Following the move to regional structures by both the Learning & Skills Council and Business Link in 2007, a new lead body for skills in Cheshire and Warrington was seen to be of paramount importance to ensure the continued success of the area. As a result and in conjunction with the Learning & Skills Council, CWEA established the Cheshire & Warrington Employment & Skills Board to focus resources and effort in tackling worklessness. To find out more about being a Board Member please read the Aide Memoire, which gives a brief overview.

The first port of call for skills development in your organisation should be Business Link. For further information and to search the Business Link website via the interactive box, visit the Business and Enterprise section of this website.

2. Integrated Employment and Skills Strategic Framework for Cheshire and Warrington

3. Employment Relations Forum

Cheshire & Warrington Employment & Skills Board (CWEAS)

The Cheshire & Warrington Employment and Skills Board was launched at the 'Racing to the Top' event in June 2008. The Board's role is to provide leadership in increasing skills and employment in Cheshire and Warrington. This is being achieved through the effective development and delivery of an employer-led strategy linking skills development to employment needs.

The Board has taken a unique approach, which has been recognised as good practice at a national level. It has two sets of Board Members - public and private sector - with the Private Sector Board determining priorities, and the Public Sector Board tasked with responding to and addressing the issues raised. This ensures that the strategy is driven by the needs of employers, and that skills provision meets the existing and future needs of the Cheshire and Warrington economy. Board Members are invited to contribute on behalf of leading Cheshire and Warrington companies and key public sector organisations.

The Board operates in accordance with the requirements of the UK Commission for Employment & Skills (CES): it recognises the priorities of the Regional Economic Strategy (RES) and reflects the philosophy and structural proposals of the Leitch Report. The Board also provides Cheshire and Warrington with a strong and coherent, focused employer voice to influence and lobby on employment/skills issues at sub-regional, regional and national levels.

A key priority of the Board is to amplify and clarify the message that skills development is an effective way of increasing the productivity and efficiency of businesses.

Work has taken place to map in a user-friendly way exactly what is on offer to Cheshire and Warrington employers on employment and skills matters, resulting in the production of an Employer Guide. The board has also developed the role of Skills Champions - employers who share their experiences in achieving business success through effective investment in people, and thus encourage other employers to develop the skills of their workforce.

For further information about the Board or becoming a Skills Champion contact Andrew Heydeman Employment & Skills Manager on tel: 07815 630465 or email: Andrew.Heydeman@cwea.org.uk.

To find out more about being a Board Member please read the Aide Memoire, which gives a brief overview.

1. The Role of the Board

To provide leadership in improving skills and employment in Cheshire and Warrington, through the effective delivery of an employer-led integrated employment and skills strategy.

Vision
Our vision is that by 2020, Cheshire and Warrington will be a place in which businesses thrive and employers are committed to ensuring that local people have the skills to meet their current and future needs.

Mission
Our mission is to increase the commitment of local employers to improving the skills of, and providing employment opportunities for, Cheshire and Warrington's young people and adults to ensure we have a workforce of world-class standard.

Structure:
The Board (CWEAS) is a sub-committee of the Cheshire and Warrington Economic Alliance (CWEA), which in turn is recognised as the Sub-regional Partner of the Northwest Regional Development Agency. The CWEAS board is a strategic, employer-led co-ordinating body.

The Board is split into public and private sector meetings. The role of the Public Sector Board is to discuss and respond to the priorities and issues identified by the Private Sector Board. Individual public sector organisations have the opportunity to meet with the Private Sector Board Members as appropriate, with a specific task and finish focus.

Private Sector Board Members

Public Sector Board Members

Aspire Rail
Bentley Motors
Birchwood Forum
Cheshire & Warrington Economic Alliance
Cheshire & Warrington Learning & Skills Council
Cheshire & Wirral Foundation Trust
Decisive Operations
Green Bough Hotel
Gorvins Solicitor
Gradus
Hammond McNulty
Lloyds Banking Group
McArthur Glenn
NWDA (Observer capacity)
Protocol Skills
South Cheshire Chamber of Commerce
Total People
Vauxhall Motors
Virgin Trains
20:20 Mobile Group

ACAS
Business Link
Cheshire & Warrington Consortium of Colleges
Cheshire & Warrington Economic Alliance
Cheshire & Warringotn Learning & Skills Council
Cheshire East Council
Cheshire West and Chester Council
Connexions Cheshire & Warrington
JobCentre Plus
Learning Network Resource(Care Sector)
Learning Together Cheshire & Warrrington (Third Sector)
NWDA (Observer capacity)
NW (Cheshire & Warrington) Provider Network
TUC
University of Chester
Visit Chester & Cheshire
Warrington Borough Council

Terms of Reference:
The Terms of Reference for the Board have a strategic focus, driven by the sub-region’s economic priorities.

Terms of Reference Summary:

Informing/Influencing and Lobbying
• Evidence base
• Identifying/influencing alignment of funding ('Bend the Spend')
• Policy/delivery improvements to Employment/Skills system
• 'Employer Voice'.

Employer Engagement
• Clear offer to employers (reducing duplication)
• Stimulating skills demand and needs
• Usage of 'Employer Skills Champions'

• Influencing provision in meeting employer demand.

