Can Recovery Plan build a ‘new normal’ in East Sussex?
The Economy Recovery Plan (ERP) is East Sussex County Council’s (ESCC) response to the unprecedented challenges that businesses face due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Announced last month, the Plan targets a wide range of areas designed to boost economic resilience – including support employment and skills, health and wellbeing, green transportation, and investment in digital infrastructure.
But can the ERP achieve an even more ambitious aim: to turn the region’s response to the pandemic “into meaningful long-term change… [and a] ‘new normal’ in East Sussex”?
Improving the skills base is a top priority as it underpins long-term business sustainability and employment. According to Holly Aquilina, Employability and Skills Strategy Manager at ESCC, a ‘new normal’ in skills means improvements in online learning, closer working between employers and training providers, and more innovative use of technology.
Public and private providers are collaborating on skills initiatives. Local colleges and universities are busy reformatting their courses for online and blended delivery. Sussex and Brighton unis are even devising ‘virtual internships’ that allow students to complete work placements remotely.
However, according to the South East Local Economic Partnership (SELEP), fewer than 20% of businesses are seeking advice on digital skills training. So are employers convinced about the return?
Most companies are focused on immediate survival, says Aquilina. “Once their immediate measures have been addressed, they may start identifying their skills deficits and recognising that digital and other skills training could help them be more sustainable in the longer term.”
Employers also need reassurance that they will receive support for training new employees.
The Chancellor intends the Kickstart Scheme to lower the risk of hiring young people who might otherwise slip into long-term unemployment. The government will cover wages and National Insurance for 25 hours/week for six months at the national minimum wage with a £1,500 grant for set-up and training. The Sussex Chamber of Commerce is acting as an intermediary so small businesses can take part and already has over 300 on board.
It’s not only younger workers and students who need support to attain skills. The stresses of recent months have exposed vulnerabilities in employers’ existing skillsets. Aquilina highlights the need to improve their project and financial management and recruitment, as well as make better use of online marketing opportunities.
Rebalancing challenge
Over £45 million is available for the ERP from central government and SELEP over the next 12-18 months (including existing projects such as the Observer Building in Hastings and Eastbourne’s Sovereign Harbour fishing quay.) Nonetheless, ESCC faces a big task to rebalance the economy across the whole region.
Another challenge is the speed with which the government is announcing new incentives and schemes. “There is danger of overlap, duplication and of creating competition rather than collaboration between key local providers and organisations,” says Aquilina. “We hope that our ERP and our SES (Skills East Sussex Employment and Skills Board) will provide a centre for facilitating cooperation between local stakeholder organisations to mitigate this risk.”
Follow Linguicity Training:
By Sheridan Nye
Email: [email protected]