The Skills Shortage in Birmingham, UK

Skills Report
Birmingham Mail, 30^th May 2014

STUDENTS TO MISS OUT ON SKILLED JOBS – Beverly Nielsen, Birmingham City University (UK).

Students from Birmingham will miss out on an increasing number of top jobs in the city due to lack of skills, according to a new report. Managerial, Professional, and Technical jobs in the city are more likely to be taken up by young people elsewhere i.e. outside Birmingham.

The Centre for Economic and Social Inclusion (CESI) said the report “points to a skills crisis facing the UK’s regional city”. The report reveals that almost 50% of new students at the main colleges in Birmingham are studying low-level courses. It predicts that there will be skills shortages in Social Services, Health, Education, Manufacturing Design, Engineering, and Computing.

Adam Crews, Senior Research Associate at CESI found that the city is falling behind the rest of the West Midlands in terms of employment opportunities and economic activity. He also reported that subjects taught in the post-16 sector across the region, don’t prepare young people for well-paid employment or rather the young people choose options that don’t prepare them for well-paid employment.

Researchers found that half the courses taken in the city at colleges were at the basic level 2 and a third are short term. Total employment is set to rise by 5% between 2013 and 2022 particularly in the Managerial, Professional, and Technical sectors.

Key Challenges

1.  Birmingham has lost out on market progress in the region.
2. A growth in jobs that are in declining sectors and which attract low earnings.
3. Schools and colleges are failing to provide effective advice.
4. The further education sector is failing to address the mismatch between skills taught and the demands of the labour markets.
5. Looming shortages of graduates with business and management qualifications.

----------------------------------------  END OF REPORT   -----------------------------------------

FullEmploy was setup to reduce unemployment and the skills shortage and maintain them at low levels. However, I’m finding it difficult to get lists of skills required by industry. After emailing 6 companies close to where I live in Bartley Green, only 1 company replied and only to tell me that they will not be sending me a list of skills let alone setup a meeting with me. The other 5 companies didn't have the courtesy of replying. This stopped me from writing to the other 14 companies in the same business park let alone research another 10 nearby.

I need a change of tack. This time I’m going to approach the other 3 players in the plan: the Unemployed, Training Organisations, and the Skills Funding Agency who should pay for the training. I planned to start with the Unemployed to get commitment to the plan before I go to the others. The Training Organisations are split into 2 categories: Academic and Practical training.

Now that Birmingham City University had conducted research on behalf of CESI, we need to send it to all post-16 education establishments to make them aware of the problem. Maybe they’ll have better luck at persuading companies to handover skills required by industry. One point on the report says that schools and colleges are failing to provide effective advice to young people. How can they when companies are refusing to cooperate.

In the light of this report, I’m going to try again quoting excerpts from the report and offer to pay them reasonable expenses. After all, producing a list of jobs and the skills required to do them, will involve extra resources and time which has to be paid for.

I tried selling this idea to local Councillors but they said that they couldn't help as decisions are taken at Cabinet level. Besides, the cabinet operates within the remit imposed by Central Government vis-a-vis the austerity measures which require the public sector to reduce spending by 25% over 4 years between April 2011 and March 2015. The people will give their verdict in next year’s general election (2015).

First, I need to get hold of this report – it’s right up my street. I also need to publish my findings on the MPC News and the FullEmploy websites. Then I need to promote these websites widely and invite would-be employees who will be given shares in those companies. Employees have to be unemployed and living in the ward where they’ll work because FullEmploy will build an office in every logical ward that has a collective population of 25,000 people.

For background information read this.

Day 10: How do the Perceptiveness, Persistence and Risk Taking Characteristics affect FullEmploy?

Welcome to day 10 of the Characteristics of a business owner cum entrepreneur. I know it's been over 2 months since I blogged but it should be worth the wait.

Perceptiveness:
When delegating or negotiating you not only need to be flexible and open-minded but you also need to be perceptive to the needs of your counterparts. When delegating, it's crucial to perceive your subordinates' feelings so that you can better understand what they think you expect from them and you can more accurately understand their contributions so that it makes it easier to incorporate them into your plans. With negotiations, perceptiveness can help you avoid pitfalls and get better deals.

FullEmploy's staff cooperate with each other; they don't negotiate. They all work on the same remit. If different methods of solution are suggested they may be tolerated but they will be reviewed based on the effects on the original remit.

