BACKGROUND The Minister commissioned a review of Apprenticeships and Youth Training in February 2013 to establish a new system to:  support the growth and rebalancing of the Northern Ireland economy;  meet the future needs of business by developing a highly skilled workforce;  provide consistently high quality training leading to qualifications which are valued by both young people and employers;  ensure those young people are provided with opportunities to develop the skills and gain the relevant experience;  provide alternative pathways with parity of esteem; and  take account of best practice in other jurisdictions.

Context: NI Economic Strategy  Lowering Corporation Tax will not be sufficient on its own to transform local economy;  Need to take complementary measures which will further diversify our export base and maximise impact of lower Corporation Tax;  Need to ensure skills are available to meet the needs of inward investors and growing local companies;  New Department for the Economy creates opportunity to better align skills interventions and wider economic policy

Context: The Need for Skills  Notwithstanding Corporation Tax, Skills Barometer identifies the demand for higher level qualifications is likely to increase in coming years  New Apprenticeship system will be central to ensuring employers get the skills they need  The new Youth Training system will underpin the skills base of NI by ensuring young people have the skills and qualifications that will enable them to progress

International Evidence  Improved skills provide a route to stable employment and better wages  Jurisdictions with well developed Apprenticeship systems exhibit lower rates of youth unemployment, higher levels of productivity and greater social inclusion  Undertaking a quality professional and technical training route leads to a much greater chance of the participant being employed  The apprenticeship model will allow individuals to achieve higher level qualifications without the long-term debt associated with traditional full-time education

Local & International Evidence  Improved skills provide a route to stable employment and better wages  Effective employees – paying their way - within 12 to 18 months  Company specific skills  The apprenticeship model will allow individuals to achieve higher level qualifications without the long-term debt associated with traditional full-time education

Local & International Evidence  Employers participating in the new professional and technical training system will be able to influence the curriculum and train individuals in line with their organisational culture  New Youth training offer will ensure NI, similar to exemplar regions such as Germany and Holland, has a workforce equipped with the right skills to underpin the economy  Employers who engage with professional and technical training internationally indicate lower levels of staff churn  Evidence from Australia and Germany show positive returns on public evidence in apprenticeship systems  Individual employers report a net positive return (output) from those undertaking an apprenticeship even before the apprenticeship is complete

WORK READY PEOPLE Mark Huddleston Northern Ireland Commissioner for Employment & Skills Managing Director jheSOLUTIONS Ltd. & King and Fowler UK Ltd. The UK Commission for Employment and Skills

WHO NEEDS WORK READY PEOPLE?  The UK Commission for Employment and Skills publishes the Employment Skills Survey bi-annually  This is published along with a wide ranging surveys, reports and LMI (labour market intelligence)  The 2015 survey interviewed 91,210 businesses, 4,019 businesses surveyed in Northern Ireland  The Northern Ireland data will be published by UKCES and DEL on March 10th

HOW DO WE DEVELOP WORK READY PEOPLE?  The need for all stakeholders to play an active part in developing skills (creating a true social partnership structure)  Ensuring there is flexibility in the academic and non-work based learning activities  Addressing the core skills issues Essential skills in Maths & English Providing the work readiness skills – critical thinking / problem solving / teamwork / interpersonal skills Making work placements available to provide that understanding of behaviours in a work environment

The Apprenticeship & Youth Triple Helix Partnership

Strategic Advisory Forum  The Strategic Advisory Forum provides advice on the traineeship and the apprenticeship system. This includes advising the Department on: employer support, including funding and incentives; sectoral partnerships; across the NI economy, aligned to demand; the central service’s role in supporting apprenticeships; and the development of legislation to underpin the apprenticeships model.

