Home > News > August 2004 > 26-Aug-2004

Report invites debate on major reforms in Welsh workforce training

A new report has called for a far-reaching rethink of the way Wales trains its people for work.

More employer control over the training on offer, greater flexibility in how skills are delivered at work and a major review of vocational learning programmes such as Modern Apprenticeships, are among a long list of possible changes which have been put on the agenda by a broad-based team representing industry, trade unions and the public sector.

The project board which compiled the report over the past eight months included representives from employers, the CBI, the National Training Federation, the Welsh Development Agency, Careers Wales, the Welsh Assembly Government, the TUC and the Association of Learning Providers.

Each day an estimated £1million of public money and up to £4 million in private sector cash is spent on developing the skills needed by Welsh industry but, according to the group, which was brought together by learning body ELWa, there are still worrying skill shortages, and many employers don't feel current training meets their needs.

The report entitled "Developing the Workforce - Learning in and for the Workplace," was launched last week at Merthyr College during a visit by ELWa Chairman Sheila Drury, who was meeting young people who had just received their A Level results. She was accompanied by John Davies, Chairman of the Project Board which compiled the report.

Although the report stresses that individual employers must be urged to take more responsibility for job specific training in their own companies, it calls for debate on key changes designed to give firms better support in achieving their skills objectives.

Among the issues the group has put forward for discussion during a major Autumn consultation with industry and learning providers are:

• Measures to give employers more influence over the nature of training available - including a new flexible "Workforce Development Grant"
• The development of more business-friendly ways of delivering learning in the workplace itself - including greater use of e-Learning
• Modern Apprenticeships to become more flexible and to be positioned as a high quality and prestigious form of training, attractive to ambitious young people and adult workers alike
• Incentives to encourage larger companies with spare in-house training capacity to share these resources with smaller firms in their localities
• Far greater investment in building management and leadership skills - making this the primary focus of the current Modern Skills Diploma
• Greater collaboration between providers of training to avoid duplication and ensure they are offering all of the skills needed by businesses in their regions
• More support for employers to tackle literacy, numeracy and other basic skills deficiencies among their workers
• A new "Strategic Sector Fund" helping different industries to establish what skills they need and work with providers to ensure those needs are met
• A large overall increase in ELWa's "Skills for Business" budget, which provides direct support to businesses to implement Investors in People or management development programmes.

Consultations over the coming weeks will lead to a final report which will, in turn, feed into the Welsh Assembly Government's "Skills and Employment Action Plan."

ELWa Chairman Mrs Drury explained that the review was commissioned in order to take "a thorough and honest look and how we currently build skills for the Welsh workforce."

"Not only are there skill shortages and gaps but there is evidence that this situation is prompting some employers to limit their ambitions and down-skill their businesses. There is also a perception that training courses and frameworks are not in line with the needs of business. We must face these issues and come up with solutions if Wales is to be a credible competitor in the future," she added.

The report underlined the big increase in demand for higher level skills in Wales over the rest of the decade, including an increase of 60,000 in the number of jobs requiring NVQ 4 management level skills.

"While it is very important that employers of all sizes take responsibility for developing skills for their own businesses, it is vital that the learning system supports them at all levels", said Mr Davies. "This is not simply about delivering higher level skills but about responding to current and future demand for the whole range of skills, including basic skills such as literacy, numeracy and IT and generic skills such as good communication, teamwork and customer care. It is about empowering learners and businesses, reforming skills programmes and methods of learning, responding to employers' needs and making learning providers more effective"

The report indicates that many of the suggestions it is putting forward involve greater collaboration between ELWa and other agencies, and can be taken forward effectively following the merger of the learning body and the WDA with the Welsh Assembly Government over the next 18 months.

Training and development books

Discover books on a variety of training and development topics at the Training Reference Bookshop

Source suppliers

Visit the Training Reference Directory to view supplier details for a wide range of courses, products and services.

Sponsored links

Back to top