Rural areas in the North of England: Skills issues Professor Frank Peck (CRED Director) Centre for Regional Economic Development

Skills issues for rural areas in the North Cumbria Chamber of Commerce with CRED, UoC (2012) Cumbria LEP Business Plan Evidence-base CRED (2013; 2014) Skills scoping for Cumbria phase 1 and phase 2 reports prepared for Cumbria LEP, Employment and Skills Commission (Funded by ESF Skills for the Workforce Programme) CRED (2014) Overview of higher level skills needs in Cumbria prepared for Cumbria LEP Employment and Skills Commission CRED (2015) Evaluation of “the Edge in Cumbria” prepared for Cumbria LEP Employment and Skills Commission CRED (2014) Employer perception of young people’s employability and “work-ready” skills in Cumbria (funded by for INSPIRA) Current project joint with Northumbria University – Borderlands 2

Identifying skills issues for Cumbria Sector-specific skills issues: Advanced manufacturing, Energy, Food & drink, Tourism Transport & logistics, Land-based, Creative & cultural Generic skills issues: ICT and IT skills STEM Skills Leadership & management Work-readiness particularly of young people Transversal skills Basic skills Customer service skills

Key points on skills for sectors in Cumbria SectorSkills issues Advanced manufacture Predicted increase in demand for STEM skills, higher level skills, management & leadership. EnergySignificant demand for higher level skills linked to construction, power engineering and business services. Food & drinkHigh % workers have no qualifications but lack of relevant local training. Shortage of food technologists. TourismCustomer service skills. Structure of industry makes skill formation a challenge. Application of digital technology. Transport & logistics IT skills can be taught; people skills are more of a challenge. Need for change in culture of the industry. Land-basedImprove business planning, marketing skills. Also, how to acquire scientific knowledge in existing and new areas Creative & cultural Improve business and management skills, networking skills. Use of social media.

Key points on skills for sectors in Cumbria CompetencySkills issues IT skills2011, 17% employers in Cumbria report skills gaps in IT STEM skillsSignificant issue in key sectors – manufacturing, energy Leadership & management Area of need identified by many sector groups Work readinessIdentified by many SMEs as an issue Transversal skillsRecognition that skills deficits cut across conventional professional and disciplinary boundaries Basic Skills2011 survey - 15% report issues with elementary occupations Customer service10% report skills gap in “customer service occupations”

Skills issue in Cumbria – what’s “rural” about it? Sectoral issues (typically high location quotients in): Tourism and environment, Food & drink, Land-based industry, Energy and resources, manufacturing Structural issues High proportion of SMBs (small and microbusinesses) in rural areas Generic issue – impacts of sparcity on rural labour markets Restricts job seekers access to training and employment choices. Limits young people’s access to work experience. Affects employers’ recruitment and skills formation strategies. Symbiotic relationship between local employers and local communities becoming less sustainable due to: a) ageing and decline of WAP and b) pace of technological change and demand for continuous training c) Pressure for employers to recruitment from wider fields.

Work ready skills and young people in Cumbria In-depth interviews with 20 employers across all areas of Cumbria in 2014 What skills do they look for in new young recruits? “Can-do” attitude, initiative, confidence Communication skills Flexible, adaptable Understand company culture Leadership potential Good organisation Expect recruits to arrive with relevant social skills. Recognise benefit of substantive work experience (not just short visits). Employers views of young people? – most felt they lacked awareness of what it means to be work-ready. Young peoples views of employers? – barriers to accessing work experience (distance, cost, choice) a significant disadvantage.

Labour markets in rural areas beyond Cumbria?

GVA per head across the Borderlands

Trends in GVA per head of Population

Population aged over 65 Borderlands compared to UK 1997 – 2014

Change in Proportion of WAP

The Ten Point Plan – skills in rural areas Government will: recognise small schools in sparsely populated areas in their funding formula. focus efforts to support school improvement in underperforming areas, including rural areas……. invite local areas to participate in the reshaping, re-commissioning and ongoing commissioning of local post-16 skills provision increase apprenticeships in rural areas …… in food and farming and by helping small tourism businesses… In the current bidding round for Enterprise Zones…give preference to proposals involving smaller towns, districts and rural areas. Ensure that businesses in all Enterprise Zones in rural areas will be able to access high speed broadband.

Rural areas in the North of England: Skills issues Professor Frank Peck (CRED Director) Centre for Regional Economic Development