DRAFT 20 MARCH 2012 APPENDIX 3

Cornwall and Isles of Scilly LEP Employment and Skills Board

Proposed Headline Terms of Reference

  1. Purpose

The purpose of the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly (CIOS) Employment and Skills Board is to raise skills levels in CIOS in order to drive the competitiveness and growth of business and the economy.

It does this by focusing on the strategic skills needs of the local economy, ensuring a joined-up approach to employment and skills in Cornwall, driven by:

  • Current and anticipated future employer demand for skills
  • A cohesion between communities of need reflecting CIOS’s ambition and aspirations, through the talent and attributes of the workforce
  • Skills needs and opportunities to drive CIOS’s strategy for economic growth and a reinvigorated enterprising and entrepreneurial culture
  • Skills to support the inclusion of workless individuals and communities of economic opportunity
  • Employability and pathways to sustainable employment
  • A shared objective to increase the value, relevance and effectiveness of the joint investments by individuals, employers and the Government in CIOS future skills development

It harnesses the voice of employers to ensure that employment and skills provision is demand-led. This will include private, public and third sector employers ensuring the Board has a broad remit including wider social inclusion objectives and the continued development of Cornwall Works employment strategy.

Within an overarching and evidence-based strategy, the CIOS Employment and Skills Board will focus on a small number of priorities for action in areas where it can make a tangible difference in practice.

  1. Responsible for

The CIOS Employment and Skills Board is responsible for:

  • formally discussing and articulating employer demand for skills to influence provision design and delivery;
  • drawing up, developing and leading the implementation of an evidence -based Skills Strategy for CIOS;
  • operating across the whole skills remit with priorities clearly articulated from the evidence base and future vision;
  • contributing to the future development and implementation of the Employment Strategy for CIOS, based on Cornwall Works;
  • facilitating joint working whichpro-actively influences commissioning across a range of projects, with those who control investment in employment and skills so that what is commissioned is well-targeted,reflects broader economic context and embeds employment and skills at the outset of project development;
  • facilitating joint working between employers and providers to develop innovative skills solutions and to improve mutual understanding of opportunities and constraints;
  • championing investment in skills by employers and individuals;
  • ensuring that skills and employment strategies reflect LEP priorities
  • strengthening leadership to challenge and influence national and EU employment and skills plans, funding and delivery to take account of CIOS needs including links to the Convergence LMC.

The Board does not have a remit to deliver skills initiatives directly but it may from time to time facilitate joint working and partnerships between stakeholders to secure outcomes through the co-production of employment and skills solutions.

  1. Accountability and key relationships

The CIOS Employment and Skills Board is accountable to the CIOS Local Enterprise Partnership, by whom its terms of reference are set, board members are appointed and to whom it is accountable for performance.

The CIOS Employment and Skills Strategies will form one dimension of the overall Cornwall Economic Strategy and will both support and be supported by strategic actions in other areas (e.g. the growth of key sectors of the economy, the development of deprived neighbourhoods).

The CIOS Employment and Skills Board has a key relationship with Funding Organisations, to whom it will offer advice on employment and skills matters, relating to both mainstream and structural funds (ERDF/ESF/RDPE), in order to challenge and influence skills and funding policy.

The relationship between the Board and the wider business and employer communities in Cornwall will be key to its success. Mechanisms for regular consultation and communication with the business community (possibly through or associated with the LEP stakeholder forum) will be essential.

The ESB will also have a key influencing relationship with skills delivery partners through the encouragement of skills development initiatives that respond to identified needs.

  1. Working groups

The Board will establish and be supported by three working groups:

  • The Cornwall Works, Priority 4 steering group will operate as the Provider Employment Group and will ensure that reports are made available to the Board
  • An ad hoc Provider Skills Group, which will co-ordinate and manage collaborative activity linked to the skills agenda. The Chair of the Skills Group will be appointed by the Board and will ensure that reports of its activities are made available;
  • An ad hoc Employer Group commissioned to provide the core demand brief. The Chair of the Employer Group will be appointed by the Board and will ensure that reports of its activities are made available.

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