Click here to access the Work Ready Lancashire Booklet PDF

WHY: Lancashire Local Skills Improvement Plan (LSIP), the Lancashire Skills and Employment Hub and the Lancashire Careers Hub have developed this approach following employer feedback.  A common language agreement fosters a unified understanding among young people, educational institutions, and employers in Lancashire regarding the essential skills needed for employment readiness.. This approach has been developed to better support the young people of Lancashire to ‘Effectively Transition’ from education into the world of work.

This approach does not intend to duplicate existing resources and frameworks but is simply designed to share a common work ready language which can be used by employers as part of their engagement with young people to support experiences of the workplace and careers activities in schools and be embedded within their recruitment and induction processes.  Schools and colleges are invited to embed this language into their curriculum, careers provision and wider school programmes.

As we move forward into the next academic year Lancashire Careers Hub will embed this language into their approach, commissioning, and support provided to both education and employers.

WHO: This document is for anyone who interacts with young people in school or college (including employers, careers practitioners and teaching staff). Its purpose is to create a universal language surrounding the key skills that Lancashire employers have said they want and need to help their businesses grow and thrive.

Skills are an integral part of careers development for young people, supporting them at the beginning of their careers journey but also enabling them to maintain and progress within their chosen path. Our aim is to ensure our young people are better prepared for their best next steps.

HOW: Our approach is focused on the top ten work ready skills as identified by Lancashire employers as ‘necessary skills’ that all employers need and provides examples on how students can demonstrate these skills whilst in education and as they progress into the workplace.

Over 120 Lancashire employers responded to our survey, outlining the skills they need in priority order.  Further information can be found on the graphs below.

By applying the ‘Learn, Develop, Apply’ approach outlined in our directory, young people will be able to gain and develop the necessary skills to make a successful transition into the world of work.

• Learn it – How young people can learn the work ready skill whilst in education.
• Develop it – Gain an understanding of how the skill can be further improved and developed through encounters with employers and employees, through experiences of the workplace, and by linking careers with curriculum (Benchmarks 4, 5 and 6) and as part of their induction once they enter the workplace.
• Apply it – Understand how the work ready skill applies in the workplace.

It has been shown that when different language is used to talk about skills by employers, government departments, schools, Further and Higher Education and within wider society, the result is confusing.  Creating a shared common language around skills is one of the key ways we can make an impact, aligning the language of education, social impact interventions and employers.