< Previous30 Business Link www.blmforum.net EDUCATION AND TRAINING As headlines highlight how an acute skills and subsequent labour shortage is impeding the country’s recovery from COVID-19, the importance of investing in education, training, and upskilling, and for increased support from the Government has never been clearer. With many unable to obtain the skills they require locally, and new digital, technological, and other changes continuing to alter the workplace, access to rapid and agile training and re-skilling opportunities is essential. A report from the Workplace Training and Development Commission (WTDC), released earlier in the year, called for a root and branch reform of the UK’s training system to help businesses access the skills they need to bolster productivity following an 18-month study of what firms want from adult skills training provision in the UK. Issues of complexity, cost, and inflexibility are significant obstacles for employers using the current skills system, while the report also pinpoints a need for improved trust and co-operation between the different parties involved in skills planning and training provision – particularly at the local level. It recommends help for smaller firms to identify and invest in the skills needs of their workforce, more bite- sized, flexible learning which supports people in work to gain new skills faster, a greater say for businesses on what skills training is required at the local level, better support for people to retrain and move into higher earning roles, and a renewed focus on digital skills and innovation as workplaces rapidly evolve. The report calls on policymakers to Tackling skills shortages With an intensifying talent gap plaguing the country, businesses must invest in education and training. 30-33.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 10:24 Page 1www.blmforum.net Business Link 31 EDUCATION AND TRAINING © Shutterstock /Rawpixel.com adopt its recommendations and encourages businesses to act decisively to resolve their skills needs. Certainly skills shortages are nothing new, and have been hampering the economy for some time, leaving businesses struggling to fill job vacancies, but with changes to work accelerating, 41% of employers are planning on increasing investment in training compared with pre-COVID levels, according to the 2021 CBI/Birkbeck, University of London Education and Skills Survey. The survey further found that, over the next 3-5 years, companies expect to have greater need for people with skills at entry, intermediate and higher level, employers most expect the need for other workplace skills unattached to qualifications – such as communication and teamwork – to increase, developing workforce industry-specific technical knowledge, leadership & management and advanced digital skills are priorities, and 81% of employers are confident they will be able to support young people over the next year through training and engagement with education. Matthew Fell, CBI Chief UK Policy Director, said: “While four in ten firms are stepping up to the plate and boosting investment in skills already, there is still a long way to go to reach the levels of investment needed to reskill the nation. CBI/McKinsey research shows that pre- pandemic the world of work was changing, with nine in ten employees needing to gain new skills by 2030 to the tune of £13 billion a year. COVID has only accelerated this trend further.” He continued: “The Government needs to play its part too on skills and immigration. Longer-term, the Skills & Post-16 Education Bill is an opportunity to deliver on the confidence of most firms that they can meet skills needs in 3- 5 years’ time. To support individuals to gain new skills, the Government should make flexible, bitesize training more accessible before the Lifelong Learning Entitlement is introduced in 2025. Building closer local links between employers and education providers will also be key to supporting every UK region and nation to thrive and ensuring our economy can fire on all cylinders.” Indeed businesses, education institutions and government all have a role to play to make sure education and skills are fit for the future, and major strides are being made in training provision and skilling up our region. West Yorkshire Combined Authority has invested more than £1 million into the future of a skilled workforce for the construction industry at a time when many employers are struggling to recruit. Grant funding provided by the Adult Education Budget (AEB) has been allocated to give adults the skills needed by West Yorkshire’s construction industry. The funding to Leeds College of Building - the only further education college in the UK which specialises in the construction industry - is part of wider 32 Á 30-33.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 10:25 Page 232 Business Link www.blmforum.net EDUCATION AND TRAINING VWA launches Natasha’s Law online course Food industry training experts Verner Wheelock have just launched a brand new online course. The Natasha’s Law course is aimed at caterers, bakers and confectioners, butchers, farm shops, coffee shops, sandwich shops, mobile caterers, market traders, canteen workers, small retailers, event organisers and any other business that pre-packs food for sale from their premises. The new course is delivered online in a modular, easy-to-use format and is presented by Verner Wheelock’s Managing Food Allergens course trainer. It explains the new food allergen labelling requirements for foods that are pre- packed for direct sale (PPDS) and features a blend of video, images, interactive assessments, a decision tree and fact checking throughout. Delegates can download and print their own Verner Wheelock certificate following successful completion of a short test. Individuals can purchase logins directly from the website at www.vwa.co.uk/specialist/natashas-law-online-course.html AEB funding to ensure skills provision in West Yorkshire supports adults to develop the skills required to enter and stay in work, or enrol in an apprenticeship, or other learning, and meets the needs of the region’s businesses. West Yorkshire is also set to become a leader in green skills with the announcement of a Green Jobs Taskforce that will bring together experts from business, education and training, and the