L&W Chief Exec's briefing

Everyone at L&W has been deeply saddened by the recent death of Duncan Melville, our Chief Economist. Duncan was driven by his commitment to social justice, always seeking to answer the question ‘how can we best help people?’ He was also incredibly supportive of his colleagues and it’s been comforting to hear from so many about the difference he made to them, as well as to share memories of his well-known love of football, family and friends. He was a hugely valued, respected and popular colleague and friend and he will be sadly missed by us all.

Duncan’s analysis of the labour market statistics was always worth reading. We paid tribute to his work in this month’s briefing, which showed that while employment is recovering, there are still 600,000 fewer people in employment compared with pre-pandemic levels. Crucially, if pre-pandemic trends had continued, there would be an additional 1.1 million more people in the labour market. While the Government focuses on increases in payroll employment, the real picture is of employment down and progress slowing. This helps to explain the difficulty many employers are having recruiting, highlighting the need for a new phase of the Plan for Jobs that focuses on engaging economically inactive people in the labour market.

The Government's agenda on ‘levelling up’ keeps receding into the distance, but the need to address geographical imbalances remains. Last week, L&W’s Naomi Clayton succinctly set out five measures in employment and skills that should be part of our focus, using new analysis to provide a picture of the areas where ‘levelling up’ should focus.

Longer working lives, combined with shifts in the economy and labour market mean more people will need to retrain and upskill. But with sector-switching having fallen over the last decade, we’re looking at ways to help people switch careers through our New Futures programme, and look forward to exploring this at our event with the Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Angela Rayner MP.

Meanwhile, nominations are open until 8th February for our Festival of Learning awards, celebrating the amazing achievements of learners, tutors, employers and projects. Get nominating!

Stephen Evans
Chief Executive

Our Festival of Learning awards not only recognise the outstanding achievements of adult learners but also showcase employers leading innovative and impactful staff learning and development programmes; the best examples of learning provision for communities or disadvantaged groups; and tutors going the extra mile for their adult learners.

Award nominations for this year’s Festival of Learning close soon and we have extended the nomination period. Remember to submit your nomination before Tuesday 8 February!
If you share our values around inspiring adult learning and would like to find out more about becoming a sponsor of Festival of Learning, visit our website. We have a range of sponsorship opportunities.

Inspire! Adult Learning Awards – nominate by 1 March 2022
Learning and Work Institute Wales welcomes nominations for inspiring people, projects and organisations across Wales who demonstrate the impact that lifelong learning can make on their lives and the lives of others. There are eleven categories that reflect a broad range of learning and skills. Information and links to the guidance and nomination form can be found on the website. Entries for nominations close Tuesday 1 March 2022.

Youth Employment
As a co-chair of the Youth Employment Group (YEG), we met the Minister for Employment, Mims Davies MP, and the Shadow Minister for Employment, Alison McGovern MP, to discuss current labour market challenges and youth employment schemes such as Kickstart and Youth Hubs. We highlighted YEG’s priorities for 2022 and the work of the sub-groups focusing on disability, youth justice, Apprenticeships, self-employment, employers, quality of work, and ethnic disparities. To find out more, sign up to become a YEG member and join our monthly meetings here.

Priorities for the Department for Work and Pensions in 2022
Throughout the pandemic, we’ve tracked the impact of Covid on different groups within the labour market, developing evidence-informed recommendations around employment support.

The Work and Pensions Committee, chaired by Rt Hon Stephen Timms MP, held an oral evidence session on the Plan for Jobs and employment support on Wednesday 5 January 2022, where L&W Deputy Director Sam Avanzo Windett gave evidence. Key themes included the Disability Employment Gap, older workers and long-term unemployment, understanding what works in employment support, and the Shared Prosperity Fund.

Changing careers: Reskilling and retraining through the pandemic, with keynote from Shadow Secretary of State for the Future of Work, Angela Rayner MP
Wednesday 2 February | 2pm – 3.30pm
Our New Futures pilots, tailored to reflect the skills and needs of local labour markets, are supporting people who need to reskill as a result of the pandemic.
This event will share insights from our survey on changing careers and set out the local picture in our pilot areas. We are looking forward to welcoming Angela Rayner MP as our keynote speaker. Find out more and sign up here.

Sharing Prosperity: Housing, Learning and Work Conference
Wednesday 23 February | 9.30am – 12.45pm
Through L&W and Communities that Work's partnership event, we are bringing together experts to explore the role of employment support, skills and housing in empowering communities. We will consider how we can better join up across the sectors to ensure people get the support they need to be socially included, find a job, build their skills and get on at work. We’ll also be exploring the Shared Prosperity Fund and what the Government’s ‘Levelling Up’ agenda means in practice. Find out more and book your free place here.

Pre-apprenticeships: creating opportunities for young people – what works?
Wednesday 2 March | 2pm – 4.30pm
The pandemic has reinforced existing inequalities, pushing many young people further away from apprenticeships and wider labour market opportunities. High quality and targeted pre-apprenticeship programmes, delivered in creative and engaging ways, can enable young people to develop the core skills and experience that help them to break cycles of unemployment and precarious employment, and establish sustainable careers for the future.
At this event we will bring together a range of pre-apprenticeship providers, from the UK, Europe and other parts of the world, to explore how pre-apprenticeship programmes can contribute to the Covid recovery. Find out more and book your free place here.