcamps in the North of Lancashire.

·  COVID Recovery funds have been secured for the Digital Freedoms programme, which will enable digital devices and skills to be provided to disadvantaged residents, so that residents are better able to engage digitally with health care services.

Under the theme of Skilled and Productive Workforce:

·  Lancashire Apprenticeship Levy Transfer Network has been successful in transferring £546,270 to organisations in unspent apprenticeship levy, highlighting the success of the model.

·  Multiply has been launched, and provision is being rolled out across the county, however there are only 2 months to deliver significant activity if Year 1 funds are to be maximised.

Under the theme of Informed Approach:

·  90+ attendees to the recent Career Professionals sessions around Labour Market Intelligence.

·  Tailored LMI sessions being delivered to colleges to help support their curriculum design, business planning, and accountability agreements.

·  The annual Lancashire Skills Pledge celebration took place at County Hall to a positive turnout, celebrating the businesses commitment to inspiring, recruiting and developing Lancashire people. There has been an increase in companies signing up as a result of this event.  Thanks were given to Councillor Karen Buckley for her speech at the event.

·  An agreement is in place with the Chamber of Commerce to support data purchases and ensure that LMI is being filtered into the LSIP. The Chamber will be invited to a future board meeting to view the results of the next LSIP report.

Resolved: The Board noted the updates contained within the report.

•  Identification and agreement of any recommendations for consideration/approval by the LEP Board.

•  Identification and agreement of issues for inclusion in the feedback report for the LEP Board.

Resolved: It was agreed by the Board that the following items would be presented to the Lancashire Enterprise Partnership Board for noting:

(i)  An update on the discussions with the Innovation Board and the potential upcoming joint session.

(ii)  An update on the progress being made with respect to Lancashire 2050.

None.

The next formal meeting of the LEP Skills and Employment Board is scheduled for Thursday 1^st June 2023 at 8:30am. The meeting will take place virtually, via Teams.

The next Informal Meeting of the LEP Skills and Employment Board is scheduled for Thursday 6^th April, 9:30am as a face-to-face meeting. The venue of this meeting is TBC.

It was noted that the next formal meeting of the LEP Skills and Employment Board had been scheduled for 01 June 2023 at 08:30am as a Virtual Meeting via Microsoft Teams.

Due to recurring scheduling conflicts amongst Board members, The Chair proposed that the next Formal Meetings could run from 08:00am to 09:30am, subject to review in the future. No objections to this were raised.

Resolved:

(i)  That the next Formal Meetings of the LEP Skills and Employment Board begin at 08:00am with a scheduled finish time of 09:30am;

(ii)  Therefore the next Formal Meeting of the LEP Skills and Employment Board is scheduled for 01 June 2023 at 08:00am as a virtual meeting via Microsoft Teams;

(iii)  The next Informal Meeting of the LEP Skills and Employment Board is scheduled for 06 April at 09:30am as a face-to-face meeting. The venue of this meeting is TBC and will be circulated to Board members in due course.

The Committee is asked to consider whether, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, it considers that the public should be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business on the grounds that there would be a likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the appropriate paragraph of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 as indicated against the heading to the item.

Resolved: The Board considered that, under Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972, the public should be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the following items of business on the grounds that there would be a likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the appropriate paragraph of Part I of Schedule 12A to the Local Government Act 1972 as indicated against the heading to the item.

Presentation – Michele Lawty-Jones, Director, Lancashire Skills Hub & Kerry Harrison, Lancashire Digital Skills Partnership Lead

Michele Lawty-Jones, Director, Lancashire Skills Hub & Kerry Harrison, Lancashire Digital Skills Partnership Lead gave a presentation on the Lancashire Digital Strategy & Partnership with the National Cyber Force.

The Chair thanked all those invovled in the presentation for their hard work.

Resolved: The Board noted the presentation as delivered.