Workforce, employment and skills

West Sussex County Council, Brighton and Hove City Council and the West Sussex district and borough councils are working in partnership to host the new West Sussex, Brighton and Hove Careers Hub.

The Careers Hub offers schools and colleges dedicated support to build lasting partnerships with key employers and to improve destination outcomes for young people.

Visit the Careers Hub website.

Businesses in West Sussex have a growing need for digitally skilled employees, in particular those with advanced or higher-level digital skills, who can support the business need for digitisation.

We know that jobs requiring higher level digital skills (for example, programmers and software development professionals) consistently feature as some of the hardest to fill and most numerous in the county, and that West Sussex businesses often struggle to recruit relevantly qualified employees for digital roles.

To support businesses with their skills gaps, as well as inspiring our local residents with the possibility and opportunity of a digital career, West Sussex County Council and the West Sussex District and Borough Councils are jointly funding the Digital Futures West Sussex programme.

We are pleased to support Sussex Chamber of Commerce in their role as Employer Representative Body for the Sussex LSIP.

From 2021/22, Sussex Chamber delivered a successful LSIP trailblazer:

• building a shared understanding of the skills needs of key business sectors across West Sussex, East Sussex and Brighton & Hove
• extending collaboration between education and employers
• bringing together and working in partnership with employers, training providers and key stakeholders.

They delivered their findings in the Sussex Local Skills Improvement Plan Trailblazer Report in March 2022.

Going forward, Sussex Chamber of Commerce will work with employers and stakeholders across the Sussex area to further develop the LSIP and associated Future Skills Sussex Improvement Framework, to be submitted to the Secretary of State by 31 May 2023.

For more information, the Sussex Chamber of Commerce website has a range of resources including the Trailblazer Improvement Plan and a report on the Deep Dive in The Digital Sector.

The impact of COVID-19 on workforces across the county has been considerable. The pandemic has caused the biggest annual fall in employment for the over 50s in four decades. This age group are also taking longer than other groups to return to work after a period of unemployment.

We are encouraging businesses to embrace age diversity and ensure that their businesses meet the changing needs of workers throughout their careers.

This might mean enabling flexible working, encouraging staff training at every stage in an employee’s career, or being responsive to the needs of employees with caring responsibilities by offering part-time work or altered working hours.

Take a look at our case studies of West Sussex businesses that are reaping the benefits, skills and experience of an age diverse workforce.

• Case studies (PDF, 3.8MB)

Further information on how to become an age-friendly employer, including how to sign the Age-friendly Employer Pledge, can be found on the Centre for Ageing Better website.

Apprenticeships combine work with study to enable employees to develop skills while gaining qualifications in a specific field. They enable employers to upskill their existing workforce, or to recruit and train new staff.

Apprenticeships bring businesses many benefits including:

• delivering highly motivated and responsive workers, qualified on completion of their training scheme
• attracting new people into the workforce, enhancing diversity
• bringing new transferable skills to the established workforce
• providing recognised career development and progression routes
• offering relevant training designed by employers and technical experts
• addressing skills shortages and reduce staff turnover
• providing opportunities for existing staff to gain supervisory experience.

Funding is available from the Government for the training programme and employer grants can be accessed from Local Authorities, including West Sussex County Council’s Apprenticeship Levy Transfer.

As a large apprenticeship levy paying employer, the County Council is able to transfer up to 25% of its annual levy funds to West Sussex businesses to pay for high-quality training for new or existing staff, aiding business development across the county.

With the transfer of levy funds, we hope this will lead to more quality apprenticeships being created as employers are supported to take on apprentices who may not have done so otherwise.

The apprenticeship levy is giving employers a real opportunity to invest in high-quality training, helping to grow their business and get the skilled workforce they need to thrive and succeed.

In April 2021 the Local Government Association reported that West Sussex County Council had committed more than £359k through the Levy Transfer to local businesses, enabling apprenticeships in social care, the third sector, non-maintained schools, digital, engineering, design, retail, hospitality and tourism.

Nationally only around 2% of employers pay the levy but this investment funds more than 40% of the apprenticeship new starts per year. For information on the application criteria and how to apply, visit our apprenticeship levy transfer funding page.

Many local authorities are transferring some of their levy pot to small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). You could also contact your local district or borough council business support team to enquire about any additional apprenticeship funding currently available in West Sussex.

Find out about government funding for apprenticeships. If you are a levy-paying employer, you might like to consider transferring left-over funds to help local SMEs.

The challenges of COVID-19 had a marked impact on employment in West Sussex. In line with the rest of the country, we saw changes in workforce demands across the county, skills shortages in some sectors, relatively low unemployment and changes in the way in which people were working and interacting brought about by a combination of the impact of COVID-19 and the swift development of new technology.

In 2020/21 WSCC commissioned two reports to look at how the pandemic had affected employment and skills in West Sussex and to provide potential solutions to the emerging challenges for the local economy. The two reports were developed through discussion and engagement with a wide range of partners and stakeholders.

• COVID-19 Insights Report (PDF, 5.4MB)
• COVID-19 Action Report (PDF, 7.2MB)