Minutes:
Officers provided a
verbal update in regards to the work that the Regional Skills Partnership had
been undertaking, in the South West Wales region, in order to identify skills
needs and skills gaps.
It was explained that
through the City Deal Skills and Talent Programme, Officers had been
undertaking a piece of work around a skills barometer in order to identify
current gaps in skills, and what future skills would be required, for both
industry and Public Sectors; across the five key areas of digital, energy,
construction, manufacturing and health. It was noted that the barometer was
complete; however, it would continuously be updated as new opportunities
emerged.
Members were informed
that this work highlighted the current provision, and how the provision needed
to be updated going forward; for example, some of the courses and opportunities
delivered through colleges, universities and schools were outdated, and needed
to be refreshed. It was stated that the work also looked at new skills coming
through, as a result of the projects that had been supported through the City
Deal, the FLOW Accelerator project, and the Celtic Freeport opportunities. It
was noted that although it was important to educate young people in schools and
colleges of these opportunities, it would also be vital to upskill the existing
workforce to transition into these new jobs as they developed; some of these
jobs would be long term, however the workforce needed to be ready in order to
meet the upcoming challenges.
Reference was made to
energy and construction, which were key areas for new skills; the Regional
Skills Partnership were looking at how the workforce, within the construction
sector, can be upskilled to meet the necessary demands.
Officers expressed the
importance of ensuring that colleges were also delivering these new skills
within the existing courses and apprenticeships on offer. It was mentioned that
there were new vocational qualifications being developed, which will be
introduced to schools in 2027; this will hopefully bring through opportunities
for young people to look at construction, engineering, manufacturing within the
school programme.
Through the Regional
Skills Partnership work with the Skills and Talent Programme, it was noted that
Officers had been able to support some of the pilot projects; utilising funding
from the programme. The Committee were provided with examples of some of the
pilot projects that had taken place in schools and colleges.
It was noted that the
Regional Skills Partnership had nine specific cluster groups, eight Private
Sector and one Public Sector, which looks at specific areas of concern and how
these concerns could be solved.
A discussion took place
in regards to specific courses avaliable to increase knowledge, across the
Public Sector, in regards to sustainability; these courses were free of charge
and avaliable to all Public Sector bodies.
Other key areas that
were highlighted through the Public Sector group were ecology and planning;
Officers were trying to identify how awareness of these opportunities could be
increased, and encourage people to think about studying in these areas.
The Committee was
informed of the four county reports that will be published at the end of March
2024, which provided detail about specific skills requirements for each county.
Reference was made to
TATA Steel, and the issues that the closure will bring; particularly regarding
staff losing jobs both within TATA and the supply chain. Members were assured
that the Regional Skills Partnership had been working hard to try and mitigate
these concerns, and ensure that the staff and their skills would be kept within
the region; a mapping exercise had been undertaken to assist with this.
Officers provided
information regarding a user experience project within the digital sector,
which was a course that had not yet been delivered anywhere in the UK; the
course had been written and approved, and was now being delivered as a level
two, three and four apprenticeship through Gower College. It was added that the
degree apprenticeship through Trinity St David University had also just
started.
Following the
discussion, the report was noted.