NINE ELMS VAUXHALL PARTNERSHIP
Working Group Joint Co-ordination Unit Strategy Board Meeting Time and Date 10:00 a.m-12.00am, 2nd September 2014 Venue Covent House
DRAFT MINUTES
Introductions and apologies (including declarations of Action interest)
In attendance:
Jan Lloyd (Chair) Chief Executive, Covent Garden Market JL Authority
Phil de Montmorency JCU Manager PdM
Allison Francis Community Engagement Manager, AF (Deputising for James Wandsworth JCP Ramsay)
Bal Virdee (Deputising for Partnership Manager, Kennington JCP BV Prathiba Ramsingh)
Cllr Jack Hopkins Lead Member Jobs and Growth, LB Lambeth JM
Nick Smales Economic Development Officer, Wandsworth NS Council
Steve Diamond Deputy Economic Development Officer, SD Wandsworth Council
Keith Trotter Programme Co-ordinator, Nine Elms Delivery KT Team
Helen Fisher Nine Elms Programme Director HF
Keith Richmond JCP (DWP) Outreach Account Manager JCU KR
Corrina Kasten Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, JCU CK
James Burke Employer Engagement Officer, JCU JB
Apologies:-
Sandra Roebuck Programme Director, Strategic and Neighbourhood Regeneration, LB Lambeth
Kamal Motalib LB Lambeth Commissioning Manager
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1. Minutes of last meeting – Agreed as an accurate record (no amendments noted.) Minutes have been circulated and uploaded onto web-site.
2. Matters Arising (actions of last meeting)
2.1 Performance report titles pulled from the MI tool has been moved into the agenda.
2.2 The presentation to the Mayor took place at the LEP event with the consensus that the slides were well received; a letter of support was received from the Mayor. Feedback suggests there is a huge amount of interest in Nine Elms and it is important to take advantage of funding opportunities as well recognising industry failure around skills.
The SFA met separately with PdM.
2.3 There has been disappointingly very little response from Colleges to the Mace report and no significant explanation as to the lack of this response. No pre-employment is currently funded by the SFA and only 39 % of training is considered fit for purpose against the top ten trades.
2.4 PdM met with 8 Agencies as part of a preferred supplier process. This way caseloads can be built, more vacancies brought in and capacity increased. JB will be contacting agencies on a regular basis around active engagement (of workers) on site. Whilst direct employment is the preferred option the JCU will on occasion work with Apprenticeship Training Agencies who retain the employer role and help employees sustain through placements with the employer in order to complete the apprenticeship framework.
2.5 KR is working closely with JCP districts to identify best practice referral mechanisms. This will be picked up at the next meeting as an agenda item.
2.7 A version of a practical shortened handbook for sub- contractors has been developed that will be deployed initially with BPS to test this the waters. This is a stage process.
2.8 and 2.9 to be covered within the meeting
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2.10 The Operational Steering Group is presently occupied With JCU / JCP / brokerage interaction and pre- employment. A meeting has been arranged with Sam Campbell at NEV to pull in communication plans particularly engaging people the industry.
3. JCU Update (Operational Update): JCU report paper PdM
PdM provided an update by way of an overview. It was agreed that the format was useful in that there was scope to delve into details during subsequent items.
No recommendations were made in this paper.
Principle items to note:
The baseline position for ESP has been established for live sites where ESP outcomes have been capable of being forecast. Thus there is a baseline report that gives us a position over time but does not define trade by trade.
The focus on pre-employment means the discussion around top-10 areas has taken a back-seat, however it is imperative that training providers deliver more what is required than what has traditionally been delivered – there is a need to understand why this is not happening.
JL suggested sending a letter to College principals asking them for reasons as to why the trade-specific and employment- relevant training is not happening and how they proposed to help NEV / JCU by delivering the pertinent training. There is clearly a mismatch and the question is what are we fundamentally missing and what is the supply side doing about it?
Cllr Hopkins suggested that when learners do not complete their academic year in order to start employment, it negatively impacts the college’s ability to draw down SFA funding. Although it would be useful to see what could be addressed and to work alongside curriculum managers.
In terms of operational progress – the JCU have 3 new team members (JL welcomed them go the group). The team members; JB, CK and KR have specific work plans and attend monthly meetings to align and focus on priorities.
The system development (Cognisoft) is in the latter stages in terms of reporting tools.
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JCP – there has been a successful FSF bid around returners to construction industry with partner Mainport.
There is also another CITB /GLA bid.
