Issue - meetings

To consider a joint report of the Executive Councillors (Corporate, Customer and Community Services) and (Lifelong Learning and Achievement).       

The Executive Councillor (Lifelong Learning and Achievement) (Councillor Shan Alexander) submitted a report (copies of which had been circulated) providing a broad overview of the progress on Apprenticeships in Stockport.

RESOLVED – That the report be noted.

This Council Meeting believes:

·      That high-quality apprenticeships are an excellent way of providing an opportunity for young people to gain skills and to improve their chances of securing employment;

·      That the Council’s recent 100:100 apprenticeship challenge has been so successful that Stockport employers have now pledged to employ 203 apprentices within 100 days, more than doubling the original target.

This Council meeting notes the work in progress and that:

·         The Executive decided that the new unit Stockport, Trafford and Rochdale (STaR) created and approved by the Executive in November 2013 must consider the Social Value Act 2012.  This was endorsed by the Council’s Corporate Resource Management and Governance (CRMG) Scrutiny Committee;

·         On the 3rd December 2013 CRMG considered a report covering progress on creating the Stockport Strategic Property Partnership (SSPP) through which a number of Key Performance Indicators will be delivered. These will include targets for employing Apprentices either directly or in the supply chain. This report went forward to the Executive on the 17th December;

·         The Council is already committed to promoting apprentices and determining the most effective method for this through the various procurement routes and policy options at its disposal.

This Council Meeting further notes that the Coalition Government:

·           is taking forward the Richard Review which will drive forward reforms to apprenticeships which will raise standards and produce a more rigorous system, responsive to the needs of employers and ensuring apprenticeships are increasingly seen as a first-choice career move;

·           has overseen the biggest ever increase in apprenticeships, with more than 860,000 apprentices in place during the year 2012/13;

·           has already surpassed the goals outlined in Labour’s Skills Strategy, published in November 2009, which adopted a target from the Leitch review of 250,000 apprenticeship starts per year by 2020;.

·           is set to significantly exceed this, with official data showing 457,200 Apprenticeship starts in 2010/11.

This Council meeting believes that the Council’s procurement policy should be amended to require officers to ask contractors to offer high quality apprenticeships, a proportion of which should be Higher or Advanced status, and they must be advertised locally. 

This Council meeting resolves that officers should prepare a report on the feasibility of this to be submitted to the Executive at its meeting in March 2014, to enable the final Full Council meeting of this Civic Year to ratify any decisions if necessary.

Moved by:                  Councillor Shan Alexander (Liberal Democrat Group)

Seconded by:           Councillor David Sedgwick (Labour Group)

                                    Councillor Syd Lloyd (Conservative Group)

                                    Councillor Peter Burns (Independent Ratepayers Group)

RESOLVED - This Council Meeting believes:

·         That high-quality apprenticeships are an excellent way of providing an opportunity for young people to gain skills and to improve their chances of securing employment;

·         That the Council’s recent 100:100 apprenticeship challenge has been so successful that Stockport employers have now pledged to employ 203 apprentices within 100 days, more than doubling the original target.

This Council meeting notes the work in progress and that:

·         The Executive decided that the new unit Stockport, Trafford and Rochdale (STaR) created and approved by the Executive in November 2013 must consider the Social Value Act 2012.  This was endorsed by the Council’s Corporate Resource Management and Governance (CRMG) Scrutiny Committee;

·         On the 3rd December 2013 CRMG considered a report covering progress on creating the Stockport Strategic Property Partnership (SSPP) through which a number of Key Performance Indicators will be delivered. These will include targets for employing Apprentices either directly or in the supply chain. This report went forward to the Executive on the 17th December;

·         The Council is already committed to promoting apprentices and determining the most effective method for this through the various procurement routes and policy options at its disposal.

This Council Meeting further notes that the Coalition Government:

·         is taking forward the Richard Review which will drive forward reforms to apprenticeships which will raise standards and produce a more rigorous system, responsive to the needs of employers and ensuring apprenticeships are increasingly seen as a first-choice career move;

·         has overseen the biggest ever increase in apprenticeships, with more than 860,000 apprentices in place during the year 2012/13;

·         has already surpassed the goals outlined in Labour’s Skills Strategy, published in November 2009, which adopted a target from the Leitch review of 250,000 apprenticeship starts per year by 2020;.

·         is set to significantly exceed this, with official data showing 457,200 Apprenticeship starts in 2010/11.

This Council meeting believes that the Council’s procurement policy should be amended to require officers to ask contractors to offer high quality apprenticeships, a proportion of which should be Higher or Advanced status, and they must be advertised locally. 

This Council Meeting resolves that officers should prepare a report on the feasibility of this to be submitted to the Executive at its meeting in March 2014, to enable the final Full Council meeting of this Civic Year to ratify any decisions if necessary.