North Yorkshire Council Adult Learning and Skills Service Accountability Agreement 2023/24
Purpose
The Adult Learning and Skills Service is part of the Children’s and Young Peoples Service directorate of North Yorkshire Council. We define our purpose as providing the gateway to opportunity for the region’s adults, (and young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) enabling them to reach their full potential. Whether that be greater integration into society or to move into more-fulfilling employment roles we are keen to support individuals to thrive, improving their physical and emotional health and recognising the opportunities available to them.
We will achieve this through celebrating our key strategic purpose and using our funding to engage with our communities to feel confident, inspired and empowered to step through the door into learning.
We see ourselves as in important service within the authority, using our funding to align with the council’s priorities for residents whilst delivering against our agreed strategic aims.
- To clearly define the purpose of the adult learning services for all stakeholders
- To develop a curriculum offer that is in line with local skills needs
- To reach and inspire learning for the full breadth of the community demographic with the offer
- To be the provider of choice for those furthest away from the skills offer
- To protect the full aims of community learning within North Yorkshire
- To grow provision into areas not well supported by other providers
- To support a clear progression pathway for all adult learners from entry through to higher education and into sustained employment
- To provide effective value for money for the communities of York and North Yorkshire
Context and place
North Yorkshire Adult Learning Service (ALSS) provides largely Education and Skills Funding Agency funded adult and community learning provision, with additional income from dedicated project work, apprenticeships and the support for those learners aged 19-25 with Education Health and Care Plans.
North Yorkshire is the largest county in England covering 8000 square kilometres, the county is internationally renowned for its culture, heritage and spectacular landscapes, offering fantastic opportunities to live, work and visit.
Our passion for adult learning continues to drive us to deliver effective programmes of learning to a range of adults with a particular focus on those from disadvantaged and marginalised communities. We want to offer inclusive services with high quality learning provision and support, which works well across the spectrum of need, whilst meeting the needs of our local economy.
North Yorkshire and York are stunning places with happy and safe communities, and excellent education. Over the past two years, the new national crime figures have revealed that the region has some of lowest crimes rates in the country. It is rich in history and culture, in a backdrop of outstanding natural beauty, vibrant cities, market towns, quaint villages, stunning rural and coast landscapes. We can also boast having three towns in the top ten of the UK Halifax quality of life survey.
Our service, and its partnership with York Learning, has a major role in enabling residents across the region to achieve the best they possibly can and benefit from our thriving economy
Our offer is delivered face to face from venues across the county, these venues include village halls and community centres, libraries and council owned buildings and increasingly other important community hubs such as foodbanks. Since the pandemic the largest proportion of delivery takes place online but as a service it is a strategic aim to widen the mode of delivery, increasing face to face delivery but also expanding our blended and on-demand provision.
The geography of North Yorkshire combines large conurbations with areas of rural isolation, in addition not all of the larger conurbations are supported by easy access to learning institutions particularly at times that fit around work and family life. The funding offered to North Yorkshire Council in particular is directed to support this wide diversity. This has traditionally meant offering small provision in remote areas which has not necessarily been cost-effective and may have limited learning through smaller group sizes. The rapid move toward on-line learning has partially addressed the cost-effectiveness of provision but has in some ways made isolation worse in those areas not well served by digital infrastructure or not open to any learning in the first place. Provision must be developed to meet these combined geographical and skills development needs. Effective library partnerships already underway offer a possible solution as will further work with community groups, but this must be aligned with a curriculum that will allow progression into a wider funded offer.
North Yorkshire is home to four General Further Education (GFE) providers (Craven, Scarborough TEC, Selby, Harrogate colleges) with provision also provided by York, Askham Bryan, Darlington, Middlesbrough, East Riding, Bishop Burton and Stockton Riverside GFE providers. There are 40+ Training Providers operating in the county offering apprenticeships and accredited adult learning courses. The York and North Yorkshire LEP Local skills report of March 2022 (*likely to be repeated in the latest report but not published yet so will amend*) identifies a need to rebalance the apparent misalignment between the profile of classroom-based further education and demand in the labour market. The York and North Yorkshire LSIP details that the area is well-served by high quality education at all levels there is a clear challenge n connecting with those individuals who would most benefit from this provision.
The physical accessibility of education and training services is a particular issue within the rural parts of the YNY LEP area. For example, the average travel time to college by public transport or on foot is more than twice as high for Ryedale (46 minutes) as for York (21 minutes). Meanwhile, 29% of learner’s resident in YNYER travel outside the LEP area entirely to study, in addition to the 13% who travel between districts within the LEP area. In a large proportion of the North of the county there is not a major FE campus for learners to travel to.
Research undertaken in production of the LSIP describes an economic landscape consisting of a high proportion of higher-skilled, non-manual sectors such as education, finance and professional services contributing to a resilient economy. Unemployment levels are low with a high number of jobs available in highly skilled sectors such as engineering and life sciences.
The proportion of people with higher level qualifications in our area is higher than the national average (insert final figures here if available from LSIP) with an aging demographic of the population that has an older than average working age with replacement demand increasing in industries where large numbers are soon to or have retired, the LSIP stresses that retaining talent in the workforce at all ages is critical.
