The Employment & Skills Committee is a dedicated Working Group within Ambridge District Council’s governance structure, established to drive a coordinated and sustained response to one of the most pressing challenges facing any local community — unemployment and the skills gap that so often underlies it. Chaired by Sam Harper, and operating under committee code AMB-EMP-022 within the 2024 municipal year with a quorum of four members, the committee brings together councillors, officers, and stakeholders united by a shared commitment to improving the economic prospects of residents across Ambridge.

Unemployment is never simply a statistic. Behind every figure is a person — a resident who wakes up each morning without the security of work, who may be struggling to meet basic living costs, who may be losing confidence, purpose, and connection to their community. The Employment & Skills Committee exists because Ambridge District Council recognises that local government has both the ability and the obligation to act on this — not to replace the market, but to create the conditions in which residents can access opportunity, develop their potential, and contribute fully to the economic and social life of the district.

The committee’s work on training and skills development is central to everything it does. It recognises that unemployment is frequently not simply a matter of there being no jobs available, but of a mismatch between the skills residents possess and the skills that local employers need. By working to understand the current and future skills demands of Ambridge’s economy — across sectors including construction, digital, health and social care, manufacturing, and the green economy — the committee is able to target training investment where it will have the greatest impact, supporting residents into sustainable employment rather than short-term placements.

Partnership is at the heart of the committee’s approach. Tackling unemployment effectively requires more than the council acting alone — it demands close collaboration with further education colleges, training providers, local employers, the Department for Work and Pensions, voluntary sector organisations, and community groups who understand the barriers their communities face. The Employment & Skills Committee acts as the democratic anchor for these partnerships, ensuring that they are properly governed, held to account, and directed toward the outcomes that Ambridge’s residents most need.

The committee is also attentive to the inequalities that shape employment outcomes across the district. It recognises that unemployment does not affect all communities equally — that young people, those with disabilities, those from ethnic minority backgrounds, care leavers, and long-term unemployed residents frequently face additional and compounding barriers to entering or returning to the workforce. A core part of the committee’s work is ensuring that the council’s employment and skills programmes are designed and delivered in ways that actively reach and support those who face the greatest disadvantage, rather than simply serving those who are easiest to help.

As a top-level body with no parent committee, the Employment & Skills Committee reports directly to the full Ambridge Council, ensuring that the district’s economic wellbeing and workforce development remain standing priorities at the highest level of local governance. Its meetings are automatically generated throughout the municipal year, providing a regular and structured forum in which progress can be tracked, challenges can be identified, and ambition for Ambridge’s working residents can be turned into tangible, measurable action.