Mixed news on employment refocuses attention on skills debate say business leaders
MIXED news on the West Midlands jobs front has refocused attention on the region’s skills agenda, business leaders have said.
Just a day after the region was celebrating 1,700 new jobs at Jaguar Land Rover as part of a £1.5bn investment in advanced manufacturing facilities, the West Midlands was rocked back on its heels yesterday with the announcement by Wolverhampton Borough Council that it is to axe 1,000 posts in an attempt to avoid a £90m funding black hole.
The council has blamed cuts in central government funding as the reason for the redundancies.
Black Country Chamber of Commerce president Paul Bennett said the Wolverhampton announcement was disappointing and questioned whether it was now time to create a unitary authority for the sub-region combining Wolverhampton, Walsall, Dudley and Sandwell councils.
The move by the borough council effectively wipes out the gain to the area of the 1,400 jobs created by JLR at its new £0.5bn engine plant at the i54 site outside the city.
The announcement from the local authority came as latest employment for the region again showed an increase in the rate of those without jobs.
Figures released by the Office for National Statistics show that for the May to July period the number of jobless in the region stood at 267,000 (9.8%), a 7,000 increase (0.3%) on the February to April quarter. The UK average stands at 7.7%, which equates to a total of 2.49m.
Business leaders in the West Midlands said they regretted the upward trend although they were mildly encouraged by a month-on-month decrease in August – although the impact of this was negligible.
JLR’s jobs announcement has raised the spectre of skills shortages in the area and whether the region can continue to supply enough skilled labour to meet the needs of companies both large and small.
The Birmingham Chamber of Commerce Group warned that action was urgently needed to address the issue.
Steve Brittan, BCCG president, said: “The numbers are still high but at least this is a step in the right direction.
“The high rate, impacted by public sector cuts, also reflects the shortage of people with the right skills. The announcement that Land Rover at Solihull will be recruiting 1,700 new people is fantastic and they will need skilled people.
“This will highlight the shortage and emphasise the need to stay level with demand. With that in mind, the chamber is launching a skills campaign aimed at bringing together employers and young people to help fill the gap and raise awareness of the skills needed.”
It is urging young people to attend the Skills Show UK, which will highlight the many career opportunities available when it takes place at the NEC in November.
Andy Street, chairman of the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership, said: “While we recognise all sorts of factors need to be taken into account, the news that the unemployment level in the GBSLEP is continuing a downward trend is a positive sign.
“Figures for August 2013 show there are now 60,424 claimants (a rate of 6.8%), compared with 67,254 in August 2012 and 70,043 in August 2011 (7.9%).
“Of course, it doesn’t tell the full picture. But with the marvellous news from Jaguar Land Rover taken into account and an increasing optimism amongst businesses – particularly in the advanced engineering sector – we can take confidence from the figures.
“What we need to do now is continue to work to create the conditions for investment and that the opportunities that are coming from these investments benefit people and businesses in Greater Birmingham.”
In addition, the GBSLEP is working to promote apprenticeship grants available to businesses worth £1,500 if they take on an apprentice aged 16 to 24.
