GoSkills calls for Skills Targets

GoSkills, the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for Passenger Transport, has called on the Government to include provision for setting skills development targets for drivers and other customer-facing staff in the Local Transport Bill, as between passenger transport executives and bus operators.

GoSkills’ recommendation came in written and oral evidence presented recently to the House of Commons Transport Select Committee. GoSkills also suggested making enhanced arrangements for skills in taxi and private hire, including the attainment of a uniform minimum level of skills, a requirement for obtaining taxi and private hire licences, and continuing training for further professional development.

Peter Huntington, GoSkills’ Chief Executive, said: “Obviously skills are important to the passenger experience and the Bill itself seeks to address quality through improved partnerships between operators and PTAs, here is an area where partnership would be especially beneficial.”

Mr Huntington also said that the taxi and private hire industries had no consistent national approach to skills and that the draft Bill offered an opportunity to have a public discussion on the issue. Responding to a question from Chairman Gwyneth Dunwoody on how training might be funded, he said: “We are negotiating with the Learning and Skills Council in England to make funding available for self-employed drivers through the Train to Gain scheme. ESOL and basic skills training, I think, under the Government’s new arrangements, will continue to be free of charge to the user where they are supported on an individual basis.”

Mr Huntington went on to say that two things needed to be done; firstly, that the bar to entry to the industry should be raised by having skills requirements built into the licensing process; and secondly, to have ongoing training and challenge people to attain that level. This would, he said, start to improve quality and improve the image of the industry, thus leading it to play its full part in the local transport mix.

Membership Alternative to Levy

GoSkills, the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for Passenger Transport, today welcomed the Government’s new plans for upskilling Britain’s workforce. World Class Skills, published today in response to the Leitch review of skills, contains measures for increasing the role that employers play in developing skills and includes driving the reform and development of vocational qualifications.

Peter Huntington, GoSkills’ Chief Executive, said: “We are delighted that the government has embraced the recommendation that employers, working through their SSC, should have a greater influence over qualifications and skills policy. The network of SSCs offers them the ideal vehicle to get their issues and needs understood and addressed. The Leitch Implementation Plan offers more influence over the skills system for employers. In return Government will expect employers and individuals to take greater responsibility for skilling and upskilling.”

GoSkills has also welcomed the option available in the plan that allows sectors to use voluntary schemes such as membership and skills passports rather than training levies if deemed more appropriate.

Peter Huntington, added: “In our sector there is no appetite for a compulsory levy and we are very pleased to see that the Government has listened hard to our representations. Our employers are already seeing how useful a skills passport is through our own GoSkillsPlus membership scheme and we fully expect more to come onboard.”

Commenting on the Government’s response to his review, Lord Leitch said: “I am delighted to welcome the plans the Government has announced today to make this nation a world leader in skills by 2020. The actions set out in World Class Skills shows that Government is putting skills at the very heart of its agenda. That is absolutely the right thing to do. Improving the skills of our people will help us to seize the opportunities globalisation presents, secure a prosperous future for our businesses, and for individual adults and their families. Today’s plan marks a golden opportunity for skills and the future prosperity of this country. Government and its delivery agencies must now work in partnership with employers and individuals to realise that vision.”

Employers can access £65M to develop skilled workforce

Semta, the sector skills council for the science, engineering and manufacturing technologies sector, has today announced details of a new £65m partnership with government to deliver urgently required skills training for employees in these sectors.

Through Semta, companies can access grants of between £500 and £1800 per employee depending on what qualifications and training is needed. Support will be geared mainly towards development of lean manufacturing skills to make small and medium sized companies more competitive.

A lack of skilled workers is costing the country around £700 million a year in lost productivity, according to recent Semta research. In the pharmaceutical and bio science sector there are skills gaps of 29% and in engineering this is 18%.

The companies who should benefit most will be those with under 250 employees who may struggle to determine how skills investment can improve their business. Semta advisors will help them identify where their business needs improved staff skills, set improvement targets and measure the impact. Unlike larger companies, they will also be eligible for grants to develop Management and Leadership.

The new agreement will allow participating employers in England to train through programmes including Train to Gain and Apprenticeships. In addition, existing workers, of all ages, will be able to learn new or more advanced skills, which will allow them to progress their careers and improve productivity and competitiveness.

Philip Whiteman, Chief Executive of Semta, said: “Our partnership with government will deliver real economic benefits to science, engineering and manufacturing. To overcome significant skills gaps and make businesses more competitive, employers need access to funding for innovative programmes like Business Improvement Techniques. These not only upskill workers in a sustainable way, they also put employees on the qualifications ladder and provide measurable bottom line profits from quality, cost and delivery.”

Semta’s pilot activities have found significant benefits. For example Kettering based Cooney Marine which employs 70 people producing stainless steel parts and fittings for yacht building, trained staff in Business Improvement Techniques. This resulted in a 123% improvement in delivery and a 139% rise in valued added per person. And Jackson and Keay which employs 70 people at sites in the East Midlands and North West testing low and high pressure receptacles was supported by Semta in developing lean techniques and tools such as continuous improvement and kanbans. Their staff not only gained NVQ Level 2 qualifications, they also improved delivery lead times by 200%, productivity by 48% (man hours per unit), and attendance by 30%.

The £65m will be available from the Train to Gain budget; up to 30% of the budget for level 2 and level 3 learning will now be available to train employees who already hold GCSE or A-level equivalents but who need more specific, or more upto-date, business qualifications. Government investment in Train to Gain will rise to over £1 billion by 2010-11, supporting over 800,000 learners to improve their skills and gain new qualifications.

Employers who are interested in finding out more about the new funding are encouraged to contact Debbie Brown or Michelle Henderson of Semta on 01740 627000