How region is responding to skills challenge – Rashik Parmar

Better workforce skills will also help the economy recover and prepare for future opportunities.

Covid-19 has forced employers to evolve working practices and brought to the fore many trends that have been developing for some time.

In particular, we can see a widening gap between increasingly skilled, flexible and agile knowledge-driven sectors and those where innovation and higher-level skills are less prevalent.

It’s possible to see a future for those who work in knowledge-intensive industries, where the office is no longer as important and working from home for some or most of the week is the norm.

On the other hand, roles in industries that employ hundreds of thousands of people in our region – like manufacturing, distribution and retail – are intrinsically linked to time and place, putting workers at greater risk as businesses take the first tentative steps to reopen.

Those in short-term, gig economy work – which are predominantly filled by lower-skilled workers on insecure, low pay – are even more vulnerable to economic shocks. Even before the pandemic, these types of roles were at greater risk of disruption as a result of structural changes in the economy, such as automation.

Ensuring those in less-secure occupations have access to the right training and support to acquire or build skills will be vital, not just in addressing the devastating economic impact for individuals as a result of Covid-19, but for our economy too.

This is something we are 
keenly aware of in West Yorkshire and are working to address – through the Local Industrial Strategy, the work of the Future-Ready Skills Commission and as a central part of the devolution deal signed with the Government.

With 1.1 million people, our labour market in West Yorkshire is the largest in the Northern Powerhouse but around 380,000 people – 26 per cent of the working-age population – have low or no qualifications and are disadvantaged in the labour market.

Over 250,000 workers have been furloughed in recent months, while jobless claimants have risen by 86 per cent between March and May to a total of 106,700.

Helping people build essential skills and keep developing is a serious challenge as we plan our economic recovery.

If we want the recovery to be as strong as possible and to build resilient, innovative and productive businesses that reach their full potential, then an investment in skills has to be high on the agenda.

Not only does investing in and training staff bring benefits for individuals and our region’s economy, it’s also good for businesses.

There’s strong evidence showing businesses that invest 
in their employees’ skills development are more productive, more innovative and more likely to survive economic shocks than those that don’t prioritise skills investment.

The industries and growth sectors of the future will need a local-led response, based on the needs and opportunities of their own businesses and labour market.

Through the independent Future-Ready Skills Commission we are working to design a blueprint for a skills system that can meet the challenges of the changing economy.

The commission’s final report will be published in the autumn and will consider the importance of place-specific issues in designing a skills system for post-Covid recovery.

Bringing together experts and leading thinkers from business, education and local government, it addresses economic shifts such as artificial intelligence and automation, the rise of the gig economy, changing work patterns and a much-needed shift to a low-carbon recovery.

Closer to home, from August 2021 the West Yorkshire Combined Authority plans to take over responsibility for the £63m-a-year Adult Education Budget as a key part of its landmark devolution deal.

West Yorkshire Combined Authority has set out a strategy to improve the impact of Adult Education Budget and has launched a consultation calling for feedback.

Through these initiatives and our response to the opportunities of devolution, West Yorkshire hopes to play a leading role in a skills-led economic recovery.

Rashik Parmar MBE is Chair of the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership’s Employment and Skills Panel.

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