The table below shows the four biggest sectors in the York & North Yorkshire LEP (YNYLEP). Based on the Working Futures Study, the sector with the lowest prospects is Manufacturing, forecast to see a 10% reduction in employment by 2027. With manufacturing forecast to see a significant decrease by 2027, some districts (such Selby and Ryedale) are considerably more vulnerable with between 1 in 4 and 1 in 5 workers employed in the manufacturing sector.
The chart below shows the proportion of the YNY workforce employed by sectors that are forecast to see growth or decline by 2027. Across the LEP area, over half of employees are engaged in sectors that will see decline, increasing in Hambleton, Ryedale and Selby, it is therefore essential that we unlock people’s potential to adapt to an increasing skilled-sector led market.
Given the vulnerability of the workforce within the LEP area as a whole (1 in 10 employed in Manufacturing, and over half in sectors that are forecast to see decline) and certain Districts more specifically in terms of future-proofing employment and skills, improving adult learning engagement has the potential to become a cornerstone for upskilling the workforce. Reflective of a need to upskill the workforce, around two-thirds of employers have upskilling needs in the LEP, with functional numeracy skills and basic digital skills in-particular being highlighted as an area for development.
In addition to this there is a correlation between the level of qualification and the average earnings: The first shows the Median basic wage of the 16-64 working age population plotted against % Level 1+ and % Level 2+ qualifications. Particularly the Level 1+ qualification shows a clear correlation between lower rates of Qualification and lower wages, particularly in Scarborough & Ryedale.
When this data is considered alongside the YNYLEP Labour Market analysis a further and more pressing need becomes clear. Gross median pay for workers in full-time jobs is £13.29 per hour, this is 87% of the national average of £15.31. As a result the LEP area faces a significant low pay challenge with 22% of jobs paying below the Real Living Wage, rising to 28% in Scarborough and Ryedale; much higher than the national average of 20%. Acute deprivation is not widespread in the LEP area with only 3 per cent of neighbourhoods falling within the 10% most deprived nationally but with rapidly rising costs and pressures on individuals, families and communities the ability to access higher paid roles indicates an acute need for engagement with learning opportunities.
The YNY LEP is ranked second in the north in the proportion of people qualified to at least level 2, at a district level, the need for localised ‘levelling up’ is clear, with Ryedale and Selby all lagging behind the national rate in terms of 16 to 64 year old qualified to NVQ Level 1 or higher. Scarborough just hits the national average, whilst all other areas have notably higher rates than the national average.
Reflected below, in terms of any Qualifications, of the YNY LEP area, Ryedale, Scarborough and Selby all have notably higher rates, with Ryedale peaking at 13% of 16-64 year olds having no Qualifications, followed by Selby at 10.1% and Scarborough at 9.2%. It is well recognised that qualifications are a key indicator of social mobility – and therefore a lack of qualification amongst a considerable proportion of the population has significantly restricted social mobility.
Looking at the wider picture, the Indices of Multiple Deprivation looks at a number of areas, including Education, which measures the lack of attainment and skills in the local population. Overall, whilst a majority of districts (Inc. York) in the LEP have an average rank in the lowest (‘best’) half nationally, Richmondshire falls slightly short of the ‘mid-point’ with an average rank of 151 out of 317 districts/boroughs. Scarborough, however, is significantly lower, ranked 59 with 17% of neighbourhoods in the 10% most deprived nationally in terms of education and skills.
Approach to developing the plan
The Shared Head for Adult Learning and Skills set out and consulted on a clear strategic vision for the adult learning provision provided by North Yorkshire and City of York Councils in December of 2021. This strategy and direction identified the need to support adults to access the training and support that can be provided by engagement in education. This common strategy is important to support the wider economic requirements of the region and aims to enable strong lobbying support for the services once the adult education budget is devolved under a combined mayoral authority which is expected in the 2025/2026 academic year.
This strategic document was consulted on in July of 2022 and published in September of 2023, this document was produced utilising the extensively consulted research base of the York and North Yorkshire LEP and is one of many documents that have been used to formulate the York and North Yorkshire LSIP which additionally cites the York Economic Strategy, York & North Yorkshire LEP Skills Strategy 2012-26 and York & North Yorkshire LEP Sector Study March 2022, the emerging North Yorkshire Council Economic Strategy and the ‘Skills for Employment’ York’s 10 Year Skills Strategy. The LSIP also referencing other important partnerships such as the Yorkshire & Humber Institute of Technology, Grow Yorkshire, BioYorkshire and Higher York.
Both the Shared Head of Adult Learning and Skills (York and North Yorkshire) and North Yorkshire Councils Assistant Director for Education and Skills are board members of the York and North Yorkshire LSIP, with both also been members of the York and North Yorkshire LEP Skills and Employability Advisory board. Due to this involvement this document has been shaped in tandem with the LSIP with the clarity of our role and subsequent accountability detailed within the final LSIP documentation.
As detailed earlier North Yorkshire is home to four General Further Education (GFE) providers (with provision also provided by at least 7 out of county providers. As discussed within the service strategy it is a key strategic direction to collaborate with our FE and HE partners and to co-ordinate progression pathways to serve as a pipeline for their adult provision to support the regions wider economic growth through upskilling and re-skilling.
Contribution to national, regional, local priorities