Apprenticeships on the increase in Luton after first year of council's employment and skills strategy

The number of apprenticeships initiated in Luton borough has increased from 970 in 2020/21 to 1,030 in 2021/22, according to a local authority report.

Indicative figures from August to October last year show there were 340 apprenticeships begun, said the report to the council’s overview and scrutiny board.

An implementation plan for LBC’s townwide employment and skills strategy began last March, according to interim service director for inclusive growth Sinead McNamara.

“We’re preparing an annual review to chart progress, to publish case studies, and to share with stakeholders the plans for 2023 and beyond,” she explained.

“So far 70 of the 94 actions in this plan are under way, with work due to begin on the remaining 24 this year.”

She referred to the current landscape, “particularly around the recovery from Covid, the cost of living and the war in Ukraine” and national challenges around “increased economic inactivity and recruitment”.

But in a recent Centre for Cities report, Luton was the third highest for business start-ups in the country, behind only London and Brighton, Ms McNamara told the board.

“We had lower business closure rates than seven of the top ten,” she said. “As a town, we’re number one for superfast broadband.

“Our next step is to publish our annual review and we’re proposing to start a new £5m skills programme for Luton, which brings together Passport to Employment, our adult learning scheme Multiply, and a new apprenticeship brokerage project. This will support more than 3,000 people annually.”

The implementation plan aims to deliver the strategy’s four priorities over a five-year period, added the report.

“These are skills driving economic recovery and growth, developing a pipeline of talented and resilient people, tackling long-term inequality and economic activity, and creating an adaptable upskilled workforce.”

Liberal Democrat Barnfield councillor David Franks said: “I’m encouraged by the report. There are improvements and advances in a number of key areas.

“It’s interesting to see the average salary of a Luton resident and that of an employee because that often tells us people in those higher paid roles commute in from elsewhere, so any information on that would be helpful.”

Ms McNamara replied: “This focuses on how we upskill local people so they’re getting those well paid jobs and about raising aspirations.

“We start at a young age getting our children and young people to see these are the jobs of the future to excite them. As we know, some leave for university and don’t come back.

“That’s a whole marketing campaign around employment and skills and what opportunities there are locally.

“It’s not just LBC. This is a townwide strategy involving Barnfield College, the University of Bedfordshire and some of our businesses, so between us we’ve a really strong offer.”

Labour South councillor Javeria Hussain referred to the impact of the pandemic, saying: “Businesses are still in a post-Covid recovery state.

“We’ve got the extra challenges of a cost of living crisis and rising energy prices. We need to enable our businesses to return to a position where they can thrive to recoup the benefits.”