What should the Mayor do on skills & housing?

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Skills is a significant issue for the West Midlands but it’s structural and deep seated nature means 100 days of Mayoral activity is only the start.

Solutions are long term and require fundamental changes to the regional economy, labour market and delivery structures. It’s vital the Mayor puts in place a programme of change that embeds a culture of skills investment, one which enables the high numbers of those with low and no qualifications to engage in any growth generated in the region.

ANALYSIS: Street 100 – what’s the score?

In the first 100 days we have seen some positive action with the first meeting of the technical group for the Productivity and Skills Commission. This is the initial step to coordinating skills and training interventions and creating a regional strategic approach.

The new Director of Strategy once in post needs to grasp this activity and develop a delivery plan on its findings.This independent business-led commission looking at skills needs and the productivity issues in the region should provide leadership around long term fundamental change. With high level support for this work from Cllr George Duggins, as portfolio lead for skills and productivity, and Andy Palmer of Aston Martin leading the commission, we should hopefully see the drive for change needed.

Although we have yet to hear about the responses to the consultation carried out before the Mayor was appointed we already know the Commission and the Combined Authority is concerned with skills issues right across the spectrum – including high level skills shortages  which is of increasing concern in light of Brexit and already holding businesses back.

The wider impact of Brexit is likely to exacerbate any issues we are already facing us as  a region and skills is no different. For example, in a region which can benefit from the greater export growth through falling sterling we are seeing constraints emerge due to lack of skilled people in the manufacturing sector which may be constraining our potential short term gains.

Although the region is doing relatively well there is low take up of apprenticeships nationally and one area the Mayor can have a significant impact is to raise the profile of apprenticeships and continue to promote them as a high quality route to many of the professions we are seeing shortages in. As part of this it’s important to lobby for greater say over the use of the apprenticeship levy regionally which will help fund the training and development local industries need.

A key development in the first 100 days was the support announced on 1 August to benefit disadvantaged people. Aimed at creating a place-based approach, making use of social networks to leverage access to support and information for disadvantaged people. Alongside discussions about a Citizen’s Curriculum to ensure people have capabilities to get into (and then sustain) work.

As a businessman, Andy more than most politicians will know how vital skills are to business growth and how important it is for individuals to continue to learn. However, many of the structures and delivery bodies are not under the direction of the mayor, therefore focus should be given to developing shared commitments and goals to align delivery bodies. He has extensive support from the region’s universities but he will still face the issue that most of the skills structure is delivered by a government department that has had a lack lustre approach to devolution.

No mayor is capable of solving the skills issues and we could argue that a growing thriving economy will always have skills issues as the labour market tries to keep pace. The key thing to note In the first 100 days is that skills remain prominent, that we have a high level review underway and Andy continues to work to change the culture in the region to put us on the track for long term, inclusive change.

This piece was originally published as part of a blog for the Chamberlain Files – a platform providing political news and insights for the Greater Birmingham area.

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