Agenda item

To receive a report on the subject of youth employment at Redditch Borough Council.

(Report attached).

The Committee considered a report which detailed youth employment statistics for Redditch Borough Council, together with current initiatives and potential developments.  The following matters were highlighted:

Under 30’s Employment

The Human Resources Development Manager highlighted the figures detailed in the report which demonstrated the balance of young people employed by the Council on permanent and casual contracts.  These figures were not too dissimilar to other authorities if casual employees were not included.  It was noted, however, that the authority employed a greater percentage of casual 16 to 24 years that other Local Authorities, predominantly in Leisure Services.

Existing initiatives:  Apprenticeships / Work Experience initiatives

Members were reminded of the three year plan that had been agreed in 2009 when a budget had been agreed for the Council to participate in a pilot to encourage apprenticeships and work experience.  The apprenticeships’ budget was allocated following submissions for placements by Service Managers.  The Council currently employed two apprentices with funding in place for a third.

It was reported that, in comparison to some authorities the Council was doing very well with placements increasing year by year, although they were often offered in the same departments.  Officers were looking to address this problem and expand the opportunities for placements across the Authority.  Members further noted that Officers were currently looking into supporting schools and colleges running the Diplomas in Public Services due to be introduced in September. 

Potential Future Developments: Graduate Programme and Internships

Members were briefly updated on the National Gradate Development Programme which seeks to recruit and develop graduates with the potential to fill senior management roles in local government as well as the potential for the development of 12 month internships for third year undergraduates in local authorities.  It was noted that there would be financial implications as undergraduates would generally be looking for paid placements and internships.  For this reason, joining the programme was not regarded as viable at this time.

The Union representative attending suggested that graduate placements and internships formed part of a valid career structure and were worth considering at some point, particularly as there was the potential for the Council to find themselves with a huge gap in knowledge and experience when older, long serving members of staff retired.   Members were informed that most local authorities were struggling with recruitment and retention of young people and it was suggested that shared services might provide better prospects for staff development and improve the situation. 

Mention was also made of the Future Jobs Fund, a nationwide scheme which was designed to support the creation of jobs for young people aged 18-24 who had been out of work for a year or more.  In Worcestershire many of the young people would be supported into ‘green jobs’ and would be required to work a minimum of 25 hours per week.  There was no guarantee that these young people would be residents of Redditch and a number of applications for had been completed by residents living in other parts of Worcestershire.  Officers agreed to discuss the matter further with Worcestershire County Council and to urge the authority to ensure that Pertemps, the employment agency which had won the contract to deliver this work in Worcestershire, advertised all Redditch opportunities within the Borough.

It was suggested that the higher aspirations young people had today were not always achievable and students often moved from course to course trying to find a career.  Under these circumstances it was suggested that it might be useful for pupils to have ‘tasters’ of different jobs during school times as this might help them to decide what they wanted to do with their careers.

RESOLVED that

1)         the report be noted; and

2)         the Committee continue to monitor the situation with regards to youth employment at the Council.