Rising to the Challenges of a Dynamic Region

Leeds City College has recently invested in market intelligence through EMSI’s online data tool, Analyst, to better understand its position in the skills market and to inform its five year strategic plan.

In order to keep up with the ever changing skills landscape, the college aims to provide its students with key intelligence on a range of careers, including skills and competency requirements and projected earnings.

The college will particularly look at maintaining strong collaborative links with smaller businesses across Leeds and to add value to their existing relationships with larger employers. The tool is also useful for apprenticeships, an area which is consistently growing in the college, as it can pick out occupations and industries that are set to develop and identify key employers within these sectors. This puts the college in a better position for understanding what skills and qualities businesses will be looking for in an apprentice.

Proactively planning for future industry & sector skills needs

Rachel Mather, the College’s Research & Bid Development Manager sees Analyst as a vital part of the college’s efforts of rising to the skills challenges in the region.

Rachel explains “Our focus is not only on the present workforce but proactively planning for future industry and sector skills needs. The College has worked in partnership with co-ordinating bodies such as West Yorkshire Consortium of Colleges and Leeds City Region Skills Network, as well as directly with stakeholders and employers to ensure there are appropriate mechanisms and channels in place to feed through information to the LEP and to inform and respond to the regional skills agenda.”

More detail on the college’s effective use of analyst can be found here and also published here: Leeds City College: Rising to the challenges of a dynamic region