Siobhan Flynn Employment & Skills Manager Solent Marine & Maritime Careers Conference Amanda Beable Marine Growth Manager (HCC)

We are a world class centre of excellence in the Marine & Maritime sector #1 The UK has the largest marine and maritime sector in Europe, generating GVA of £19 billion pa #1 The Port of Southampton is the UK’s number one automotive port and the country’s premier cruise port #1 The Solent has the largest and most diverse marine cluster in the UK

The Marine Industry is key to the economic success of our area Accounts for over 20% of GVA, Provides over 48,000 jobs (5%) Supports 3,000 businesses The region

Our heritage and natural geography position where we are today South coast World shipping channels Natural harbours Double tides Proximity to London Portsmouth Historic Dock Yard – Mary Rose & HMS Victory Isle of Wight – birth place of the America’s Cup Southampton – Famous cruise ships launched

It is a thriving industry with many sub- sectors Commercial Leisure Science & Technology Defence Offshore

And it provides a wealth of career opportunities in many sub sectors Port – cruise, container & vehicle logistics Autonomous systems programmer Workboat builder Naval architect Competitive sailor Super yacht designer Ocean basin researcher Composites engineer Offshore maintenance And many more that you’ll hear about today

The importance of the sector both to the UK and the region is recognised by central Government Government commissioned ‘Transforming the Solent – The Marine Supplement’ Amongst other recommendations – report recommended the creation of business-led Marine Steering Group Now established and chaired by Brain Johnson from BAE Systems

Strategic Economic Plan – Priorities Supporting new businesses, enterprise and ensuring SME survival and growth. Enabling infrastructure priorities Establishing a single inward investment model Investing in skills to establish a sustainable pattern of growth Developing strategic sectors and clusters (interconnected groups and businesses) of marine, aerospace and defence, advanced manufacturing, engineering, transport and logistics businesses, low carbon and the visitor economy Building on our substantial knowledge assets to support innovation and build innovative capacity in the Solent - particularly linked to our HE excellence.

The Solent Labour Market Relatively high employment rates and low unemployment Job growth forecast to exceed growth in the working age population Strong intermediate level skills; but underperformance in higher level skills Over half of all job opportunities to 2020 will require higher level skills Demand for higher level skills to increase across all sectors Growth sectors to increasingly require Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Skills

The Solent Skills Strategy Developing World-Class Skills Transitions to Employment Raising Business Investment in Skills Developing a Responsive Skills System

Examples of Current Solent LEP Skills Work £12m CEMAST Centre at the Solent Enterprise Zone opened September 2014 Solent Skills for Growth Fund Solent Young Entrepreneur Fund Young Consultants

Current Solent LEP Skills Work cont. £10.9m Isle of Wight Composite Centre £12.4m Eastleigh College redevelopment & IT/advanced technology block Solent Employer Ownership of Skills Programme due to launch Autumn 2014