Pre-employment has been launched with Tier 1 contractors and some sub-contractors and was well received as it will meets their needs at this stage of the build including courses around fire marshalling, health and safety, traffic wardens and banksmen, as well as more advanced sites with PASMA / working at heights etc.
130 residents turned up to the Lambeth College jobs fair, and these are currently being worked onto the caseloads.
Keith Richmond is now on board to identify emerging good practice as well as any issues around referring from the Job Centre. KR will be looking at all the different local offices to ensure consistency of practice. This will involve delivering workshops so that advisors develop an understanding of the criteria and refer the right people to the right job opportunities.
Work with CLF is a priority; filling our vacancies locally but referring onto CLF 8 borough brokerage for live vacancies which cannot be filled locally.
Top Slice paid for by New Homes Bonus
Thames Tunnel Tideway and Cross Rail – good relationship with close working.
A presentation was delivered to the AAC Construction Group.
4. Employment & Skills Plans (14 – 15) Programme and Performance Review (14 – 15 baseline and performance review paper)
High-level paper / head-line summary – picks out key drivers.
Development of actual and committed over life-time
Depicts both ‘live’ and ‘not live’ projects, those with ESP’s in place and also figures split by borough.
There is a delay in ESP’s reaching agreement; work packages, contractual agreements and sign off take some time.
It is important that we get messaging right with our contacts and that sub-contractors understand the ESP’s and requirements thereof. Relationships are taking off and St James’s is demonstrating excellent engagement.
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SD explained that the Targets on the ESP’s are based around the CITB model and are skills orientated with the priority being Lambeth and Wandsworth residents. Some S106 agreements do not have the 20 % target of employees being residents of either of the 2 boroughs.
‘Local people placed on site’ refers to the circumstance where we are actively involved in the job –placement process and JCU / Brokerages are engaged.
In terms of capturing the 20 % of workforce on site (local residents), these stats can include returners and we can collect numbers going through the gate so outcomes can be reported where we are not actively engaging residents. This is not part of the ESP’s and is a business target. This picks up Lambeth and Wandsworth residents on site that we have not supported but hides a lot of migrant labour in local digs so unlikely to produce any reliable / useful data. Request for information to date has not produced any data to date; reason being given as gate protocols / data protection.
HF queried that contractors (of this scale) should not be new to the issue of reporting outcomes and working to ESP’s. Are there penalty clauses that can be used as leverage? PdM to draft a staged process for compliance.
It was agreed that the process needs to be robust from the start and preferably with a light touch. There is capacity within planning teams to respond and there are mechanisms via internal discussions where we can escalate relationships that are not working. Good will and reputation factor greatly.
Riverlight took on board apprenticeships that did not have pre- employment training and the majority fell by wayside. This points to the need for pre-employment and work placements as part of a construction training routeway. If candidates show right aptitudes, they more likely to be taken on and supported with NVQ pathway and routes towards full Apprenticeships.
The construction industry is not within the top-ten employment sectors of choice for local people. Though a general labour shortage should be providing an incentive to contractors to work with the project to source candidates this message - along with tighter labour market conditions - makes them sceptical.
The carrot for contractors can be good press and PR.
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Performance by site:
There is a lot of logistic activity at present. Training up current employers with more relevant tickets and card could further their careers and create opportunities for back-filled vacancies. This would be an added value as not a target in the ESP plans.
26 vacancies have been noted to the JCU in the period of June to November.
13 job start placements up from 12 which is similar to the delivery of the previous period. However with more employer engagement combined with a focused pre-employment offer to help access opportunities we are anticipating a rise in vacancies filled in the next quarter.
JB is also based at Embassy Gardens once a week.
A sub-contractor workshop will be started with Carillion at Battersea Power Station which will involve the delivery of a one-stop shop for sub-contractors offering support with candidates who require up skilling and for additional new labour include training providers such as QTS who have a NVQ offer.
BV mentioned that new builds needed cleaners with CSCS cards and there were potentially some missed opportunities.
Baseline report - highlights key issues and demonstrates project targets over the lifetime. CK to engage contractors during upcoming monitoring visits and work on profiles and demands and any potential under-reporting.
HF detailed the importance of reporting school visits and curriculum support activities.
5 Strategic Engagement & Funding update
CITB / LEP NHB – Top Slice NHB – ESF
No. of strands in programme over-specified. Not a great deal of flexibility within the strands on offer. Returners to Construction speak to demographic; opportunity to get people back into the industry is something we want to focus on given our proof of concept using FSF JCP and opening up of referral routes.