Persistence:
This sounds similar to the Drive characteristic which is the energy to drive projects through. Persistence is usually invoked in the face of failure. Theory has it that successful people look for the opportunity in every failure. FullEmploy has formalised this into what it calls the Business Development Lifecycle (BDL). This is where staff consider WHAT activity they're required to do; the RESOURCES needed to do it; HOW it's going to be achieved; and WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED.

The BDL imposes that staff do a brainstorming session to come up with a series of methods of solution. Then using the best one in their action plan and the remainder as alternative method of solution in a contingency plan for that activity. Then they produce a Monitoring Plan not only to monitor the progress of the agreed upon method, but also on the effectiveness of the chosen resources including the human resources.

These reports are analysed and regularly reviewed at set milestones in the action plan. If a failure occurs before a milestone is due, then if the failure is minor, an alternative method and/or resource can be used. But if the failure is major and that none of the alternative methods and resources can ameliorate it, an emergency review is convened where a new plan is created or the project is abandoned.

Risk Taking:
When a project is being planned, many alternative methods of solution are proposed. The best ones are used in the project action plan and the rest are used as contingencies for each activity. During planning "What if" analyses are performed to stress test the plan.

Sometimes you get conflicting answers some of which suggest that the project should be abandoned. The entrepreneur has to take a measured risk but should treat it as an activity and monitor the risk as part of the monitoring plan and review the results at the review meeting or emergency review.

All entrepreneurs learn the lesson from any setback (failure) and continue in the light of the new experience i.e persist until successful. Napoleon Hill once said "A quitter never wins and a winner never quits". FullEmploy's interpretation of this is "A quitter never wins but a winner knows when to quit". A horse racer knows when to stop flogging a dead horse and a shrewd business person knows when to cut his/her losses.

Day 9: How do the Optimism and Open-Mindedness Characteristics affect FullEmploy?

Today's Characteristics are Optimism and Open-Mindedness.

Optimism:
This is similar to confidence except that confidence is about the present and optimism is about the future. When delegating, you need to communicate the requirements clearly but with confidence. The confidence shows that you know what you're doing which will inspire confidence in your subordinates,

Optimism should be expressed in how things will turn out i.e. successful with exciting results. You have to be careful not to lull them into a false sense of security; this is why contingency plans are created. In fact, the presence of a contingency plan improves understanding, confidence and optimism.

FullEmploy uses the Business Development Lifecycle (BDL) to create and execute plans: it starts by researching what is needed so as to create an action plan. It holds brainstorming sessions to identify methods of solution (MoS) for each task to be undertaken. The best MoS is used in the action plan and the remainder used to create the contingency for each task. Then a monitoring plan to gauge the effectiveness of the MoS, equipment, tools, raw materials, training, staff, and money as well as the progress in achieving the set targets.

Then the action plan and the contingency plan are executed and the monitoring plan is executed in parallel which means a separate monitoring team will be created. At regular intervals, milestones, the progress reports and the monitoring reports are reviewed to inform the planning of future milestones.

The whole process is to increase confidence and optimism in the project and give the ability to react should exceptions occur.

When negotiating contracts or building relationships, communications must be clear and delivered confidently and with an air of optimism which must be based on reality. This necessitates careful research and planning. Since optimism is enhanced by prior success, managers at FullEmploy will use the aggregation process to collect data on past projects and learn from mistakes and build on successes.

Open-Mindedness:
You need to be open-minded when planning so that you can be creative. When you involve staff from lower levels, you need to be open-minded to include their contributions within reason. A certain level of open-mindedness is necessary when negotiating contracts so that you become clear of their requirements. Similarly, when building relationships. Bear in mind that the content of contracts is based on info gleaned during the relationship building process.

Another area that requires open-mindedness is when determining the future and structure of FullEmploy. This is where you encourage staff to contribute based on their experience. However, their contributions must resolve the problems FullEmploy is addressing vis-a-vis unemployment and the skills shortage.

Open-mindedness at FullEmploy is embodied by the management structure. First of all, all staff are managers and have the duty to contribute to the planning process which are designed to achieve FullEmploy's overall aims. At ward level, the planning committee is made up of the Client Managers chaired by the Ward Manager. At area level, the planning committee is made up of the Ward Managers chaired by the Area Manager. And so on. This should keep all members of staff throughout the company well informed of proceedings.

This structure is essential to enable higher level managers to paint an economic picture of the unit they're managing, and share it with everyone else. So everyone is contributing to the planning and using best practice created by others as a matter of routine.

