Roundup of workshop on skills for the emerging economy

‘Skills for the emerging economy’ was a lively and well-attended workshop held at the Observatory’s Annual Conference on 20th October 2009.
Steve Sawbridge, from the Association of Colleges, chaired the workshop, which featured presentations from Mike Beasley, Pat Jackson and Andy Phillips.

Speakers announced for the 2009 conference

One month to go until the Observatory’s 2009 conference - “West Midlands: Fit for the Future?” – on Tuesday 20th October at the Ramada Hotel in Sutton Coldfield.
Book online or fax us a booking form
Entitled “West Midlands: Fit for the Future?”, the conference will follow on from a book of the same name launched by the [...]

ONS article investigates economic productivity in urban versus rural areas

Contrasts in the economic productivity of urban versus rural local authorities, and the factors contributing to the varying performance of the economies of English regions, are both the subject of an article in the latest edition of Economic & Labour Market Review.
The article in the ONS publication takes a detailed look at Gross Value Added per filled job (GVA [...]

Survey on destinations of graduates from higher education

The Destinations of leavers from higher education longitudinal survey (PDF, 2.02mb) is a new report published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency.
The survey aims to examine what graduates are doing three years after graduation. Questionnaires were completed by graduates who left university in 2004/05 on a range of subjects including their activities during November 2008.

New report on innovation in a changing economy

In difficult economic times, firms need to adapt if they are going to survive. Innovation is particularly important at such times. However, as the economy changes to one increasingly dependent on services then so must our view of innovation.
One of the Observatory’s new State of the Region thematic reports, The Importance of Innovation in a [...]

Developing a high growth knowledge economy in the West Midlands

Knowledge intensive industries rely on innovation and knowledge to gain competitive advantage and, although the sector has grown rapidly in recent years, the West Midlands has struggled to attract these activities.
Through a state of the region dialogue on the West Midlands’ knowledge economy (PDF, 383kb), the Observatory has identified a range of actions to address this, developed and [...]

High levels of satisfaction amongst West Midlands student population

The 2009 National Student Survey found that 4 out of 5 of students across the UK are satisfied with the courses they are studying at university.
Over 223,363 students took part in the annual survey (a response rate of 62% for the UK), which was conducted by the Higher Education Funding Council for England.

Observatory launches new book ‘West Midlands: Fit for the Future?’

A new book from the Observatory, West Midlands: Fit for the Future?, was launched yesterday.
The book aims to stimulate debate, promote discussion and influence policy on the future growth of the West Midlands region. The focus is on the future prosperity of the West Midlands, rather than on the effects of the recession, and exploring [...]

Investment in higher level skills needed to kick start the region’s recovery

Investment in higher level skills is vital to kick start the region’s recovery from recession but the proportion of the workforce qualified to degree level or above is well below the national average, particularly in the private sector.
New research (PDF, 258kb) by the West Midlands Regional Observatory shows that overall investment in skills and training [...]

Britain’s got (hidden) talent

New reseach has shown that two-thirds of UK workers with specialist skills are not using them in their professional careers.
The Western European Location Skills Audit undertaken by Oxford Intelligence covered eight ‘hard-to-find’ skill sets in ten countries.
The research showed that the UK ranks first in the Location Skills Index and either first or second in Technical [...]

A new approach to skills for sustainable communities

In 2004 the Egan Review started the discussion around skills for sustainable communities.
The Review aimed to identify the skills necessary, and any potential skill gaps, to deliver successful, sustainable communities.
The review recommended:
To encourage people into built environment professions and other core occupations; address gateway educational needs by working with employers, professional and academic institutions; [...]

April 2009 briefing on economic downturn’s impact on skills and labour market in the West Midlands

The West Midlands Regional Observatory has produced its third quarterly briefing monitoring the impact of the economic downturn on skills and the labour market.
The overall picture is one of continued decline but with the first tentative indications of some improvement. This is reflected in the decreases in the rate of job losses expected, at least [...]

Earnings inequalities in rural areas are significant and growing

New evidence from the Observatory’s Rural Skills Assessment (PDF, 0.5MB) has revealed that the gap between the average wage being earned in rural areas of the region and the average wage of the residents living in those areas is significant and growing.
The findings show that rural residents are earning, on average, far higher wages than [...]

Impact of the recession on environmental technologies sector

The Observatory’s skills team is working on a skills review of the environmental technologies sector (such as renewable energy, pollution monitoring and waste management) on behalf of the Learning & Skills Council, Advantage West Midlands and local authorities in the West Midlands.
While we expect to publish in summer 2009, we can report now on emerging [...]

West Midlands rural areas hit particularly hard by recession

The Observatory’s Skills Team are working on an assessment of skills and labour market issues in the rural areas of the West Midlands on behalf of the Regional Skills Partnership and the Rural Affairs Forum.
While we expect to publish in April 2009, we can report now on emerging findings relating to the impact of the recession.
Rural areas [...]