Warwickshire County Council hosts second annual Skills Conference

Educators, students and business representatives came together in the most constructive way when Warwickshire County Council hosted its second Skills Conference.

The highly successful breakfast event brought delegates together at the Trident Centre, Warwick on February 24.

The conference was designed to help bridge the skills gap reported by frustrated businesses. It aimed to ensure the region’s youngsters are aware of, inspired by and trained for positions available - while at the same time, local firms are doing their bit to make this happen.

Cllr Izzi Seccombe, leader of Warwickshire County Council and board member of the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “A strong, joined up education and skills system is a vital part of securing the region’s future economic growth and we are addressing this issue head on with our £2.4million Skills for Employment programme.

"There are many different ways for young people to fulfil their potential, and not one ‘golden route’ to success as is often assumed.

"We need to ensure that businesses are making the most of the fantastic potential of the young people we have in Warwickshire, while our youngsters need to be aware of the different opportunities provided by local employers. This Skills Conference helped to ensure more of our young people are set on their own pathways to success.”

Cllr Philip Johnson, Chair of the council's Communities Overview and Scrutiny, added: “This excellent conference provided the inspiration, knowhow and networking opportunities to allow businesses, schools and training-providers to get together to share innovative ideas and boost the employability of the county’s young people.”

The conference heard from some of the business partners, including Aston Martin, Alumet Systems UK, Contechs and Triton Showers, who are involved in skills projects which the county council is funding.

Janice Amey HR Manager of Southam-based Alumet Systems UK, a specialist building façade firm, said: “As a specialist company in construction it’s getting even harder to attract people with the right skills, particularly as a small business in a rural area. By working with a local education provider, Southam College, students are recognising the opportunities available on their doorstep and we have an opportunity to grow our own highly skilled workforce.”

Tina Simpson, Marketing Director of British Shower Manufacturer Triton Showers, based in Nuneaton, added; “Our involvement with Skills for Employment has enabled us to run our Aspire to Dream initiative which helps children aged 15-16 learn to stand out in the workplace and make a great start in their careers. We have a rich history of apprenticeships at Triton and we feel it’s important to make links with schools and develop skills so we can enable young people and businesses to move forward.”

Schools including Round Oak Special School in Warwick, Woodlands School in Coleshill and Avon Valley School in Rugby and their partner the Kokoro Foundation showcased their skills work on exhibition stands. Stratford-upon-Avon School and its partner In2Ambition shared a video made by Year 9 students about their work with automotive engineering design company Contechs.

There was also a discussion session for business and education leaders to consider how joint-working can be further developed to improve the employability skills of young people.

Lots of people took to Twitter to express their enthusiasm for the event:

@BeckiCoombe: @FSBWarksCov represented by ME and @fpmcoventry this morning at #SkillsConWarks - excellent support from @wcc :o)

@SarahWindrum: £2.4m to be invested in #Skills by @warwickshirecc How do we want it spent? We need to share our views esp small businesses #SkillsConWarks

@Debs_Cohesion: Hearing about great work experiences for young people via WCC Skills for Employment  #skillsconwarks

The county council's £2.4m Skills for Employment programme is designed to stimulate innovation in the range of employability support in the county.

Committed until 2018, it aims to bring together the business world, education and training to enable young people to enter the workplace with the requisite skills. So far, grants totalling £500,000 have been awarded to schools and colleges for a range of exciting innovative projects designed to develop skills among young people and forging new links between education and businesses.

For more information about Warwickshire County Council’s Skills for Employment programme, please call 01926 418027 or email: skillsforemployment@warwickshire.gov.uk