Day 8: How does the Leadership Characteristic affect FullEmploy?

Today's characteristic is Leadership.

There are many debates about leadership especially with its link to management. Leadership and management are treated as separate roles e.g. those on the Board of Directors are treated as leaders and lower management as, well, managers.

At FullEmploy all employees are treated as managers and are expected to learn and show leadership. Because of the hierarchical structure of FullEmploy, a manager is a participant in a higher team and a leader / manager of a lower team. For example, a Ward Manager is a participant in the Area team but a leader of the Ward team. The Client Managers have to show initiative in the way they carry out their duties. They also manage people with whom they build relationships; except that these people don't report to them, it's the other way round.

At FullEmploy managers are duty bound to show leadership by laying down the law which their subordinates must follow. However, everyone has to show flexibility within certain parameters that don't compromise the core values. FullEmploy's view of leadership is that it must be done by example and that all the other characteristics must support that leadership. In fact all the characteristics of an entrepreneur must be adhered to by all staff.

This gives an insight into how higher level managers should lead their teams i.e. show them what FullEmploy wants to achieve and that teams are duty bound to achieve them. These higher levels have external responsibilities i.e. external organisations/people.

Leadership is best shaped by taking into account all the other characteristics in an integrated way:

A leader must be organised; communicates clearly and confidently; is decisive yet flexible; works by delegating tasks to subordinates and has the drive to see them through. A leader must be focused not only on the task at hand but also on what it contributes to the overall aims and objectives of FullEmploy. Leaders at FullEmploy are expected to take an interest in the Health and Fitness of their staff so that they can carry out their duties; and adhere to Health and Safety regulations.

A leader must be optimistic when delegating tasks and open-minded when involving staff in the planning phase but mustn't compromise core values e.g. the general direction of FullEmploy as it's solving problems not just making money.

When communicating, a leader must not only ensure understanding by actively seeking feedback but also by being perceptive to their nuances and body language. This is also a prerequisite when involving staff in the planning phase. A leader must also perceive the Political, Economic, Social, and Technological impact on FullEmploy as explained in the SWOTPEST document.

The most enduring characteristic of a leader is persistence in the face of many setbacks and subordinates tend to look to the leader for guidance on the way forward. But they don't have to be alone. If the setback is minor, they can take the initiative to ameliorate it but still report the incident and the plan to circumvent it. If its a major setback, then they should seek guidance from a higher authority.

This recognises the fact that some projects do fail. In FullEmploy's case, the project is to reduce unemployment and, to do this, the skills shortage must also be reduced. Failure in the methods of solution can be tolerated as new ones will be created. When creating an action plan, a brainstorming session is held where methods of solution are created. The best one is used in the action plan and the rest are used in the contingency plan as alternative methods of solution. This is repeated for each task in the action plan.

Risk Taking is more associated with entrepreneurs than leaders who must take calculated risks. One entrepreneur who became successful and hence CEO of the eventual company, admitted that he doesn't know much about leadership and management in the conventional sense. I tend to agree with that notion because people seem to define what leadership and management is and people are obliged to conform with that definition.

Steve Jobs was a technical boffin and yet he found what his customers wanted and built products that satisfied those wants and became exceedingly successful. This proves that he didn't need any training in leadership and management in order to be successful.

I'm studying a course about Business Organisations and one of their conclusions is that the biggest enemy of creativity is conformity. One example is that a Business School concluded that the biggest characteristic of leaders is charisma; so that's what they taught. Industry ended up with a lot of charismatic leaders who were short on delivery. Remember that knowing the problem is half the solution.

Day 7: How does the Health & Fitness Characteristic affect FullEmploy?

Today's characteristic is Health & Fitness. It's relatively short but sweet.

Health & Fitness

Although this is a personal trait, FullEmploy would take an active part in encouraging Staff to stay Fit and Healthy. In the future, FullEmploy may consider subsidising gym membership and work with gym companies to help us ensure the staff achieve stated aims. Otherwise, the subsidy will be stopped.

FullEmploy would adhere to the work/life balance and working directives not just to comply with the law, but because having adequate rest not only prevents burn-out but also improves productivity.

Because FullEmploy solves problems if we were to create our own gyms for staff and their families, we'd be creating unnecessary competition for existing providers. This is why we work alongside our partners rather than compete with them. In the near future, we'll buy shares in these businesses so that we can share in their success. If they should struggle, we would intervene as shareholders and in our role to safeguard jobs.