Economic Priorities
• Employer networks
• Stronger links between these priorities and Further Education/Higher Education
• Identify gaps in provision, building provider capacity.

Download the full Terms of Reference.

2. Integrated Employment and Skills Strategic Framework for Cheshire and Warrington

The Employment and Skills Board has agreed a Strategic Framework and Action Plan identifying what needs to happen now to improve the employment and skills base of Cheshire and Warrington. The Framework sets out the Board's Vision, Mission, Priorities and Action Plan.

The Integrated Employment and Skills Strategic Framework has been developed by the CWEAS board in response to: national policy drivers; the establishment of the Skills Funding Agency; the transfer of 16-19 planning and funding; and local government reorganisation in Cheshire.

Development of the Strategic Framework and Action Plan

Under the private sector employer leadership of the Employment and Skills Board, extensive discussions have taken place and views been put forward to develop and agree the integrated Employment and Skills Strategic Framework and fully detailed Action Plan for the sub-region. Contributions and comments have also been incorporated from members of the parallel public sector board.

In addition, a consultation event was held in October 2009 to publicise the final drafts of the strategic framework and action plan which was attended by wide range of the sub-region's key partners and stakeholders. These organisations participated in workshops on the day to provide feedback and views on these documents, and subequently made further comments and suggestions on improvements which could be made to both the strategic framework and action plan.

Cheshire and Warrington Employment and Skills Priorities

The strategic framework and action plan identify what have now been agreed as the main Employment and Skills priorities of Cheshire and Warrington. They are:

Inform, influence and lobby on skills issues at local, regional and national level with the aim of affecting improvement to the employment and skills system.
Increase the resilience of the local economy by developing stronger links between economic priorities and futher/higher education and by ensuring that businesses have easy access to effective business support and high quality skills provision.
Engage employers to develop their leadership and management skills and increase their commitment to raising the skills of the workforce.
Provide employment opportunities for local people and encourage the adoption of good employment and skills practice.
Make young people and adults work ready and address employability skills.
Improve the co-ordination, quality of, and access to, employment and skills acitivities in the sub-region.

To help ensure CWEAS adds value and provides a coherent employer voice for Cheshire and Warrington, clear links will continue to be established and agreed with existing and developing partnerships and networks across the sub-region, to facilitate the effective implementation fo the strategic framework and action plan and ensure it informs and influences all employment/skills developments at local level.

Download the full integrated Employment and Skills Strategic Framework and Action Plan.

3. Employment Relations Forum

In partneship with ACAS, the Employment and Skills Board have held two Employment Relations Forums in 2009 and, due to their success, plan to continue these biannual events in 2010. The Forums were both extremely well attended by over 100 employers who received an employment law update, the latest news on workforce development funding and detailed sessions on Discipline and Grievance, changes to legislation and mediation in the workplace.

The Forums also provide good networking opportunities and the chance for employers to speak directly to organisations who can assist them in developing their workforce or addressing issues they are facing.

4. Employer Guide

The private sector board expressed a desire to create an easy to understand employer developed guide for all employers on employment/skills support available in the Cheshire/ Warrington sub-region. The aim of the guide is to amplify and promote more widely positive messages about the value of effective skills development and provide evidence of the business benefits of training. In addition, it assists employers in more easily accessing support available. The guide was created in partnership with the public sector representatives on the board.

Download the Employer Guide document

5. Skills Pledge

The Skills Pledge is a voluntary, public commitment by the leadership of a company or organisation to support all its employees to develop their basic skills, including literacy and numeracy, and work towards relevant, valuable qualifications to at least Level 2 (equivalent to 5 good GCSEs). The purpose is to ensure that all staff are skilled, competent and able to make a full contribution to the success of the company/organisation.

Research shows that one of the keys to a productive, successful business is having a skilled and competent workforce. The Skills Pledge is an opportunity for the leaders of a business or organisation to show publicly and demonstrably the importance they place on investing in the skills of their people.

If the UK economy is to compete with other advanced economies, and the new emerging economies such as India and China, we will have to invest more in skills. The case was set out starkly in the Leitch Report on Skills, published in December 2006. Without a better skilled and qualified workforce, we will not improve our productivity, and therefore we will not sustain the living standards and quality of public services we all want. The Skills Pledge recognises that everyone – the employee, the organisation and the Government – will need to invest more in skills.

For more information please download the Skills Pledge for Employers document.

6. Train to Gain

Train to Gain is the single point of access for businesses to get the training advice and support they need to succeed.

The Learning and Skills Council’s Train to Gain service provides impartial, independent advice on training to businesses across England. It can help businesses improve their productivity and competitiveness by ensuring that employees have the right skills to do the best job.

Train to Gain gives you access to a skills broker who will carry out a needs analysis of training within your business and help you assess what skills your business has now and what you will need in the future.

For further information tel 0800 015 5545 or visit http://www.traintogain.gov.uk/.

7. Apprenticeships

Apprenticeships are a new form of training for your employees. Funded by the Learning & Skills Council they help you to develop your staff to meet the needs of your business. There are over 200 apprenticeship schemes available across more than 80 industry sectors including engineering, food manufacturing and chemical, pharmaceutical and petrochemical manufacturing.

For further information visit: http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk