Skills East Sussex Minutes 26 June 2025
Skills East Sussex Minutes 26 June 2025
Meeting Details
Skills East Sussex Board Meeting
Thursday 26 June 2025 1.00pm-4.00pm
East Sussex National Hotel
Attendees and apologies
| Attendee | Name | Organisation, Role |
|---|---|---|
| DGarn | Diana Garnham | Skills East Sussex Board CHAIR |
| AP | Andrew Pritchard | Bexhill College, Assistant Principal |
| AG | Ann Gillard | People Matter (Guest) |
| BB | Becky Brocklehurst | Palladium (Guest) |
| BS | Becky Skilton | Employability and Skills Team East Sussex County Council (Guest) |
| BM | Ben Morton | Employability and Skills Team East Sussex County Council (Guest) |
| CJ | Caroline Jackson | Employability and Skills Team East Sussex County Council (Guest) |
| CM | Caroline Merchant | University of Sussex |
| CW | Claire Witz | Sussex Chamber Skills Lead - LSIP |
| CllrCa | Cllr Penny di Cara | ESCC Councillor, Lead Member for Economy |
| CB | Colin Brown | Skills Prover (Guest) |
| DH | Dan Hayman | Cheesmur Building Contractors (Guest) |
| DG | Darrell Gale | Public Health, East Sussex County Council (Guest) |
| DR | Debbie Reeds | Little Gate Supported Employment (Guest) |
| GT | Geraldine Turton | University of Sussex, Head of Apprenticeships |
| GP | Graham Peters | Vice Lord-Lieutenant (Guest) |
| IN | Ian Noble | Uckfield Chamber of Commerce, Chamber Director |
| JH | James Harris | ESCC, Assistant Director - Economy |
| KF | Kenneth Frost | Whitehead-Ross Education (Guest) |
| KB | Kim Byford | Talent Accelerator, Project Director / Co-Chair Creative, Cultural, Digital, Media Task Group |
| NB | Nick Backstrom | East Sussex College Group (Guest) |
| NM | Nuno Matias | Whitehead-Ross Education (Guest) |
| PSh | Penny Shimmin | SCDA, Chief Executive |
| RB | Rah Bray | Southdown (Guest) |
| RJ | Rebecca Jones | Employability and Skills Team, East Sussex County Council (Guest) |
| RD | Richard Dawson | Communities, Economy & Transport, East Sussex County Council |
| SS | Sally Staples | ESCC Culture Team, Team Manager – Culture and Tourism / Co-Chair Creative, Cultural, Digital, media Task Group |
| SA | Sam Aubrey | Southdown (Guest) |
| ST | Sara Taylor | Lewes and Eastbourne District Council (Guest) |
| SB | Stephen Burkes | Creative Process Digital (Guest) |
| VP | Vanessa Potter | SCTP, Director |
| VC | Vicki Orbell | East Sussex College Group (Guest) |
| WG | Wendy Gorham | Employability and Skills Team, East Sussex County Council (Guest) |
| ZC | Zoe Child | CXK (Guest) |
| Ana Christie | Sussex Chamber of Commerce |
|---|---|
| Becky Shaw | ESCC, Chief Executive |
| Cllr Bob Standley | ESCC Councillor, Lead Member for Education and Inclusion and SEND |
| Bruce Campbell | DWP |
| Chris Bending | Wealden District Council |
| Christina Ewbank | Eastbourne Chamber of Commerce, Chief Executive Eastbourne Chamber of Commerce |
| Karen Hucker | Bexhill College |
| Pauline Smith | CXK |
| Rebecca Conroy | East Sussex College Group, Principal |
| Victoria Conheady | Hastings Borough Council |
| CB | Caroline Bragg | Employability and Skills Strategy Manager, ESCC |
|---|---|---|
| HA | Holly Aquilina | Employability and Skills Strategy Manager, ESCC |
| HB | Hannah Brookshaw | Partnerships and Projects Manager, ESCC |
| AM | Amy Morris | Partnerships and Projects Officer, ESCC |
Actions arising from this meeting
| ACTIONS | LEAD | DUE BY / STATUS |
|---|---|---|
| Carried forward actions: | ||
| Creation of a visual map demonstrating employability programmes in East Sussex and how they connect. | Secretariat /SLN | Autumn 2025 |
| Share any map/visual of current programmes and support for getting people into work with HA. | ALL | September 2025 |
| HA to arrange a meeting with SW (SLN) to discuss mapping project. | HA | Autumn 2025 |
| Share the Youth Employment Service data with AMe and LS. | CXK | ASAP |
| HB and AM to share 1066 Engineering after-school club report with CllrCa following project completion in July 2025. | HB/AM | August 2025 |
| DGarn to explore funding opportunities for after-school clubs and share with HB. | DGarn | September 2025 |
| Actions arising from the meeting: | ||
| ACTION 1: Creation of a new Professional Services Task Group to be discussed at next SES Board meeting. | Secretariat | November 2025 |
| ACTION 2: To confirm if IT is part of Professional Services in the government’s Industrial Strategy. | Secretariat | November 2025 |
| ACTION 3: Review, and if applicable re-draft SES priorities to be discussed at next board meeting. | Secretariat | November 2025 |
1. Welcome, Introductions and Apologies
1.1. DGarn welcomed everyone to the meeting, a celebration of ten years of Skills East Sussex. DGarn also welcomed past chairs of the board.
1.2. Apologies noted.
1.3. The minutes of the previous meeting were approved.
1.4. DGarn congratulated HA on being named in the King’s Birthday Honours 2025. HA was awarded a BEM (Medallists of the British Empire).
1.5. HA updated that mapping of current programmes is still underway.
Action: Share any map/visual of current programmes and support for getting people into work with HA. Please can members share by end of September 2025.
1.6. SES Board members voted and agreed to change the name of the board from ‘Skills East Sussex’ to ‘Skills & Employment East Sussex’. The new name better reflects the work of the board.
2. Ten Years of Skills East Sussex: A Celebration
2.1. HA and CB presented an overview of the last ten years of Skills East Sussex (SES). The presentation outlined the board’s establishment during the 2014 austerity period and its evolution into a nationally recognised model of local collaboration. Key milestones included the formation of sector task groups, the launch of the Careers Hub and Open Doors initiatives, and the expansion of apprenticeship pathways. The board’s agile response to external challenges such as Brexit, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the cost-of-living crisis, was highlighted, along with targeted support for vulnerable groups and refugees. The presentation also detailed collaborative efforts with education, health, and voluntary sectors to improve employability, digital inclusion and workforce resilience. Notable outcomes included impactful programmes such as Steps to Success and Transform, and significant capital investment in local skills infrastructure.
2.2. HA proposed that a ‘Professional Services’ task group be created, as Professional and Business Services is listed as a key sector in the governments Industrial Strategy. The group discussed if IT was classed as a professional service in the government’s industrial strategy. This is to be checked ahead of the next board meeting in November.
ACTION 1: Creation of a new Professional Services task group to be discussed at next SES Board meeting.
ACTION 2: To confirm if IT is part of Professional Services in the government’s industrial strategy.
3. Review of Skills East Sussex priorities
3.1. CB and HA provided an overview of the current SES priorities. This was followed by table discussions, during which participants were invited to reflect on any necessary updates to the existing priorities and to highlight achievements under each area. Notes from each table were collected and will be reviewed and discussed at the next board meeting.
3.2. PS put forward that an overarching statement of aspiration including what we are here as a board to do, should be created. To be discussed at the next meeting alongside the priorities.
ACTION 3: Review of feedback and if applicable re-draft SES priorities and overarching ambition statement to be discussed at next board meeting.
4. Get Sussex Working Plan
4.1. The Get Sussex Working plan is currently being drafted following stakeholder consultation in May. The high-level plan is to be submitted by 30 June with the full plan submitted in September.
4.2. HB and AM presented an employment and skills data snapshot and a summary of the approach and findings from the recent stakeholder engagement for the Get Sussex Working Plan. The presentation outlined the current employment and skills challenges in East Sussex, including low job density, below-average earnings, and high NEET and low qualification rates in areas such as Hastings and Rother. Stakeholder engagement across sectors identified six key themes: access to quality training, employer engagement, workforce inclusion, job security and progression, local relevance and the need for a whole-system approach. Adults and young people highlighted barriers such as transport, childcare, lack of support awareness, and inflexible or unsuitable job markets. The findings will inform a locally tailored implementation plan aligned with pan-Sussex ambitions for inclusive, coordinated employment and skills provision.
4.3. HA and CB introduced the Pan – Sussex ambitions for the Get Sussex Working plan. The Pan – Sussex plan will have an East Sussex local focus.
Overarching ambition:
Sussex will support the government’s national ambition of an 80% employment rate through a data-and intelligence informed approach which focuses on providing inclusive services which meet the needs of people, employers and places.
Sussex ambitions:
-
Create the appropriate infrastructure, partnerships and processes to enable delivery of the Get Sussex Working Plan within the context of devolution.
-
Address the skills and employment needs of diverse groups of residents, overcoming their barriers, so that people can access and sustain meaningful and good work.
-
Develop an employer engagement approach to support and promote inclusive workplaces, recruitment practices, training and progression pathways.
-
Respond to the needs of different geographies across Sussex (coastal, rural and urban) through partnerships and targeted interventions.
-
Collaborate to enable an inclusive economy working with anchor institutions, to facilitate system-wide approaches that embed employment and skills as key strategic considerations.
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Cultivate a skilled workforce that meets current and future needs, through provision that sustains and grows the economy, including in key sectors, and enables residents and employers to access skills development and training pathways that support career progression.
4.4. Members agreed to endorse the Pan – Sussex ambitions.
4.5. CB and HA asked the group to discuss on tables the following questions for each of the priorities:
- Are there activities that will happen in the short or medium term that relate to each of the ambitions?
- Are there activities that you would like to see happen, under each of the ambitions?
Feedback from each table was collected and will be reviewed, with feedback incorporated into the local implementation plan.
5. Forward Plan & AOB
5.1 Forward plan items for the next agenda: Connect to Work, Get Sussex Working Plan, Devolution and LSIP.
Next meeting: Tuesday 4th November 2025, 14.00-16.30, Online via MS Teams.