Richard Lambert, Director-General, CBI“As international competition intensifies, it is more important than ever that the UK workforce should not continue to lag behind in terms of Basic Skills.”
150,000 young people and adults will get the chance to develop world-class skills as entrepreneurs, IT workers, electrical engineers and social carers as four academies were given the go-ahead today by Skills Secretary John Denham.
The Government today announced plans to create a new Third Sector skills body which will identify and address skills gaps and shortages for charities, voluntary groups, social enterprises and other third sector organisations.
Gordon Brown warned of increasing unemployment yesterday as he defended plans to increase government borrowing to mitigate the impact of the looming recession.
Particular attention must be paid to skills during these turbulent times, for existing staff to become more productive and deliver a higher quality product or service. Business must be innovative in order to thrive – otherwise they will struggle to compete once the market begins to pick up again.
On the 15 October, unemployment figures revealed the biggest increase in quarterly unemployment for over 17 years, rising to a total of nearly 1.8 million. In response the Government has announced new funding of £100m over the next three years to help people who are currently facing redundancy and those looking for work to help them retrain and develop their skills so that they can quickly move back into sustainable employment, either in their existing sector or a new one.
The Skills Minister, Lord Young, has announced a new three year agreement between the Government and employers to improve the skills of workers in the property, housing, cleaning and facilities management sector and the fashion and textile industries. The Government will earmark more than £93m from its training budget to enable employers to improve the qualifications and skills of their current workforce, offer greater numbers of apprenticeships and train new recruits.
Advertisements in today’s broadsheets newspapers will warn businesses that cutting down on training during the downturn is “a false economy” because “it is the people we employ who will get us through”.
A new three-year agreement between the Government and employers will deliver more skilled workers to do the jobs of the future in housing, facilities management, fashion and textiles, Skills Minister Lord Young announced today.
Outgoing skills minister David Lammy has insisted that he leaves with the UK on course to hit the ambitious skills targets set out in the Leitch review. Lammy was promoted to become minister for higher education and intellectual property in last week’s cabinet reshuffle. He will be replaced by former trade union chief Lord Tony Young of Norwood Green.
Employers, trade unions and individuals in Scotland are being asked for their views on whether employees should be given the right to request time off to train. Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning, Fiona Hyslop today launched a targeted consultation on whether employees in Scotland should be given this new right.
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