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The Annual Population Survey July 2019 (North East Data Hub, 2019) tells us that between March 2018 and March 2019, the North East had an unemployment rate of 5.4% for 16 to 64-year olds; the 2nd highest rate among the eight core cities’ LEPs.
The North East Strategic Economy Plan sets a target to completely close the gap between the North East and London’s unemployment rates by 2024. This can naturally only be achieved if businesses provide varied opportunities for unemployed candidates to move into/back into employment, and with the many different funding streams currently available within the UK, there are now a myriad of pathways that businesses and individuals can utilise and continue to develop. This notion can be accelerated by taking advantage of government funded training and apprenticeships, which not only support in tackling unemployment rates, but also bridge the skills gaps within our region.
By combining Education & Training with Recruitment, we will enable sustainable career pathways to be created and explored, whilst also inspiring and engaging candidates to move into new sectors as they understand the pathways and progression opportunities that they can access. By doing so, candidates will visibly see the routes they have available to them in order to support the achievement of their end goal, whether that be securing employment for the first time, moving into a new sector or developing their career and enhancing their progression opportunities.
One way of inspiring progression, which can also lead to new employment opportunities within businesses, is by utilising the Apprenticeship Levy. In February 2019, statistics were released that showed £3 billion of UK businesses Levy funds were left unused and therefore training and workforce development opportunities were left unutilised. Since the Apprenticeship Levy Scheme was introduced in 2017, businesses now have an impetus to further develop their workforce and now also have the funds available to inspire a motivated workforce that have clear progression pathways within the organisations that they work. By becoming more aware of how they can utilise these funds to upskill their workforce, we will hopefully see a decrease in the volume of funds left unspent and an increase in the volume of employees that feel motivated, valued and inspired to progress further within their career.
The utilisation of this type of career pathway will also support to provide entry level opportunities within businesses, as the current workforce are encouraged to develop and progress. By sharing these entry level opportunities, we can not only support to tackle unemployment rates, but also inspire a new generation of motivated candidates that have the opportunity to move into new sectors with training available to them, which will not only support to bridge the region’s skills gaps but also provides a first step on the recruitment ladder that may not have previously been available without such industry specific training.
As a Recruitment Agency, we see first-hand the positive outcomes that come from embracing workforce development and therefore encourage the unique relationship we have with our own training provider. Consequently, we not only create job opportunities for the unemployed candidates that our training provider support, but also enhance the career journey for our placed candidates to embark upon once in a new role, by introducing our clients to the funding streams available to them that they can utilise to develop their own workforces in a bespoke way that suits their business needs.
As a business that has been based in the North East for over 20 years, we strive to support the growth of the North East economy and pledge to continue to do so through the growth of our recruitment and training national partnership.
To find out how PinPoint Recruitment, Training or HealthCare can support your workforce needs, please contact our Business Development Manager, Charlotte Dugdale on 07539030425 or write to us at charlotte.dugdale@pin-point.co.uk
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