Councillor Sally Cresswell (Cabinet Member for Education, Skills and Apprenticeships) introduced the item and highlighted: 

a)    1 in 10 young people in Plymouth did not succeed in education and make a positive transition into adult life and the world of work and the plan had been developed in response to this; 
 

b)    It was the first strategic plan committed to reducing high levels of young people not in education, employment or training, as it could be detrimental to both mental and physical health and could lead to unemployment, low pay, low quality work and less feelings of success; 
 

c)    The plan recognised that the priority groups of youung people would require some additional support and that no single agency could address the challenges in and it would require a strong multi-agency approach at both a strategic and operational level to deliver early interventions and extensive support for those who needed it; 
 

d)    The plan had been circulated widely through the diverse membership of the employment and skills board; 
 

e)    The consultation process, along with wider stakeholder engagement, had shaped the priorities, and would continue to influence interventions moving forward. 

Tina Brinkworth (Head of Skills and Post 16) added: 

f)     The plan gave the opportunity to move to a more preventative model, whilst also support those young people who were currently not in employment, education or training; 
 

g)    Only 1 in 5 care leavers made it into employment so creating opportunities was key; 
 

h)    A pilot program working intensively with 4 young people with SEND had been successful with all four transitioning into employment, education or training. 

David Haley (Director of Children’s Services) added: 

i)     The strategy focused on supporting specific vulnerable groups of young people; 
 

j)     It looked at all the partnerships across the city the maximise support. 

In response to questions, it was explained: 

k)    DWP were involved with the work, along with approximately 80 other partners; 
 

l)     The Skills Launchpad acted as a triage to seamlessly get them to the right support for them; 
 

m)  SEND opportunities were being grown and more information shared with young people, their families and employers to raise wareness of additional funding available to better support these young people in apprenticeship roles; 
 

n)    The use of language was important and using ‘SEET’ (seeking education, employment or training) instead of ‘NEET’ (not in education, employment of training) when communicating with young people was very important. 

The Leader added: 

o)    It was important that the Council did more to provide supported placements and apprenticeships. 
 

That Cabinet agreed to approve the Unlocking Plymouth’s Potential strategic plan.