Raising the game on training
June 1st 2007 More than 150 employers have now signed the Government's new Skills Pledge,
meaning 1.7 million workers will now be covered by a firm committed to training.
Asset Skills and Peabody Trust were among the first to commit
The Government's new skills pledge fulfils a
key recommendation made in the Leitch
Review last December. The review warned
the UK must raise its game on skills at all levels if
it is to sustain and improve its position in the
global economy.
It set out a new deal whereby employers
would have a greater say in shaping the skills
system to meet their needs, in return for
prioritising skills training at all levels.
An event to mark the launch of the pledge was
attended by chancellor Gordon Brown, education
and skills secretary Alan Johnson,work and
pensions secretary John Hutton as well as
leading private and public sector employers.
Speaking at the event, Richard Beamish, chief
executive of Asset Skills, the Sector Skills Council
for the places in which we live and work, talked of
the council's pride to be part of the Skills Pledge.
"We will continue to strive to work with all
employers within our sectors to help them recognise that engaging
employees to invest and train their staff leads to higher levels of
motivation and retention and better customer service.We're here to
underline our continuing commitment to investing in skills."
The Pledge is a voluntary commitment that aims to encourage
employers to help their workers develop basic skills, including literacy
and numeracy. It also gives the opportunity for staff to work towards
relevant qualifications to at least Level 2 (the equivalent of five GCSEs
at A - C grade).
"Skills are vitally important for individuals, for their future
employability and for the success of businesses throughout the UK,"
commented, Education and Skills secretary Alan Johnson, speaking at
the launch.
"That is why I am so pleased to see so many companies making
the Skills Pledge. I hope others will follow their lead, helping the UK to
meet the challenges set out in Lord Leitch's Review of Skills.
"We have made record investments in education and training over
the past ten years, and we are reaping the benefits with dramatic
improvements in attainment. But there are many people who have
left school without qualifications and have been in the workplace for
years without acquiring basic skills.As the demand for unskilled jobs
continues to decline at a significant rate it is essential that
government and employers do all we can to ensure those people are
receiving the skills training they will need to be able to compete for
jobs in the future."
Employers who commit to the Skills Pledge will have access to a
skills broker, part of the Learning and Skills Council's Train to Gain
service.This scheme enables companies to access free literacy and
numeracy training and Level 2 qualification courses.The skills broker
can assess the company's training needs and help the business
produce an action plan that sets out contributions from the state, the
employer and the individual.
"I am honoured to give Peabody's commitment to the Skills
Pledge," said chief executive of the Peabody Trust, Stephen Howlett.
"As a housing association and a charity,we strongly believe in
training our staff and have been working with Asset Skills to provide
basic skills training. We value the people we employ by investing in
them and this in turn has helped us to meet the needs of our
residents and the communities we serve."
The event also announced the Chair of a new UK commission for
employment and skills. It was hosted by Skills Envoy, Sir Digby Jones,
who said,"I warmly congratulate all employers who have led the way
by making the Skills Pledge. By taking this step, you are showing
other employers that, by investing in the skills of your people, you
are investing in your business.At the same time, you are helping the
UK seize the opportunity that globalisation presents, enabling us to
compete in the brutally competitive world economy of the future."
Richard Lambert, director general of the CBI and Brendan Barber,
general secretary of the TUC were among other prnciple speakers.
For more information on the Skills Pledge, please visit
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