MY CHALLENGE IS TO FILL THE SKILLS GAP

The phrase “It always seems impossible until it’sdone “isuniversally attributed to Nelson Mandela, but thereisno source for exactly where or when it was said.

This makesitnoless true, as at some point splitting the atom, sequencing DNA, having 17 number one singles like The Beatles did, would have seemed astretch too far and beyond imagination. But they wereonly impossible at a certain point in time.

That’swhy in my role as principal of Dudley College of Technology Itry toget both the young people we work with as well as the adults to believe they can succeed in almost anything they try

It may just be my experience but the only things in life Ihave found to be impossible aretobecome taller,drive atthe exact speed limit, and have an unshaking belief that Wolves will win the Premier League. Almost everything else can be possible with sufficient time and the resources to make it happen and awilling heart.

And it’sthis belief that leads me to have faith that new targets from Government, about the amount of work experience or employer exposureevery learner in school or college has, is achievable.

Targets that prescribe that for the new Tlevel qualifications alearner has at least 315 hours or 45 days industry placement and for every year of their education alearner should have a minimum of three employer encounters. To many training providers these requirements have seemed “impossible.” And it would of course be truly impossible without the co-operation of businesses. So, for that reason Iwantto challenge every business in the region to support the next generation of employees by offering such experiences, going into classrooms or online and helping them understand employment prospects.

The most significant way an individual organisation can contribute to closing the skills gap, that is predicted for the future, agap in which thereishigherdemand for certain types of skilled labour than supply,isbyofferingthe opportunity for someone to enter their work place and get arealistic view

And of course, work experience doesn’tcost the employer asalaryand hosting aplacement can also benefit a business in another way –by allowing existing employees the opportunity to improve their own organisational and leadership skills or develop new mentoring or assessing ones. If you can get involved with any of the many local initiatives around industry placements and careers exposure, then please speak with your local college or the Black Country Careers Hub. l Design, surveying and planning TLevelstudent, Billy Jinks, left, recentlystarted his industry placement at the Harper Group.

The Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) currently being drawn up by employer representative bodies (in our region, the Black Country Chamber of Commerce) will ensurethat the employer voice is heardin shaping the educational offer and training opportunities that local businesses and individuals can access.

It will be down to training providers to respond to these plans and deliver the training and skills, businesses in the region need to succeed into the future. These plans are likely to run to many pages, but one thing is clear is that they will not succeed in isolation.

If every business, whether that be asole trader or a multi-national, plays their part in creating capacity to offer work experience placements and wider industry engagement for local people then we really canstart to turnthe impossible into the possible.