Agenda item

The Director for Tourism, Culture and Inward Investment submits a report which provides an overview of Skills Bootcamps and the potential of these for Leicester and Leicestershire.

Members of the Commission are requested to note the report and pass any comments to the Director for Tourism, Culture and Inward Investment.

The Director for Tourism, Culture and Inward Investment submit a report which provided an overview of Skills Bootcamps and the potential of these for Leicester and Leicestershire.

The Assistant City Mayor for Communities, Adults Learning, and Jobs and Skills introduced the item. It was noted that this Government initiative was focused on developing sector specific skills for adults. Leicester City Council would lead the programme in Leicester and Leicestershire. The programme was initially focused purely on digital skills but was now looking at other areas.

The Regeneration Programmes and Projects Manager and the Head of Adult Education presented the item. It was noted that:

·         The bootcamp programme was 60 hours long, with how that time was distributed varying. The programmes were required to be in specific locational skills areas and had to have real employers signed up to enable real outcomes at the end of the programme, with the aim of tailoring course content to employer need.

·         A bid was currently being put together for a 6-month pilot in 2 areas. Following this a wider bid would be made for a range of different vocational areas.

·         Courses were categorised into levels of difficulty; most courses were required to be at least level 3.

·         The Council had put out a call for organisations in the digital skills and construction sectors. From this 3 responses were being put forward into the bid.

In response to questions from Members it was noted that:

·         An outcome to the initial bid was expected within 2-3 weeks, based on that courses were planned to be from October-March.

·         These bootcamps had been around for 2 years, Ofsted carried out a review which brought out a lot of learning points, meaning that there was now best practice available in this area.

·         Approaches to needs assessment were around what employers were looking for and looking at where those experienced with running the programmes wanted to go.

·         The amount of level 3 courses was an attempt to fill the gap in opportunities after funding for level 3 and 4 qualifications was withdrawn. Those not ready for that level would be signposted to other opportunities.

·         Training providers had been asked to identify businesses with vacancies.

·         The project was very outcome-based, with 20% of funding for helping people get into and sustain employment and progress in their careers.

·         Bootcamps weren’t required to carry an accreditation, but the Council had asked providers to provide a qualification wherever possible.

·         The Council’s role as Accountable Body required it to commission other partners to deliver the programme on the Council’s behalf. A management fee would give the resource to manage the programme properly. The Council did have powers if a provider did not provide their service.

·         The management fee was capped as a percentage of the total allocation so there would be no profit for the Council.

·         Employers connected to the courses generally guaranteed interviews for those completing the courses.

·         Those with similar level qualifications from other countries were also eligible for the level 3 courses.

Members of the Commission stated that it was positive that the Council was providing opportunities in high-skill fields and wished the best of luck in the bid.

AGREED:

                        That the Commission notes the update.