Supporting Construction Skills in East Sussex Caroline Bragg

1. Supporting Construction Skills in East Sussex Caroline Bragg Employability and Skills Strategy Manager East Sussex County Council caroline.bragg@eastsussex.gov.uk

2. Coast to Capital LEP SELEP SELEP Skills Advisory Group Wider stakeholders ESCC Economic Development & Infrastructure Team East Sussex Skills East Sussex Apprenticeships East Sussex ESCC 16-19 Strategy Economic Priority Sector Task Groups Land-based task group Health and Social Care NHS/ ESCC partnerships Engineering and Advanced Manufacturing task group Construction task group Creative and Digital task group Visitor Economy task group

3. The construction skills picture in East Sussex • Construction industry provided 8.6% of the county’s GVA (£891m) in 2016, compared to 6.3% in England • 8.3% of jobs in the county are in construction, compared to 6.4% nationally • Majority of businesses are micro SMEs, 85.6% with 0-4 employees • Ageing workforce and a disproportionate number of men • Highest demand for general labourers, greatest increases in demand are for site managers, contract management and customer service skills. Evidence of growing importance of non-manual skills in the industry. • Labour supply after Brexit • The number of starts in construction-related courses and apprenticeships has been steadily decreasing • Problems of perception of industry: low skilled, long hours, low pay, all manual labour

4. Skills East Sussex Construction task group • Collaboration between employers, training providers and stakeholders to shape local education offer, including higher level vocational skills, to meet the needs of business • Develop careers provision to boost engagement in the sector • Support initiatives to increase levels of work readiness • Use existing strategic initiatives, e.g. the Enterprise Adviser Network, to link schools and businesses • Challenge, support and influence the way the sector is perceived • Lobby local, regional and national agencies, and influence strategic policy relating to construction

5. Construction task group activities to date • Training session delivered by Construction task group members in Dec 2017 to 30 school careers staff • 15 Industry Champions signed up to promote the construction sector in schools • 3 Enterprise Advisers from the construction sector working strategically with senior leaders in schools to improve careers and employability provision • Infographic showing pathways through the construction sector developed and disseminated to schools and colleges • Support for a bid by University of Brighton to secure £119,800 funding to develop higher level apprenticeships in Construction Site Management and Quantity Surveying • ESCC procurement – social value commitments from Costain CH2M for East Sussex Highways and Mildren Eastbourne Town development • Lobbying the Minister for Skills and local MPs on the allocation of apprenticeship funding to providers that support the construction sector