Agenda item - Employment and Skills – Youth Employment Hub and Adult Education Hub Update

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Agenda item

Employment and Skills – Youth Employment Hub and Adult Education Hub Update

Report of the Executive Director Families, Children & Learning (copy attached)

Minutes:

21.1    The Committee considered the report of the Executive Director Families Children & Learning which provided an update on the implementation of the Youth Employment Hub and an update on the Council’s Adult and Community Learning Provision. The report was introduced by the Head of Skills and Employment.

 

21.2    Cllr Brown referred to the Youth Employment Hub and asked if there had been a good response from employers, educational providers and voluntary sector organisations to the information and networking sections and asked how the outcomes would be monitored as that would be important to enable access to future funding. With regard to the Adult Education Hub, she asked how the figures for enrolment matched with numbers when the service was managed by the Friends Centre. The Head of Skills and Employment said that they had been overwhelmed by the response from employers, the voluntary sector and providers to the events put on, and agreed that it was important the outcomes were monitored and confirmed that that was being undertaken. With regard to the adult community learning, it was a different programme so difficult to compare exactly with what the Friends Centre had provided but as before were ensuring that the curriculum offer was appropriate for those who were most in need.

 

21.3    Cllr O’Quinn noted that there were many vacancies in the city and asked how effective the employment hub had been in being able to make placements and to what extent would career advice was given to those attending the hub. The Head of Skills and Employment said that staff were engaging with a number of sectors, such as the NHS, and were mapping out vacancies in the City. Career advice and guidance was given.

 

21.4    Cllr John noted that the report stated that unemployment numbers had increased by 180% from pre-pandemic and asked what the current figures were. The Head of Skills and Employment said that for the age group 16-24 there were 2,075 on universal credit out of 11,705 which was significantly lower than during the peak last year.

 

21.5    Cllr Grimshaw asked if the Hub would assist people in getting work experience and was advised they would.

 

21.6    Ms D Boyd asked if the diversity of people using the hub was monitored, whether those with SEND (and their parents) who did not meet the threshold criteria could access the support and whether those with SEND had been consulted on the service. The Head of Skills and Employment said that the diversity of those using the hub was monitored, and officers had worked with the SEND Young People’s Network to inform them of the employment hub and explain how it worked and how they could be involved. With regard to thresholds for support a fuller answer would be provided after the meeting, but young people with SEND were certainly in involved with the service.

 

21.7    Cllr Nield referred to Revival Work Clothes and asked for more information, and with reference to paragraph 4.12 asked how families were made aware of the option to self-refer. The Head of Skills and Employment said that there was a pool of clothes and young people could request certain clothes/sizes for interviews, With regard to self-referral it was advertised through school bulletins and through the Council services.

 

21.8    Cllr Lloyd asked if ESOL students had targeted learning and was advised they did.

 

21.9    RESOLVED: That the Committee noted the progress in establishing the Youth Employment Hub and new Adult Learning Hub.

 

Supporting documents:

 


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