You may ask what has this got to do with Health & Fitness? Well, it's the health and fitness of the businesses themselves. That is, the policies and procedures and the business processes must be working seamlessly and efficiently so as to achieve the Aims & Objectives of FullEmploy, their partners and those businesses we provide services to.

Day 6: How do the Flexibility and Focus Characteristics affect FullEmploy?

Today's Characteristics are Flexibility and Focus.

Flexibility

There are 2 areas where FullEmploy can exercise flexibility: internally and externally.

Internal flexibility lies with giving staff an opportunity to contribute to the overall policy and, to some extent, shape local policy in line with central policy. That way, FullEmploy can be all things to all people depending on local circumstances.

External flexibility is where we're negotiating with our partners. This is where we fine tune our methods of solution that we provide for them. If we see that policy, local or central, is getting in the way of solutions, then we'd consider changing it.

FullEmploy has a certain number of core values which brought it into existence. These core values cannot and must not be compromised. According to Meatloaf's lyrics: "I will do anything for [you]; but I won't do that". That actually sums up flexibility - be flexible up to a point and no further.

Among these values, which have become policy, is that FullEmploy would accept unqualified, unskilled or inexperienced people as staff or candidates, because full training will be given. Another value/policy is that, in any ward, only candidates who live in that ward will be accepted; and will be found jobs with businesses who operate from that ward first, then in neighbouring wards.

Focus

There are different levels at which FullEmploy can focus its efforts. The most important ones are when building relationships with our partners:

1. Employers
2. Training Providers
3. Funding Agencies
4. Politicians
5. The Unemployed
6. The General Public

As well as the different areas to focus on, FullEmploy will place different emphasis on areas of policy particularly that its activities accomplish the underlying value of reducing unemployment and the skills shortage in disadvantaged areas. FullEmploy's Ethos is to solve problems first and make money second. In fact, we'll be paid FOR solving the underlying problems; and that's what we'll be focusing on.

During negotiations with our partners, we will focus on the immediate problems facing them not just recruitment. For example, an employer may require to fill a vacancy to satisfy short-term demand but may worry about future demand. Others may be worried about their viability. So, our customers extend beyond those who offer vacancies - the Government refers to this as safeguarding jobs.

Day 5: How do these Characteristics affect FullEmploy?

Today's characteristics are Delegation and Drive.

Delegation

FullEmploy adopts the reversible Top-Down approach i.e. the Vision, Aims & Objectives will be delegated down the hierarchy from top to bottom. Results will be communicated up the hierarchy after aggregation. Intermediate results can also be delivered to partner organisations such as Local Authorities, Councillors, and MPs.

A certain amount of responsibility will be delegated and office managers will be required to hold Board Meetings with lower level office managers to discuss the intermediate results and the way forward. There will be 2 such meetings per month: the down meeting and the up meeting. The up meeting is to discuss the aggregation of data; and the down meeting is to discuss the results as they come back from higher levels i.e. they would contain results from other offices. This will aid the sharing of best practice and would give a clearer picture.

Most of the work will be done by the Client Managers as they collect the raw data and the office managers will aggregate it at Ward, Area, County, Region, and the UK as a whole. Even though responsibility is delegated to ALL levels, work will still be carried out to achieve the Vision, Aims & Objectives of FullEmploy.

Drive

My definition of drive in this context is the energy you have, to help you carry out tasks and engender this energy in others to do the same. To enable this, FullEmploy created its structure in such a way that the manager of one office and the managers of the lower levels form a Board of Directors who have complete responsibility for that unit but still have to operate in such a way as to achieve FullEmploy's Aims & Objectives.

Guidance on what the strategic direction and Aims & Objectives of FullEmploy, are fed down the hierarchy from CEO to Client Managers and everyone in between. The effectiveness of this guidance and new experiences are fed back up the hierarchy to the CEO who changes policy as necessary.

It is said that no one can be all things to all people. So local managers are enabled to shape local policy to fit local conditions within FullEmploy's Aims & Objectives. This should energise the local teams into being more productive which would enable them to achieve their goals.

Because all staff record their experiences on a central database, everyone else can share these experiences and learn from them. These experience are written according to the following guidelines: What was planned to happen? How was it planned to happen? What actually happened? Then a conclusion is written to tie them all together.