Luton’s Labour Market: Facts, Figures and the Future TBR’s Skills and Labour Market Team: Jonathan Guest, Research Consultant Michael Johnson, Senior Research Consultant 15/10/2012
Structure • Introduction • Luton’s economy & key sectors • Luton’s labour market and trends • Skills supply & demand • Skills gaps and shortages • Young people in Luton • Luton’s Future: the workforce & economy of tomorrow • Questions
Introduction • TBR – Skills and Economic Development Consultancy • Remit: Develop up to date evidence for LBC particularly: – Data to understand and monitor skills & employment in the local area, now and in the future. – Data that will support the interpretation of indicators and stimulate discussion. • Comparison Areas (Coventry, Blackburn, Bradford, Oldham, East of England and England) • Methodology
Luton’s Economy • What is the current situation? - Dominance of service industries - Decline of manufacturing - Rise of banking, finance & insurance • Enterprise in Luton – Strong in new firm formation
Key Sectors • Airport & Aerospace, Engineering & Automotive, ICT and Electronics (and Software) & Creative Industries Total number of Firms & Employment 7,000 600 520 6,000 Employment 500 Firms 5,000 400 360 360 4,000 300 6,120 3,000 200 4,650 4,470 2,000 2,810 100 70 1,000 0 0 ICT & Electronics Automotive & Engineering Creative Industries Airport & Aerospace Source: TCR 2012 - TBR Ref: W3/C1
Labour Market Trends in Luton • Unemployment rate in Luton is 10.3%, which is above the unemployment rate in England (8.2%) • The economic inactivity rate in Luton has crept up since 2004 by almost 4 percentage points (6.4% to 10.3%). • Causes: – Individuals being students (32%) – Looking after family/home (36%). • Unlike other areas, long-term sick does not drive economic inactivity in Luton (13.4% compared with 21.2% in England).
Luton’s Labour Market • Luton’s population: 199,200 • Working Age Population: 130,500 • Compared to England, there is a smaller proportion of Luton’s working-age population with: – NQF level 2 qualifications or above (62.8% in Luton to 72.7% in England) – NQF level 3 qualifications or above (42.1% to 52.7%) – NQF level 4 qualifications or above (24.8% to 33.5%) • Proportion of working age without a qualification in Luton (15.67%) is much higher than England average (9.9%).
Skill Supply • Approximately 6,500 people from Luton attended University in 2010/11 – many in London and the East of England. • The University of Bedfordshire has over 20,000 students studying in 2010/11. • Three main Further Education providers (Barnfield College, Luton Sixth Form College, etc) maintained the volume of successfully completed programmes by those aged 19 or over between 2005/6 and 2010/11. • Starts of apprenticeships increased since 2005 but still lower than the comparator areas. • According to past business surveys, few companies have linkages with local universities.
Skills Profile No Qualification Level 4 and above 40.0% 14.0% 36.3% 35.5% 11.7% 35.0% 12.0% 29.8% 29.3% 10.2% 10.0% 30.0% 27.7% 9.4% 10.0% 25.6% 9.0% 25.0% 8.0% 6.7% 20.0% 6.0% 15.0% 4.0% 10.0% 2.0% 5.0% 0.0% 0.0% Luton Oldham Coventry Blackburn Bradford England Luton Oldham Coventry Blackburn Bradford England APS 2010 - TBR ref: C15 & C15.1
Skill Demand • Hard-to-fill vacancies are most likely to have been experienced by firms in: – Manufacturing (12%) – Accommodation & food services (31%). • Roles include: – Sales Assistants and Retail Cashiers – Other Elementary Service Occupations – Information Technology and Telecommunication – Engineering Professionals • Reasons include: lack of applicants with the required skills and applicants lacking the qualifications the company demands
Skills Demand August 2012 – Top 10 Vacancies Occupations Sought (and Vacancies Notified) Vacancies Occupations Occupation by SOC Notified Sought 2,090 7111 : Sales and retail assistants 37 710 9149 : Other goods handling and storage occupations n.e.c. 52 4150 : General office assistants/clerks 13 515 9134 : Packers, bottlers, canners, fillers 0 275 8212 : Van drivers 43 240 9233 : Cleaners, domestics 38 210 6115 : Care assistants and home carers 153 195 7212 : Customer care occupations 46 165 9121 : Labourers in building and woodworking trades 52 140 9223 : Kitchen and catering assistants 25 130 JCP (2012) TBR: W1