third and public sectors, and set out a roadmap to deliver the skills and jobs necessary to address the climate emergency. Moreover, education and training for digital skills is to be bolstered with Askham Bryan College’s new Digital Skills Academy in York. The project will provide the college with a purpose-built environment to teach essential digital literacy skills to its students, enhanced digital skills to those already in industry settings, and to upskill and reskill the current land-based workforce in line with current emerging digital technologies. Aside from these new initiatives and developments, our region is already the host to leading education establishments and training facilities presenting a variety of options for businesses looking to strengthen the skills of their workforce. Lincolnshire for example is home to an Institute of Technology (IoT), boosting access to more high-quality training alternatives and specialising in agri-tech, food manufacturing, energy, digital and engineering, and the IoT is now offering free courses to adult learners that will help them to rapidly upskill or retrain, and in turn plug local skills gaps. The Lincolnshire IoT has worked in partnership with local employers to ensure courses address existing skills gaps, meaning employees from both large and SME businesses will be able to gain in demand new skills or retrain, so they can progress on to higher skilled, higher paid jobs in the region. Meanwhile the Yorkshire and Humber IoT continues to expand, with a new site in Beverley at East Riding College’s Flemingate campus which will provide specialist accommodation for higher level engineering, construction, and computing courses. Furthermore, Continuing Professional Development is offered by universities across the region to advance employees’ knowledge and skills, and there are a plethora of programmes supporting skill building, while businesses can collaborate with universities and other education institutions to present degree apprenticeships that allow students to gain work experience while getting the qualification of a degree and professional accreditation. Of course apprenticeships generally have been put in the spotlight recently as an important component to providing the skills businesses need, and with cash incentives for hiring new apprentices (bonuses of £3,000 for every apprentice a business hires) extended until the end of January (2022) this may © Shutterstock / fizkes 30-33.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 10:25 Page 3www.blmforum.net Business Link 33 EDUCATION AND TRAINING FULLY-FUNDED SUPPORT IS AVAILABLE Call 01469 428449 or email GAINSupport@modaltraining.co.uk Modal Training Centre, Middleplatt Rd, Immingham DN40 1FN We provide one-to-one consultancy, seminars and workshops in a wide variety of areas, such as: • • Marketing, branding and SEO • • • • • Leadership and management development FOR BUSINESSES IN THE LOGISTICS, PORTS AND RENEWABLE SECTORS. To be eligible for fully-funded business support, your business must: • Be a small to medium sized business in logistics, ports or renewables, or a support service for this sector • Be based in Greater Lincolnshire • Have under 250 employees • Have a balance sheet under 43 million Euros Find out more about GAIN and our upcoming webinars at gainingadvantage.com well be an attractive option for businesses. Similarly employers can claim a £1,000 cash boost for every T Level student they host on a high- quality industry placement between 27 May 2021 and July 2022. The new T Levels, which were introduced in September 2020, are a technical programme for 16 to 19-year-olds, that are the equivalent to three A Levels involving an industry placement of at least 315 hours, or approximately 45 days where students will build the knowledge and skills and develop the confidence they need in a workplace environment. As we move away from the pandemic, training in its many forms, for future and current demands, will be vital to creating the talent required across all sectors, or else the skills shortage will only intensify, hindering economic recovery and long-term growth. Wise Global Training supports local business through lockdown conditions with online training Lockdown and working from home has made business difficult for many companies in the region, which is why Wise Global Training Ltd are supporting local business with online health and safety courses. The company was set up when its founders released that eLearning was a modern, efficient, and cost-effective alternative to classroom-based training. “We have 100% pass rates on our IOSH courses and higher than average pass rates for NEBOSH courses,” Dave Newgass, Managing Director, explains. “We work with our clients to help them understand what course is right for them, and then provide full tutor support throughout the process. Our courses have been developed by an in-house team of experts to make the process easier for our students to follow, and our goal has always been to provide more than just some `course book` online.” Since their foundation, Wise Global Training Ltd have helped numerous companies train their employees, and have worked with companies such as Smith and Nephews, UNIDO, British Gas and Heineken. For more information visit www.wiseglobaltraining.com 30-33.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 10:25 Page 434 Business Link www.blmforum.net KIRKLEES COLLEGE Q&A We spoke to Jon Price, Business Development Manager at Kirklees College, about T Levels, the new post-sixteen qualification and how employers will benefit from industry placements as part of the delivery of the new programme. What are T Levels? T Levels are a two-year technical education course for sixteen-nineteen- year-olds that follow GCSEs. One T Level is equivalent to three A Levels and students’ time is split with eighty per cent in the classroom learning and twenty per cent on industry placement. The qualification has been developed in collaboration with over 250 leading employers that include household names – such as Fujitsu, Skanska and GlaxoSmithKline – to meet the future needs of industry. Our subject specialists have been involved in the development of the programme, with our industry experienced teachers able to offer the most up-to-date knowledge and attributes throughout the T Level