Page 6 - Regional Employment & Skills Plan 2018

6
Industry Priorities
Advanced Materials, Manufacturing & Energy
Increase the number of STEM learning pathways at all levels (e.g. Degree Apprenticeships in Manufacturing, Engineering, Energy, Material Science; Higher Apprenticeships in Business Improvement Techniques), including improving basic skills and expanding the use of apprenticeships to promote careers in engineering and STEM.
Construction
Providers and industry alike need to be responsive to the changing needs of the Construction sector. This translates to forging closer relationships between industry, schools and providers to address needs around increased work experience and mentoring for learners, multi-skilling individuals through a foundation year (to include elements of all key trades) and taking full advantage of Apprenticeships as a viable learning route.
Creative Industries
Ensure that provision meets the needs of the fast paced and developing sector that the Creative Industries is. This extends to ensuring that the specialist digital elements of the sector are aptly supplied for as identified in the priority for the ICT sector below.
Financial and Professional Services and ICT
A closer working relationship between the industry and providers needs to materialise to ensure that course content and delivery mechanisms meets the needs of employers. This is especially pertinent for ICT and digital provision where the fast pace of advancements needs to be reflected appropriately in provision.
Food and Farming
Ensure appropriateness of the qualifications within the sector, including apprenticeships frameworks, so that they are fit for purpose in relation to content and delivery mechanisms.
Health and Social Care
The sector needs support for staff training to ensure eligibility for registration, a targeted campaign to train the workers through a funded programme would bolster the sector and future proof it to be able to meet the demand for care and support at home.
Leisure, Tourism and Retail
The miss-guided perception of the sector held by learners and influencers is a key issue for the sector, severely effecting recruitment and retention rates. Targeted interventions should be developed and delivered within schools to dispel the negative connotations attached to the sector. In addition, providers and the industry should work in conjunction to develop fit for purpose training that is aspirational and representative of the true nature of the sectors vast activities.
Regional Employment & Skills Plan South West & Mid Wales Executive Summary