Skills Gaps & Shortages Uncovering Employer Supply & Demand Needs Skills Mismatch Unemployed Gaps and Shortages
Skills Gaps & Shortages • Technical, practical or job specific skills: – e.g. Engineering and technician skills, job specific but also linked to STEM skills. • Sales and marketing – e.g. Numeracy & Literacy - soft skills (listening, language) • Customer service skills & communication skills: – e.g. Soft skills, team working, customer service. • Knowledge of English among non-native speakers
Employment & Young People • NEETs – Rise between 2010 and 2011 of 26%. – Luton’s proportion of NEETs (7.4%) is higher than the regional (6%) and national average (6.1%). • GCSEs – Slightly higher proportion of pupils getting 5 A* -C grades than national average. • Apprenticeships – In 2012, 7% of businesses employed apprentices. Apprenticeship Enrolments in Luton 2012 Sector Enrolments – Higher Level Enrolments – Lower Level Science, Engineering & Manufacturing Technologies 60 20 Business Information Technology & Telecommunication 150 20 Building Services Engineering 120 20 Customer Service & Contact Centre 30 140 Total 1,110 880 JCP (2012) TBR: W1:S14.4
Future prospects • Forecasts for 2012, 2017, 2022, 2027 and 2032: – Sector forecasts – Occupation forecasts – Skills forecasts • Methodology & Data: – APS, Working Futures, EEFM.
Luton’s Future: The workforce & economy of tomorrow TBR 2012 - TBR Ref: W2/C5
Luton’s Future: The workforce & economy of tomorrow TBR 2012 - TBR Ref: W2/C7
Luton’s Future: The workforce & economy of tomorrow TBR 2012 - TBR Ref: W2/C6
Future prospects – Assets • University & FE Colleges • Growth industries and hubs for hi-tech industries at Butterfield Business Park and aerospace focusing around the Airport • Regeneration (The Mall, St George’s Square and Railway Station) • Transport links including rail and road networks • Carnival Arts Centre
Questions
Turn on keypad Press down On/off button for a few seconds and the word Qwizdom will appear
Turn on keypad Slide Button to the right and your remote number will appear on screen
Don’t forget to press send
Just before you go to sleep, you notice a huge spider on the bedroom wall. Would you A. Ignore it and go to sleep B. Kill the spider C. Carefully take the spider outside D. Get someone else to deal with it E. Panic!
Question 1 • Which of the following issues most inhibits the skills system from delivering better outcomes? A. Lack of employer commitment to training B. Information, advice and guidance available to individuals is inadequate C. Inflexibility of public funding mechanisms D. Quality of the training available too often failing to meet the required standard
Question 2 • Which sector will do most to drive future economic growth in Luton? A. Airport & Aerospace B. Automotive & Engineering C. Creative Industries D. ICT and Electronics (and software)
Question 3 • What is the biggest challenge facing Luton’s labour market? A. Low aspirations of those seeking employment B. Long-term unemployment restricting the supply of work-ready residents C. Depressed economic conditions leading to employers not hiring D. Lack of alignment between supply of training and demand for skills E. National welfare arrangements providing insufficient incentive to work
Question 4 • Which of these assets should Luton showcase as its primary economic competitive advantage? A. Transport connectivity B. Education institutions C. Quality of life D. Skilled workforce E. Communications infrastructure F . Value for money (in terms of costs of office space, relative wages rates etc.)
Question 5 • What area of skills development should Luton prioritise? A. Basic skills provision, to ensure that everyone seeking work meets basic literacy and numeracy standards B. Expansion of apprenticeship opportunities, to offer young people the chance to develop practical skills C. Developing programmes to attract and retain people with high level skills D. Encouraging lifelong learning to refresh the skills base of the entire adult population
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