Feedback from NE LEP Skills Group NE LEP

Feedback from - NE LEP Skills Group - NE LEP Apprenticeship Group c/o Springboard Sunderland Trust, The Alec Dickson Centre, Rivergreen Industry Centre, Pallion, Sunderland, SR 4 6 AD. Tel: 0775 134 0818, email: secretary@nelp. co. uk Company No: 08704381 www. nelp. co. uk

General • Skills Facilitators – new at the LEP. Link between companies and skills. Kim in the new role Education and Enterprise Lead from 1 st April • Looking at a who offers what database (like the ILP have) for these Skills Facilitators • New page coming – update on offers e. g. traineeships, apprenticeships, Kickstart plus the grants

Digital Exclusion • New Skills Consulting has been commissioned to explore the nature and extent of digital exclusion within the North East LEP area. • This research will provide an evidence base that will enable us to identify what needs to be prioritised to start to overcome the challenges. • An amount of LGF funding has been ringfenced, subject to the findings, to implement some of the recommendations arising from the repot.

Apprenticeship Ambassador Network • • • https: //www. gov. uk/government/groups/apprenticeship-ambassador-network North East Apprenticeship Ambassador Network (NEAAN) Alan Wallace, Vice Chair of the NEAAN to provide an overview of the network. There are 9 AANs in England, all of which comprise of volunteers. The aim is twofold: to engage and encourage employers to talk about their apprenticeship journey, and to support apprentices to reach out to schools/colleges to share their personal, current experiences. To date they have engaged with 130 schools, over 14, 000 students and over 4, 000 hours of ambassador engagement NEAAN now has a yearly Business Plan from their previously 3 -yearly plan with the following priorities: encouraging more SME engagement; promoting high quality Apprenticeship; and the importance of completion and progression. To achieve this, the following model is used: Signposting, Celebrate, Insight and Storytelling

CEC/AELP • The CEC are working very closely with the AELP to support increasing the knowledge and understanding of both emerging Careers Leaders within ITPs, as well as developing the awareness of school/college Careers Leaders about the ITP sector. • The IAG Playbook resource which they have commissioned the AELP to create will meet both of these requirements – it will be an interactive guide for all Careers Leaders and will also contain a digital pdf for young people to improve their knowledge of the many pathways open to them via the ITP sector. • You can now register for this free event https: //attendee. gotowebinar. com/register/301724393822440347 2 on the 31 March 10. 00 am – 11. 00 am – ‘The IAG Playbook: A resource for Careers Leaders’

Apprentice Nation Sponsored by BT it looks really good for Careers Guidance. A slide deck was shared demonstrating how Apprenticenation aim to promote the visibility of apprenticeships, and particularly to under- represented groups, through using music/artists to inspire, attract and engage young people nationally. A Spring Campaign is to be launched imminently which includes a 6 -week online programme featuring on demand courses and webinars, rewards and extension opportunities. • Sign up for the newsletter which has content aimed at those who work with young people here: https: //apprenticenation. co. uk/newsletter • Check out our learning content for your purposes, you're more than welcome to sign up via the normal link! https: //apprenticenation. co. uk/joinan • The site are some great mentoring opportunities for the young people you work with. Here is the link https: //apprenticenation. co. uk/mentors • Very short introduction to Apprentice Nation which gives you a flavour of its fresh approach: https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=0 RRIdb. Tc. IMA

North East Gatsby Benchmarks Pilot Final evaluation of the Gatsby funded North East pilot of the Gatsby Benchmarks for Good Career Guidance was published. The results show that improving career guidance by using the Benchmarks can lead to better student outcomes, while also raising aspirations and increasing engagement with education. • It followed 16 schools and colleges in the North East of England as they implemented Benchmarks over four years. Findings within the report include: • Student Career readiness scores (a measure of preparedness for work) showed significant increases in all year groups across the four years of the evaluation. • The greater the number of Benchmarks held, the greater the number of GCSE passes at A*-C/9 -4 were achieved by each learner, even when gender, ethnicity, SEND status, FSM status, looked after status and Ofsted rating were statistically controlled for. • Between 2015 and 2019, learners at pilot colleges became increasingly more likely to achieve their learning outcomes, compared to learners at local colleges or all other colleges. • Evaluation report https: //www. gatsby. org. uk/education/latest/evaluation-of-the-north-eastgatsby-benchmark-pilot-released • Should you wish to join Evaluation of the Gatsby Benchmarks webinar on Thursday, 25 March 2021 at 15. 30 - 17. 00. Click here www. derby. ac. uk/research/centres-groups/icegs/research-andconsultancy/gatsby-report-/ Ryan Gibson and Matt Joyce will be speaking

NORTH EAST AMBITION ESF funded programmes • North East Ambition ESF programme extension presentation NEA 1 Pilot programme Dec 2019 - March 2021 £ 3. 1 m • Career Hubs/Education Challenge/Enterprise Advisor Network • Delivery partners (RTC and EDGE Foundation) • Target 341 SMEs engaged NEA 1 extended pilot programme to August 2022 • Extending/expanding the Enterprise Advisor Network • Time extension only due to Covid-19 • Additional 59 SMEs and 120 participants engaged • DWP further call to expand up to 50% and extend to December 2023 NEA 2 expanded programme April 2021 - Dec 2023 £ 9. 6 m • Delivery partnership North East LEP and Education Development Trust • Target 530 SMEs (not previously engaged with skills solution) North East Ambition Portal www. northeastambition. co. uk/

My details Karen. routledge@seta. co. uk c/o Springboard Sunderland Trust, The Alec Dickson Centre, Rivergreen Industry Centre, Pallion, Sunderland, SR 4 6 AD. Tel: 0775 134 0818 Company No: 08704381