Employer Needs  Work-ready employees  longer-term employability skills  Strong foundation of numeracy and literacy  Knowledge, competency and skills to meet specific requirements

Routes to Employment Higher Level Apprenticeships Same core qualifications (Foundation Degree; Bachelors Degree; Masters; PhD; Professional Qualifications) Youth Training A new award at level 2 equating to 5 GCSEs at grades A* - C, including English and maths New Professional and Technical Route Academic Route Post Graduate Qualifications (via universities or professional bodies Foundation Degree (via FE Colleges) Bachelors Degree (Via Universities) GCSEs (Schools) A full Level 2 is 5 GCSEs at grades A* - C, including English and maths Employment Same core qualifications (Foundation Degree; Bachelors Degree; Masters; PhD; Professional Qualifications)

CURRICULUM APPROACH Apprenticeships - levels 3 + Defined by employers and endorsed by sectoral partnerships. A combination of Professional and Technical Qualification equating to at least two A levels (at level 3). Additional qualifications or activities – defined by employers – e.g. project based qualifications or industry specific qualifications Core Skills Professional and Technical Additional Elements

SECTORAL PARTNERSHIPS identify occupations within the sector which could be met by an apprenticeship, informed by demand; develop the awards/qualifications for proposed apprenticeships, and the underpinning standards and assessments; engage with the interim Strategic Advisory Forum to advise on progress and to inform demand; advise on the content of the curriculum; and encourage employers to develop capacity and offer apprenticeship opportunities. Sectoral PartnershipsDel Support Budget for key activities Secretariat

Employers need Effective Employees

Employers need to Recruit Effective People But why Apprentices?

Corporates Growth in Revenue Growth in Profit Increasing productivity Financials Shareholders & their expectations

Private sector companies - 12 Local hi tech

Intellectual Capital, Assets and Property

The Employment Partnership Training Org FE, HE & 3 rd Party Apprentices Companies Effective employees Amble supple of Human Capital Jobs availability Rewarding Careers Delivering quality & relevant training Need effective class sizes

VAT registered Businesses in NI 2016

SAF: Employer’s Survey

Employer’s Survey

Corporates Growth in Revenue Growth in Profit Increasing productivity Financials Shareholders & their expectations SME : Small & Micro Same as Corporates Plus Often the following Survival Making payroll Often Life Style Businesses Time poor No dedicated HR person E ORK READY PEOPLE Companies in NI 68,085 Micro ,840 Small ,845 A company of 20 taking on a new employee 5% increase in staff Ability to absorb and time to assimilate The high relative cost in time and money if a poor hire

There are a wide range of employer perspectives  Local surveys indicate major Small vs. Medium and Large employer perspective  Apprenticeship/Traineeship vehicle will need to differ greatly across sectors in structure and appearance  Broad range of views on system and the type of support required to facilitate participation

System Challenges  Introduce and develop model in under-represented SME employers  Dual purpose curriculum – breadth and economic relevance  Providers providing high quality and consistent service to their local employers  Colleges & Universities are positioned as local engine of skills and innovation for employers

Need to market and ‘sell' the benefits of the next employee being an Apprentice Marketing can raise awareness and direct enquires Need also to sell one to many and one to one Need to ‘de –risk’ the taking on an Apprentice especially for micro and small SMEs Need to ‘pick’ those initial sectors that are likely to be the most receptive

The true measure of success… when employers are phoning up and asking how many Apprentices will be available in their sector. we need to build towards employer ‘market pull’ as well as Apprenticeship ‘market push’.

Apprenticeship/Traineeship Pilots to Date  Strong support from Employers, Colleges and Universities  16 Traineeship Pilots (non-employed route) pilots are underway through the 6 FE Colleges  249 participants involved across a broad range of occupational areas  3 Level 3 Apprenticeship pilots (50 participants) are also progressing  A further 20 participants due to begin a creative industries apprenticeship pilot in April 2016

Higher Level Apprenticeship Pilots to Date  Over 370 higher apprenticeships have either completed or are underway  Further pilots commenced from September 2015 in an extended range of occupational areas including: Level 7 (masters) Higher Apprenticeship being piloted by Almac and QUB Level 6 (degree) Higher Apprenticeship being piloted by Deloitte and UU All 6 FE Colleges offering Level 5 HLA in Accountancy  Interim evaluation of pilots is broadly positive  Will be seeking further pilots to commence during 2016/17

Sectorial Partnerships & Wider Private Sector identify occupations within the sector which could be met by an apprenticeship, informed by demand; develop the awards/qualifications for proposed apprenticeships, and the underpinning standards and assessments; engage with the interim Strategic Advisory Forum to advise on progress and to inform demand; advise on the content of the curriculum; and encourage employers to develop capacity and offer apprenticeship opportunities. Sectorial Partnerships & wider Private Sector engagement FE, HE & DfE Support Budget for key activities Secretariat

QUESTIONS?