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150 EMPLOYERS SIGN SKILLS PLEDGE FOR 1.7 MILLION WORKERS
14 June 2007Education and Skills Secretary Alan Johnson today congratulated the first 150 employers to sign up to a public pledge to train their staff, ensuring they have the skills needed to compete in the global workplace. By making the Skills Pledge, employers commit to support all their employees to develop basic literacy and numeracy skills and work towards a full level 2 qualification equivalent to five GCSEs A* to C.In addition Mr Johnson announced the chair of the new UK Commission for Employment and Skills - a powerful new employer-led voice at the heart of the skills and employment agenda; and unveiled four New National Skills Academies.Mr Johnson said:“Skills are vitally important for individuals, for their future employability and for the success of businesses throughout the UK.“That is why I am so pleased to see so many companies making the Skills Pledge today. 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 many 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.“The UK Commission for Employment and Skills will be key to driving forward the skills agenda and I am delighted that Sir Michael Rake will be the first chair of this new organisation.”The Commission for Employment and Skills will bring an additional employer-led focus to the employment and skills system. It will be at the heart of how to raise the UK’s skills base, improve productivity and competitiveness, and increase employment. Mr Johnson also announced the selection of four further National Skills Academies. These are in: retail;
sport and active leisure;
glass manufacturing, coatings, print and building products;
fashion textiles and jewellery sector.
The Education Secretary said:“The National Skills Academies are another key feature of our commitment to raising productivity and giving employers a real stake in skills training. They offer employers, in return for their investment, and the opportunity to exercise direct influence over both content and delivery of skills training in their sector. I would like to be the first to congratulate the latest four successful applicants.”Editor's Notes
This press notice relates to 'England'
1.Published in December 2006, Lord Leitch’s independent review of skills[1] warned that the UK must ‘raise its game’ on skills at all levels if it is to sustain and improve its position in the global economy and get on track to achieve world class skills by 2020. 2.Lord Leitch’s analysis showed that achieving world class skills will require the UK to commit to achieve the following by 2020, which the Chancellor adopted as UK aspirations in his Pre-Budget Report in December 2006:o 95 per cent of adults to achieve the basic skills of functional literacy and numeracy;o More than 90 per cent of adults qualified to at least level 2, with a commitment to go further and achieve 95 per cent as soon as possible;o To shift the balance of intermediate skills from level 2 to level
3.Improving the esteem, quantity and quality of intermediate skills. This means 1.9 million additional level 3 attainments over the period;o More than 40 per cent of adults qualified to level 4 and above, with a commitment to continue progression.3.Achieving that world class ambition means dramatically increasing the number of adults who improve their skills and achieve qualifications each year, at all levels from functional literacy and numeracy to higher education levels.4.The Government has accepted the 2020 ambition that Lord Leitch recommended, and welcomed his report. The package of measures announced today - launching the Pledge, appointing the Chair of the new Commission, and announcing the extension of the National Skills Academies network – represents a huge step in responding to the challenge Lord Leitch so powerfully articulated in his report.5.The Government will publish an Implementation Plan as soon as possible, which will set out how the Government will take forward Lord Leitch’s recommendations and deliver his world class skills ambition. 6.The Skills Pledge is right at the heart of the new partnership between Government and employers. It is a voluntary public commitment for all employers to encourage and support their employees to improve their skills and gain qualifications. In return, Government will provide access to the support of an impartial skills broker, and training for their staff in literacy, numeracy and a first full level 2.7.More than 150 employers, including all central Government Departments, McDonalds, Sainsbury’s and the Police, have made the Skills Pledge, meaning more than 1.7 million employees will be covered by the Pledge.8.In return for their investment, National Skills Academies (NSAs) offer employers the opportunity to exercise direct influence over both the content and delivery of skills training in their sector. 9.Four further NSAs have been approved from the recent third selection round, in the glass manufacturing, coatings, print and building products; sport and active leisure; fashion, textiles and jewellery; and retail sectors. 10.As resources allow, the Government will hold a fourth selection round for National Skills Academies to keep building the NSA network.11.The new Commission for Employment and Skills was a recommendation of the independent report by Lord Leitch commissioned by the Chancellor ‘Prosperity for all in the global economy – world class skills’ and published in December 2006. Establishing the UK Commission for Employment and Skills offers employers a massive opportunity to drive and shape the skills and employment systems to meet their needs. Through the Commission, employers will be able to influence the delivery of skills and employment services at all levels, in all sectors, and across the whole of the UK. 12.The newly appointed Chair Sir Michael Rake will lead the establishment of the Commission (expected to become operational in April 2008). The new Commission will be established during 2007 and will replace two existing bodies - the Sector Skills Development Agency and the National Employment Panel.13.Currently International Chairman of KPMG, Sir Michael Rake is the only non-American Chairman of a major international accounting organization. He will shortly be taking up post as Chair of BT. Sir Michael was a member of the CBI’s President's Committee from 2001 to 2006, and is a member of the CBI International Advisory Committee. He is a member of the International Business Council of the World Economic Forum. He is Chair of Business in the Community, and is on the Board of the Prince of Wales' International Business Leaders Forum. He is a Vice-President of the Royal National Institute for the Blind, and is on the Advisory Board of the Judge Institute at the University of Cambridge. 14.The Sector Skills Development Agency was established in 2002 and is responsible for funding, supporting and monitoring the network of 25 Sector Skills Councils (SSCs). The SSDA is a non-departmental public body with representatives across the UK. www.ssda.org.uk15.The National Employment Panel is composed of top business executives along with public sector and community leaders. They provide independent advice on welfare reform and labour market issues to Ministers in the Treasury, the Department for Work and Pensions, and the Department for Education and Skills. www.nationalemploymentpanel.gov.uk
Contact Details
Public Enquiries 0870 000 2288, info@dcsf.gsi.gov.uk
Press Notice 2007/0104
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