Tessa Staniforth and Sue Welsh

1. Setting the Scene - how the GLA Group and NAS are developing apprenticeship opportunities through procurement Tessa Staniforth and Sue Welsh

2. Contents • Background • Why is skills and employment a commercial priority for the GLA Group? • Skills Labour Needs Analysis (SLNT) • The role of the Supplier Skills Managers (GLA) • The role of Employer Services Managers (NAS) • National Apprenticeship Service • Case Studies • Learning Points 1

3. Background • In July 2008, the London Skills and Employment Board (LSEB) published: London’s Future: The Skills and Employment Strategy for London 2008 – 2013 • Transport for London released its 10 year ‘Skills and Employment Strategy’ in March 2009 • Research has identified skills shortages in construction, engineering and technical areas • Strong agenda around: • Greater support to employers in providing more jobs and skills opportunities to Londoners • Supporting Londoners to improve their skills and prospects • Other national and regional agendas around • Increasing the number of apprentices • Worklessness Agenda and long term unemployed

4. Why is Skills and Employment a Social-Economic Priority for the GLA Group? To ensure Londoners and the London economy benefit from GLA works: • High cost of worklessness and skills shortages to London: improving employment and skills outcomes contributes to reductions in child poverty, crime, improved health and sustainability • London’s worklessness rate is 30% • Less than 50% have the numeracy skills expected of those who have completed primary school • By 2020 we expect 50% of jobs to require degree level qualifications • Strong Mayoral agenda around supporting employers to provide more jobs and skills opportunities to Londoners • Strong Mayoral and Government support for apprenticeships: Coalition has pledged £250 million extra funding for adult apprentices in CSR

5. Why is Skills and Employment a Commercial Priority for the GLA Group? To ensure GLA Group suppliers provide a capable and competent workforce: • Skilled workforce will ensure suppliers have sufficient capability and competency to deliver to time, quality and cost requirements • Substantial evidence that training and development improves productivity through reducing staff turnover and a quicker adaption to new techniques • Skills shortages and an aging workforce in key sectors relevant to GLA Group contracts, including construction, engineering, and IT pose a high risk to future growth (e.g.Project Brunel)

6. Strategic Labour Needs & Training (SLNT) – What Is It? To maximise the value of GLA’s project spend, there are SLNT requirements within GLA group contracts that seek to ensure suppliers: • Train and develop their workforce to ensure capability/competency • Offer training, employment and skills opportunities to London communities, particularly in relation to disadvantaged groups SLNT is implemented through: • Embedding SLNT requirements within new contracts • Assisting new and existing suppliers access funding and support to delivery skills and employment requirements through the Supplier Skills Team

7. Strategic Labour Needs and Training (SLNT) – How Is It Used? • Toolkit provides clear guidance and targets of what TfL expects from its suppliers and how they should respond • Contracts are considered on a case by case basis to identify which have the greatest scope for implementing SLNT provisions • Relevance and proportionality are the key to ensuring supplier compliance, and are considered at an early stage with legal and subject matter experts • PQQ / ITT stages are designed to ensure supplier awareness of the SLNT requirements and provide TfL with an outline delivery plan • Key stage is post contract award and the requirement for the supplier to work with TfL to develop a detailed delivery plan • Monitoring and contract management critical to successful delivery • SLNT seen as part of a broader long term relationship with suppliers through SRM / contract management

8. SLNT – How Does It Work? Trigger Points: • Equivalence and Priority: 50% of SLNT outputs must be a TfL Priority

9. SLNT – An Example The above example covers construction/ manufacturing and demonstrates meeting the 12 SLNT requirements required for the contract and meeting the 50% of deliverables within TfL Priority areas

10. The Role of Supplier Skills Managers (GLA) • The team of SSM’s are embedded within the GLA Group’s Central Responsible Procurement Team and funded by the LDA. Their role is to: • Assist GLA group suppliers gain funding and support from available employment and skills programmes • Work with GLA group’s Supply Chain to understand the suppliers’ requirements and help them deliver these • Help co-ordinate the various agencies and organisations (including Sector Skills councils, NAS, JCP etc) that offer skills or employment funding, into one integrated programme • Co-ordinate and monitor the GLA group Supply Chains to ensure requirements are being met 9

11. National Apprenticeship Service Vision . The National Apprenticeship Service’s vision is that by 2020 every employer will value an Apprenticeship as the key route to equipping them with the skills they need for their business. Mission The National Apprenticeship Service has responsibility for delivery of Apprenticeships through the pursuit of three key principles: • Supporting employers • Stimulating high quality demand from individuals • Ensuring that training is relevant, timely and high quality

12. National Apprenticeship Service Functions Employer Services Provide a One Stop Apprenticeship Advice and Support Service for all employers and promote the Apprenticeship vacancy service Apprenticeship vacancies Free on-line recruitment service for employers to advertise apprenticeship vacancies Learner Services Promote Apprenticeships and the Apprenticeship vacancy system supporting individuals and key intermediaries including: Local Authorities, Connexions, Schools, JCP and ensure provision matches demand

13. The Role of Employer Services Managers (NAS) There are two Employer Services Managers working alongside the Supplier Skills team and their role is to: • Assist GLA Supplier Skills Managers (SSMs) in identifying employer’s needs • Joint meetings with employers • Engage with employers/prospective employers at earliest opportunity • Identify gaps in Framework and Provider base • Identify appropriate Providers through usual selection criteria or through competitive tendering • Account management function throughout • Monitoring progress to agreed targets and regular updates with SSMs

14. Case Studies • Serco Delivered and exceeded SLNT requirements on worklessness and apprenticeships • Rentokil Pre-employment training for LUCAS card, delivering against worklessness requirements and looking into apprenticeships • First London & Arriva the Shires Pilot schemes for bus driver apprenticeships looking to be rolled out to other bus companies • EPMF Consortium Consortium approach to delivering technical civil engineering apprenticeships, led by Mott McDonald with 6 consultancies involved • Borough Apprenticeship Consortium 5 boroughs working in partnership to deliver highways technician apprenticeship for 10 young people

15. Learning Points • Support from SSM & NAS provides suppliers with the tools to implement new recruitment and training practices across other areas of their business • Flexibility within SLNT requirements ensures it is a generic model that can be components most suit their business needs • Suppliers are keen to engage with this agenda but can be put off by the complexities of public funding: SSM & NAS help them to navigate through this • Suppliers recognise skills, employment & training requirements are increasingly embedded within public sector procurement processes, therefore engaging in this activity can give them a competitive advantage • Suppliers often need SSM & NAS support to win “hearts and minds” internally, to introduce apprenticeship programmes into their organisation • Effective partnership working is key • Develop systems to measure and monitor progress

16. Contacts Tessa StaniforthGLA Supplier Skills Manager T: 0207 126 3532E:tessastaniforth@tfl.gov.uk Sue Welsh NAS Employer Services ManagerT: 020 7904 0971 E: sue.welsh@apprenticeships.gov.uk Harminder Matharu NAS Employer Services ManagerT: 020 7904 0961 E: Harminder.Matharu@apprenticeships.gov.uk 15