journey. Why have T Levels been launched? T Levels are part of the government’s plan to simplify vocational education by providing a clear and high-quality, technical alternative to the current range of post-sixteen education and training options. What T Levels will you offer at Kirklees College? From September 2022, we will offer T Levels in the following pathways: Digital, Construction, Education, Health and Science, Business and Administration and Engineering and Manufacturing. Why should employers choose Kirklees College as a T Levels provider? We pride ourselves in bespoke facilities, so that no matter what your industry, you will know that you’ll have access to state-of-the-art industry standard equipment and facilities. Our industry placements coupled with our expert tuition and specialist facilities allow our students to develop the capabilities to build a career and pursue their goals in their chosen sector. What is the difference between an apprenticeship and a T Level? The main difference is that with a T Level, is that a student’s time will be split eighty per cent in the classroom, with the remaining twenty per cent in an industry placement at your workplace. For an apprenticeship, eighty per cent of the time is spent in the workplace on the job and twenty per cent is classroom Q&A Jon Price, Business Development Manager, Kirklees College Jon Price, Business Development Manager at Kirklees College 34-35.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 10:29 Page 1www.blmforum.net Business Link 35 KIRKLEES COLLEGE Q&A learning. With an apprenticeship, students will earn a wage while they work. It is usually four days a week working, supported by one day a week of study at college. Employment must be secured to become an apprentice. What are the business benefits of industry placements? Industry placements give you a chance to look at the new talent coming into your industry. They can help you by opening up the talent pool for future recruitment, improve your organisation’s productivity and bring new ideas to the table. Whether you want to attract new talent or upskill your workforce, we know your staff will be more motivated, engaged and loyal if you are investing in their growth and the future. There are also important social benefits of industry placements, including diversifying your workforce to help your organisation understand your target audiences better and creating shared value by giving back to local young people as well as your business. A commitment to industry placements also raises your organisation’s profile, locally and nationally, especially as T Levels gain more public exposure with your customers and clients. What is expected when hosting an industry placement? There will be some planning and administration required to set up the placement, however Kirklees College will support with the practical and administrative tasks to help make the process as streamlined as possible. For students to get the maximum value from the experience, industry placements must be planned to ensure there is sufficient structure and content in place to maintain engagement and provide a range of relevant learning experiences. As with any new start, students must be provided with relevant training and adequate supervision which will support them to work independently and add value to the organisation. When will industry placements take place? Industry Placement will commence once students have developed an understanding of the behaviour and attitudes expected in the workplace and are equipped with the essential technical knowledge and skills for the sector. Students must complete a minimum of 315 hours (excluding breaks) over forty- five to sixty days. Typically, they will take place across a six-month period and be a mix of block placements and/or one- two days a week depending on the student’s timetable. This will be discussed and agreed prior to confirming a placement. If you are not able to offer the full 315 hours, you can speak to us about sharing part of the placement with another employer. Contact the Employer Engagement team: T: 0800 781 3020 E: employers@kirkleescoll ege.ac.uk For more information about T Levels, visit www.kirkleescollege.ac.uk/why-t-levels 34-35.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 10:29 Page 236 Business Link www.blmforum.net BUSINESS SERVICES A s uncertainty over demand weighs on investment, sentiment about the general business situation continues to improve amongst business and professional services, according to the latest quarterly Service Sector Survey from the CBI. Business and professional services witnessed strong volumes growth in the quarter to August, with similar expectations looking forwards, seeing profitability expand at its fastest pace in six years. Selling prices have increased too, as well as headcount (at an above average rate), though concerns about labour shortages are building. This is unsurprising with a recent report from the Professional & Business Services Council and the Financial Services Skills Commission finding that on average 32% of UK firms are affected by shortages in financial, professional, and business services skills, resulting in vacancies. This has left thousands of roles unfilled while skills challenges are reportedly increasing operating costs, staff workload, and have seen 20% of firms struggle to meet quality standards or lose business to competitors. The report further highlights that the sector’s annual output could be 12% higher if skills gaps were reduced (worth £38 billion annually). Skills shortages in business services have been enhanced during the pandemic, while automation, digitisation, globalisation and changing workforce demographics also contribute to the challenge, and create new skills needs, incorporating technology, data, interpersonal skills and industry knowledge. Analysis from PwC and BEIS on the impact of automation indicates that the sector will be influenced more than any other over the next 20 years, with some roles disappearing entirely, particularly those that are repetitive or heavily administrative, and new roles created, in areas like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning, with almost all roles changing in some way. To combat this, the report ‘Skills for Future Success’ calls on employers, government, and education