News Tag: digital

The UK labour market has been considerably weakened by Covid-19 in the last 18 months, with the impact varying by sector and place. With millions of people being placed on furlough or losing their jobs, government interventions have been crucial in mitigating the worst impacts to date.

To capture key activities and trends within the employability sector, Aptem has created a podcast series entitled The Employability Forecast. The podcast features employability and vocational training experts, political figures and employers, who share their views on the issues currently affecting the sector.

Season one has recently drawn to a close. In case you missed any of the episodes so far you can catch up with the links below:

Is the government’s response to the employability crisis adequate?

This episode features Stephen Timms, Labour MP for East Ham, who discusses the government’s response to employability in a post-Covid-19 world.

How do we solve the skills challenge?

Dr Fiona Aldridge, the Director of Policy and Research at Learning and Work Institute, discusses the role of skills development as a solution to today’s employability challenge.

Why have young BAME people been disproportionally affected by the employment crisis?

Julie Quist-Therson LLM Dip Trans., the Head of Programmes at SEO London, discusses how the employment crisis has affected young people across the country and why minority groups have been disproportionately affected.

What role will employability providers play in the new employability landscape?

Sean Williams, CEO of Corndel, joins Aptem to discuss how the world of employability has changed and what role employability providers must play in the race for recovery.

The future shape and values of the employability sector

Scott Parkin, CEO of the Institute of Employability Professionals, shares his thoughts on the future of the employability sector.

Mental health, wellbeing and resilience in the pandemic

Simon Blake OBE CCMI, CEO of Mental Health First Aid, talks to Aptem about the importance of prioritising mental health and wellbeing, and equipping people with resilience skills in the pandemic.

Employment support: how do we connect the right provision with the right people at the right time?

Elizabeth Taylor, Chief Executive at ERSA, joins Aptem to talk about the unemployment landscape in the context of the pandemic. She reflects on the employability provisions introduced so far and what is needed to ensure they succeed.

Look out for the second series of The Employability Forecast coming this autumn. If you are interested in contributing to this podcast or would like to see a particular subject covered please email: hello@aptem.co.uk

To learn about how Aptem Employ helps to achieve greater efficiencies for employability providers and gives jobseekers a greater chance of securing long-term employment, please visit:  https://www.aptem.co.uk/employ/#employabilityforecast

Today, the Employment Related Services Association (ERSA) launches a new digital forum, a space for organisations to come together to hear about tried and tested and emerging technologies in employment support. Even before the pandemic, digital transformation was changing the labour market. Jobs disappearing are not the same as those being created. COVID-19 has hit industries hard and is disproportionally affecting our young people, older workers and the those furthest from the labour market are being driven even further away.

Ageing Better highlights how COVID-19  has exposed our digital divides and is changing the landscape of digital inclusion, read more on ERSA’s Older Workers Forum page here.

There have been some silver linings in all of this, many employment support providers have embraced digital platforms and have used technology for engagement where face to face interactive has been restricted. ERSA members have told their stories of success since centres were shut in early 2020 through Employability Day, ERSA blogs, forums and roundtables.

The Digital forum will be co-chaired by Tony Carr, Director, 4 Front Partners and Associate Professor Jo Ingold, Deakin University with sector updates from ERSA and contributions from guest speakers and ERSA members. 

Tony said; 

‘As technology develops, the opportunities for service improvements in employment and skills services are vast.  Join us in this ERSA forum to hear about new technology, overcoming the challenges of digitalization and to contribute your thoughts and ideas.’

Jo said; 

‘Internationally, digitalisation of employment services is a significant and growing trend that is also moving fast. This Forum is an important space for discussing emerging technologies and trends and how they can meet the needs of both candidates and employers.’

Richard Alberg, Aptem Employ said; 

‘Welcome to the ERSA Digital Forum, sponsored by Aptem Employ. We are delighted to be sponsoring this forum to bring together everyone in the employability community who has an interest in consuming technology and cares about digital and its contribution to today’s employability challenges. We look forward to meeting you at the forthcoming forums and discussing, debating and brainstorming how digital can play its part to help high volumes of jobseekers back into the workplace, both quickly and for the long-term.’

The first digital forum will be delivered online on Monday 12 October, 2-3.30pm, as part of Digital Leaders Week. 

Agenda

• Welcome to your new ERSA digital forum
• Discussion points:
    – Digital Jobseeker engagement
    – Challenges of remote delivery
    – The future of the forum 

Register here, send your agenda suggestions to the ERSA team at events@ersa.org.uk.