Proskills Welcomes The Publication Of The New Skills Strategy, But There Is Still More Work To Be Done
Online, November 18, 2010 (Newswire.com) - The Government's new skills strategy, "Skills for Sustainable Growth", was launched yesterday (16 Nov) by Secretary of State for Business Vince Cable and Skills Minister John Hayes.
Key headline announcements include:
• Expanding the numbers of adult apprenticeships available
• Fully funding training for young adults aged from 19 up to 24 undertaking their first full level 2 (GCSE equivalent) or first level 3 qualification when they do not already have one.
• Fully funding basic skills courses for individuals who left school without basic reading, writing and mathematics.
• Introducing Government-backed loans from 2013-14 for learners aged 24 and over undertaking level 3 or higher qualifications.
• Initiating a demand-led growth and innovation fund of up to £50 million of government investment a year, to support employer-led initiatives within sectors.
• Replacing Train to Gain with an SME focused offer to help small employers train low-skilled staff.
• Helping people who are on active job-seeking benefits to secure work through labour-market relevant training.
Proskills Chief Executive, Terry Watts, welcomed the direction of the new strategy, saying:
"The new Skills Strategy demonstrates that the government is committed to developing the skills of the UK's workforce, and I am pleased to see that Proskills will continue to have a major role to play in representing the needs of our employers in the future. It will be vital for the Government to continue to work with Proskills to ensure that Process and Manufacturing employers can have their say on the implementation of the plans described in this strategy.
The continuing investment in Apprenticeships is welcome - they will be important to the future of the economy - but I am pleased to see that there will still be support for other qualifications as well. Apprenticeships are one route to developing skills, but there is a continuing need in our industries for other more flexible provision to help companies and individuals grow through upskilling. Proskills will continue to work with the Government and other organisations to represent the skills needs of employers in the sector.
I'm also pleased to see that this government is also placing a high importance on developing and nurturing Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) by replacing Train to Gain with a more focused and hopefully less wasteful programme. The Proskills sector has a large proportion of these companies, and we will continue to help them access support for the training they need.
However, we will have to work hard to ensure that the new freedoms given to colleges do not see a worsening of the current situation where more specialised training, such as much of that used by our sector, can be sidelined in favour of easier-to-deliver courses that generate more income for the providers."
The strategy also announced extra funding for training and qualifications through a new Growth and Innovation Fund, and confirmed that Sector Skills Councils will work with the new Careers service to ensure that people of all ages can access information on future opportunities.
Terry Watts continued:"I am delighted to hear Vince Cable's plans to initiate an employer-led Growth and Innovation Fund of up to £50 million of investment a year. Proskills will look to use this money to build on the successful Joint Investment Programme which is currently helping to deliver more than £7m worth of training for the industries in our sector.
Proskills is also keen to start working with the new Careers service - our research and industry engagement can help to inform people of all ages about the best ways to develop their skills and careers.
The removal of the central qualifications targets set by the previous Government is also welcome - quantity of qualifications delivered should not count for more than quality. However, it will be vital to ensure that these are not replaced by equally restricting targets developed by colleges, who will have greater freedom to set their own business plans.
It will be hugely important that employers in sectors such as ours can have their say on the training that will be supported by the Government in order to help develop the people in the sector for the future, and help the economy to grow in the future.
Despite these potential problems, I believe that there is a real opportunity to change the skills system for the better as part of this review, and we will continue to work with our employers and the government to get the best possible result for the Process and Manufacturing industries."