providers to seize new opportunities for the upskilling and reskilling of the UK workforce, and to ensure the sector is prepared for the future, specifies a need to build a lifelong learning culture in business services. Investing in upskilling comes with key benefits, including increasing productivity, attracting and retaining talent, and forming a resilient, diverse workforce, but strong, strategic collaborations are also necessary between employers, local government, and education providers to take on acute skills challenges - and bolster availability of skills - which are felt more intensely by regional firms. As business services firms bounce back from COVID, and are potentially boosted as companies consider divesting non- core operations, numerous other challenges remain, with targets to meet and operational changes on the horizon. Businesses are answering to calls for reducing organisational complexity, more flexible and scalable operating models that can respond rapidly to new opportunities, and a need for innovative methods of delivering services to meet shifting client demands and expectations for greater efficiency and constant improvements, utilising technology for success and Obstacles and opportunities Though the pandemic has intensified significant challenges the business services sector faces, it has also pushed firms to take advantage of new opportunities. 38 Á 36-39.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 10:33 Page 1www.blmforum.net Business Link 37 BUSINESS SERVICES © Shutterstock /ArtFamily 36-39.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 10:34 Page 238 Business Link www.blmforum.net BUSINESS SERVICES efficient management, as well as to protect against cyberattacks. Automation, AI, and machine learning are commonly talked about, making up part of the next wave of change for business services. Despite this, full use of these is rare. Those who take advantage of this technology early however can quickly see the chance to speed up manual work and remove unnecessary processes, and pass on repetitive tasks to bots so human workers can excel in more creative and fulfilling tasks. Automatic invoicing is a simple example of how this tech can be used, alongside bots to fill in time sheets more rapidly and accurately than humans are capable of, and AI can be employed for intelligent self-service, to identify candidates when recruiting to ease the interviewing process, on top of helping with onboarding and satisfaction tracking, while further advanced opportunities are coming forth with the adoption of advanced analytics, smart workflows et al. With this more firms are joining the cloud migration, moving over document management, time and expense management systems, and taking advantage of end-to-end solutions for instance, recognising the need to digitise to achieve efficiency gains across the workforce, to react to evolving customer trends, and provide clients with the best experience. Firms are additionally being pushed to modernise technology platforms and data storage to facilitate big data solutions like AI-supported digital customer support assistants. Data of course represents an important opportunity to business services firms and is crucial to uncovering and sharing insights. AI and automation are being wielded alongside effective project management solutions for data mining and reporting to remove the requirement for manual entry and validation, and transmitting data into dashboards, offering advanced insights, project status visibility, and allowing informed real time decisions. Digital adoption is accelerating, spurred on by the pandemic which has encouraged firms to embrace hybrid 36-39.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 10:34 Page 39 Clifton Street, Stonefield Park Industrial Estate, Lincoln, LN5 8LQ 01522 546118 sales@lincolncopycentre.co.uk Established more than 40 years ago, Lincoln Print & Copy Centre has experienced the highs and lows of the economy alongside many other businesses in the area. Looking at the opportunities as the economy grows, they identified areas where they can help their customers stand out from the crowd and have invested in new printing and finishing equipment. With the latest Xerox Versant 280 press and Kasfold 640 booklet maker, they can now supply landscape A4 brochures, 6 page A4 leaflets and A5 concertina leaflets with other products available in the near future, all in smaller as well as large quantities. The combination of the new machines offer many new exciting products for customers. Their experienced design team have worked in print for many years so understand what’s required in the worlds of commerce, industry, hospitality, culture and tourism. They can help customers understand how the new ideas will work for them, discuss branding and logos, what will attract and inform their customers. For more information visit www.lincolncopycentre.co.uk • Single Use Menus • Christmas cards • Calendars • Gift Ideas • Notices and Signs • Information leaflets • Logos and branding • Stationary • Business cards • Newsletters • Postcards • Flyers • Brochures • Vinyl Banners • Roller Banners • Posters • Plan printing Looking forward at new business opportunities www.blmforum.net Business Link 39 BUSINESS SERVICES © Shutterstock /Jirapong Manustrong working. These forced remote working pivots present business services firms with the consideration of establishing a new normal when it comes to how they work, with the incorporation of more work from home arrangements providing attractive benefits. After having effectively scaled up remote delivery models without harming client experience during COVID for example, there is the chance to utilise remote working to optimise cost, resilience and gain access to a larger talent pool. More widely, digitisation offers new ways of delivering services and digital solutions give a speedy alternative to manual strategic planning and forecasting, helping firms anticipate and react to shifting workloads, allowing resources to be distributed optimally. In these fast-moving times, there are many challenges for business services, and the pandemic has only brought these issues into clearer focus, however there are also clear opportunities for firms to position themselves ahead of competitors. 36-39.qxp_Layout 1 03/11/2021 10:34 Page 4Next >