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Flexible Support Fund: IAG – influence and build programme around that cohort, identifying their needs, and using plant training as a hook.
NHB – Top Slice. £250k each from 8 boroughs to share unfilled live vacancies will help build credibility of our offer with employers
In responding to the skills deficit there will be a pot of funding for skills development we can access centrally. PdM having significant input.
JM asserted that general career talks were more useful and would be more engaging and better attended than specific construction-led events.
6 NEV Training Partnership and Skills Forecast Update
Following letter from Chair, PdM will re-engage FE providers with view to moving forward TOP 10 trades and re-engaging the Training Partnership with an agreed road map. It takes 2 years for curriculums to be changed at Colleges so an immediate response to the Top Ten Trades is unlikely.
Money may be needed to unlock forward options if local colleges cannot help by focusing more on industry specialists
ESF
There needs to be an understanding of where ESF money should be used and if there is a mismatch occurring. Need to determine what we would and therefore influence strands of delivery.
SD confirmed that we should go for the CITB bid and will push this as far as we can.
Training Outcomes to date:
Collaboration with Lambeth and South Thames Colleges; this was a pilot at present subject to evaluation and no future procurement route decisions have been made at this stage as momentum important and a funding hiatus.
PdM visited all the pre-employment cohorts at the end of their provision.
South Thames College (partnered with Mainport) made an outstanding effort especially in terms of pastoral care and we
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need to build on that success.
Lambeth College were experiencing a number of pressing issues at the time of delivery and brought in HSS hire to deliver the training.
There were concerns with the way the course was managed; at the end of the training, there were only 4 left on the course. As complete CSCS training had not been delivered, no learners left the course as job-ready.
A meeting has been arranged with the College to make up lost ground. A different model will be used for the next tranche and the pre-screening needs to reflect this different model. Next cohort begins on the 15th September.
Pre-vocational training pilot at Astins has been of good quality - 6 week course with industry work experience placement.
JCP to be informed of learners and a marker can be placed on the system to ameliorate issues with signing on.
Byrnes Brothers pre-apprenticeship underway for form work. An industry day was held at Battersea Power Station; 5 went onto work experience
7. Monitoring & Reporting Framework KPI Framework & Suggest reports
The monitoring reporting framework provides a starting point as well as a basis for evidence requirements.
PdM went thought the reporting and paper around CS.
Graduation Event to be held after the Training Partnership meeting.
8. Risk Matrix Review (updated risk matrix)
Roger Mullins is now in post (focussing on the Queenstown ward) and local ward based engagement has moved from amber to green.
The main risk concerns what is happening regarding the FE response – with no SFA support and no local accountability there is no leverage.
In mitigation Lambeth College is receiving consultancy support
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from QTS / Sigma to overhaul apprenticeship frameworks and will work with JCU as client and QTS as construction industry specialist to help facilitate supply side response and is working with Barking & Dagenham College on a partnership.
9 Demand Forecast for end use jobs
KT confirmed that we do not want to lose sight of this and what might need to happen in order to maximise the opportunities presented by end-use Jobs.
Riverlight and St. James are currently facilitating our engagement with employers and we can bring on roles such as concierge and baristas.
NS stated that the existing infrastructure in the brokerages can accommodate recruiting for and filling the end-use jobs.
Most jobs years away but a response and a business plan would be useful. The requirements of end-use jobs vary greatly and employers have different in-house training. What is required are good local candidates with the relevant soft skills.
AF and BV will take forward linking cleaning and CSCS for that AF / particular pipe-line. BV
10 Any Other Business Industry led Construction Training Centre – it is difficult to access provision unless it is far out of London and current gaps in training include formwork, ground work, steel framework and cladding technologies. This requires an outdoor space and a mock-up of a site to deliver skills locally. There is likely to be a shared feasibility study around an industry led construction centre between Southwark and Lambeth. JCB have asked for 3 acres (minimum land requirement) which would be a rolling site (not a permanent facility) and would utilise available land.
NHB has put some money into a feasibility study. Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark have demonstrated an interest. Wandsworth Borough Council are to be formally approached.
11 Date of next meeting Next meetings – regularly at 3 months intervals going forward
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No. Action Log Action
Meet with Lambeth and South Thames College JL 1 Principals Research JCP provision for funding of CSCS cards for AF / BV 2 cleaners for new builds
3 Draft a staged process for ESP compliance PdM Schedule dates of next meetings and sequence CK 4 reporting and monitoring dates around this
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