Placing councils at the heart of the Government’s levelling up
ambitions would help create job and career opportunities where
they are most needed as the nation recovers from the pandemic,
the Local Government Association said today.
Calling on government to use the Skills and Post-16
Education Bill to introduce a joined up, place-based employment,
skills and careers system, that provides access to quality
education and new training opportunities, Cllr Kevin Bentley,
Chairman of the Local Government Association’s People and Places
Board said:
“The Skills and Post-16 Education Bill should be used as an
opportunity to tackle our fragmented employment and skills
system, with a greater role for councils and employers to help
create jobs and training opportunities in their local
communities.
“It is clear that as the furlough scheme is phased out,
there will inevitably be a rise in the number of people out of
work or training. People will need to reskill for new jobs as we
look to recover from the economic impact of COVID-19.
“Throughout the pandemic, councils have consistently
delivered for their communities and businesses, coordinating
employment, training and business support for their local areas.
Knowing their communities best, they are uniquely placed to bring
all partners together to create greater opportunities for those
who are unemployed and help achieve our shared ambition with
government to level up across the country."
The LGA is also calling for more funding to help adults
with lower qualifications improve their skills levels so they
fare better in a more competitive labour market post pandemic,
getting more people into jobs.
Cllr Kevin Bentley, continued:
“The Adult Education Budget has been critical to helping
people and should be restored to 2010 level so councils can
provide the best possible support.
“Central government’s priorities cannot be delivered
without a partnership with local government. With the right
funding and freedoms, councils can help Government achieve its
ambitions for our national recovery from the pandemic and equip
people with the skills they need to succeed so no one is left
behind.
“There are undoubtedly challenges ahead, but by working
together locally across the sector, councils and combined
authorities have the passion and expertise to rise to the
challenge.”
Calls for a greater role for councils to tackle
unemployment and skills shortages come as exclusive LGA polling
reveals that 58 per cent of MPs and 80 per cent of Peers support
more freedom for councils to drive employment and training
opportunities in their local communities.
Ends
Case Studies:
Devon County Council:
The County Council had to respond rapidly to the collapse
of one of the region’s biggest employers, Flybe, as well as the
other economic impacts bought on by the pandemic. They swiftly
set up a redundancy support team, aimed at being the ‘joining
glue’ for local support, including linking recently redundant
workers to training support, through both the adult education
budget and a £750,000 fund to provide training focused on
transition to growth sectors.
London Borough of Hounslow:
Based in West London, Heathrow Airport acts as one of the
borough’s main employers. However, due to the changes in global
travel, many staff were furloughed or made redundant. The council
worked closely with the local NHS Trust and other healthcare
providers to move those displaced from Heathrow into temporary
work in a sector with a growing number of vacancies
