Issue - meetings

(1)       Mr Hill and Ms Honey updated the Committee and answered questions on the following issues:-

Kent History Centre

(2)      Mr Hill stated that he and colleagues had visited the developers of the Kent History Centres French operation.  The company had also expressed an interest in taking part in other ventures within the County for example the third Thames crossing.

New Skills/New Lives

(3)      Mr Hill referred to the New Skills/New Lives event that he had attended on 3 March 2010 and stressed the contribution that this initiative had made to turning round peoples lives.

LGA Cultural Conference

(4)      Mr Hill had attended the LGA Cultural Conference which, had not been as informative as it could have been due to it being held in the pre-election period.  

Accommodation for young offenders

(5)      Ms Honey referred to the report later in the meeting on the Youth Justice Strategic Plan, and explained that accommodation for Young people leaving custody was one of the priorities for the Children’s Trust Board and it was hoped that it would also be a priority for the Children and Young Peoples Plan. 

Apprenticeships     

(6)       Ms Honey mentioned that the 2010 target for apprenticeships had been achieved and there was a step change in the number of young people moving into apprenticeships. Approximately 300 young people had come into KCC on apprenticeships and there were more in the whole public sector. 

(7)       In response to a question Ms Honey acknowledged that the target of a 20% increase in the number of apprenticeships by 2015 was challenging, but this included the pubic sector and work was also being carried out with small to medium businesses. 

(8)       Ms Honey explained that the majority of KCC apprentices worked in administration but it was intended to have a full range of posts.  She stated that 500 young people had expressed an interest in taking up apprenticeships in September 2010 as a result of the online prospectus.  She confirmed that she planned to bring a paper to the next meeting of the Committee on apprenticeships. This would include additional funding for apprenticeships especially for vulnerable young people

KDAAT

(7)       Ms Honey referred to an event where ex-service users have given presentations on how they had turned their lives around and the new qualifications that they had been able to achieve which would assist them in gaining employment.  She reported that there would be additional funding for alcohol services in West Kent and that the Kenwood Trust would be providing tier 3 services. 

Community Learning and Skills

(8)       Ms Honey informed the Committee that Adult Education and KEY training had changed their name to “Community Learning and Skills”.

(9)       In response to a question, Mr Hill explained that there was a Learning and Skills Board which he chaired, whose role was to bring together the work being done in both the Children, Families & Education Directorate and the Communities Directorate.  He undertook to provide a briefing or to bring a paper to a future meeting  ...  view the full minutes text for item 48