A White Paper promises much in the way of a better skilled workforce. Steve Crabb reports
Earlier this month, the government unveiled a long-awaited White Paper setting out its national skills strategy. Entitled 21st Century Skills: Realising Our Potential, the strategy received a generally positive welcome from employers, as might be expected, and education secretary Charles Clarke heralded a new “skills alliance” between employers, trade unions and the education system to tackle Britain’s chronic basic skills problems. But the emphasis was very much on meeting the needs of the employers in that love triangle.
No one is in any doubt about the scale of the problem: the north-east of England alone has 400,000 adults whose lack of basic literacy and numeracy skills disqualify them from most jobs in the grocery industry.
Nationally, the government estimates that 7.32 million people, or more than 30% of the working population, do not have level 2 or equivalent qualifications. This is a key pool of potential talent that’s going to become increasingly important, given the current demographic trends.The government insisted the White Paper marked a fundamental shift in its thinking, away from a supply-led mentality (ie how many qualifications can we equip people with?) towards a demand-led culture (ie what do employers need from our schools and colleges?).
However, the specialist think-tank on skills strategy SKOPE, based at the universities of Oxford and Warwick, argues the government ought to be going one step further. Instead of concentrating on what employers need today to maintain a ‘McJobs’, low-skill, low-quality economy, Charles Clarke and his colleagues ought to be helping businesses to move up the ‘value chain’ by investing in research and technology to become high-skill, high-quality players on the global stage. Still, it’s better to have a cup that’s half empty than one that has nothing in it at all.
Turning to the specific proposals, Clarke announced that the new “skills alliance” will consist of the government, the CBI, the TUC, the Small Business Council and “key delivery partners”, and that this partnership will have a significant say in forming future skills strategy. Above all, the proposals are intended to put employers’ needs centre stage, Clarke claimed.
In addition, all low-skilled adults will be guaranteed free learning to reach a level 2 qualification (ie 5 GCSEs or equivalent).
In regions or industry sectors where there are particularly severe skills shortages, low-skilled adults will be helped to get to level 3 qualification, the equivalent of a couple of A- levels. There’ll be a new £30 a week, means-tested grant for adults who want to go back to full-time further education; and the Modern Apprentices scheme - widely seen as a success - will be expanded, so people over 25 will be eligible for the first time.
A whole raft of employer-friendly measures have also been announced. The government has promised to reform qualifications to make them… “more responsive to business needs, by helping employers package units of training in different areas to form the training programme that best meets their needs”, and it promises employers will be more involved in the design and delivery of Modern Apprenticeship schemes. The Sector Skills Council network, which has a high degree of involvement from employers, will play a key role in mapping skill needs and working out the most appropriate solutions.
And SMEs in the grocery industry may particularly benefit from the new Employers Guides to Good Training, which will be published by each Local Skills Council, offering information on the quality of local learning providers.
It may not add up to a revolution, but it looks like a step in the right direction.
n Steve Crabb is Editor of People Management.
Skills alliance
Earlier this month, the government unveiled a long-awaited White Paper setting out its national skills strategy. Entitled 21st Century Skills: Realising Our Potential, the strategy received a generally positive welcome from employers, as might be expected, and education secretary Charles Clarke heralded a new “skills alliance” between employers, trade unions and the education system to tackle Britain’s chronic basic skills problems. But the emphasis was very much on meeting the needs of the employers in that love triangle.
No one is in any doubt about the scale of the problem: the north-east of England alone has 400,000 adults whose lack of basic literacy and numeracy skills disqualify them from most jobs in the grocery industry.
Nationally, the government estimates that 7.32 million people, or more than 30% of the working population, do not have level 2 or equivalent qualifications. This is a key pool of potential talent that’s going to become increasingly important, given the current demographic trends.The government insisted the White Paper marked a fundamental shift in its thinking, away from a supply-led mentality (ie how many qualifications can we equip people with?) towards a demand-led culture (ie what do employers need from our schools and colleges?).
However, the specialist think-tank on skills strategy SKOPE, based at the universities of Oxford and Warwick, argues the government ought to be going one step further. Instead of concentrating on what employers need today to maintain a ‘McJobs’, low-skill, low-quality economy, Charles Clarke and his colleagues ought to be helping businesses to move up the ‘value chain’ by investing in research and technology to become high-skill, high-quality players on the global stage. Still, it’s better to have a cup that’s half empty than one that has nothing in it at all.
Turning to the specific proposals, Clarke announced that the new “skills alliance” will consist of the government, the CBI, the TUC, the Small Business Council and “key delivery partners”, and that this partnership will have a significant say in forming future skills strategy. Above all, the proposals are intended to put employers’ needs centre stage, Clarke claimed.
In addition, all low-skilled adults will be guaranteed free learning to reach a level 2 qualification (ie 5 GCSEs or equivalent).
In regions or industry sectors where there are particularly severe skills shortages, low-skilled adults will be helped to get to level 3 qualification, the equivalent of a couple of A- levels. There’ll be a new £30 a week, means-tested grant for adults who want to go back to full-time further education; and the Modern Apprentices scheme - widely seen as a success - will be expanded, so people over 25 will be eligible for the first time.
A whole raft of employer-friendly measures have also been announced. The government has promised to reform qualifications to make them… “more responsive to business needs, by helping employers package units of training in different areas to form the training programme that best meets their needs”, and it promises employers will be more involved in the design and delivery of Modern Apprenticeship schemes. The Sector Skills Council network, which has a high degree of involvement from employers, will play a key role in mapping skill needs and working out the most appropriate solutions.
And SMEs in the grocery industry may particularly benefit from the new Employers Guides to Good Training, which will be published by each Local Skills Council, offering information on the quality of local learning providers.
It may not add up to a revolution, but it looks like a step in the right direction.
Skills alliance
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