Home > News > November 2005 > 02-Nov-2005

Kelly announces £40m plan for skills academies

Four industries in the UK are to receive funding for National Skills Academies (NSA) that could train tens of thousands of young people and adults each year.

Education and skills secretary Ruth Kelly and trade and industry secretary Alan Johnson announced this week that the manufacturing, construction, food and drink, and financial services sectors are to receive a share of up to £40 million of investment for the skills academies from both the government and industry.

The government believe the academies, which could be open by September 2006, will play a key part in creating jobs, tackling skills shortages and driving up productivity.

Both Sector Skills Councils and employers are involved in developing the academies. Names such as Bovis Lend Lease, Kier Homes, Northern Foods Plc, Youngs Bluecrest Seafood Ltd, Filtronics Components Ltd, Caterpillar, Nationwide Building Society and Norwich Union Insurance will work with the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) to develop detailed business plans for academies in their sectors.

Education and skills secretary Ruth Kelly said: "There is nothing more important than having the skills that employers value if you want to get on at work and make the most of your working life. People denied the opportunity to develop those skills will not have the same chances in life and will struggle to better themselves and fulfil their potential.

"In the past, government has let down employers when it has tried to second guess what different sectors need. But equally, employers have been guilty of watching Government initiatives from the sidelines and expressing disappointment when they inevitably land wide of the mark.

"National Skills Academies are an opportunity for Government and employers to achieve common goals, to pursue a mutually beneficial endeavour and build a Britain of enterprise and opportunity."

Trade and industry secretary Alan Johnson said: "Industry needs people with the right skills to compete in the global market. We know from business leaders that manufacturing and construction are key areas where we need to work with the business to help more people get the training needed to meet current and future skills demand.

"Today we are creating a Manufacturing Academy that creates a single point of access and focus for the delivery of globally competitive skills for UK manufacturing.

"The Construction Skills academy will help local people into construction and ensure they develop the skills needed to participate in a huge range of exciting projects, including the Olympics and Paralympics 2012, both of which are a great opportunity for the UK to showcase our exciting and innovative construction industry.”

David Way, director of skills at the Learning and Skills Council, said: "National Skills Academies are a direct response to employers and their needs. They have put employers in the driving seat in developing high-quality and relevant training programmes for their own sector and the commitment of so many top employers has been impressive.

"This will help the further transformation of the further education sector so that it meets the needs of business more effectively. I am particularly pleased to see that all of the Academies build on the excellence that already exists in Centres of Vocational Excellence and in colleges and training providers.

"I am looking forward to seeing the Academies established and helping many thousands more young people and adults to improve their skills and achieve their full potential."

Mark Fisher, chief executive of the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA) said: "I am delighted that the first of the National Skills Academies are now progressing. They will be real exemplars of how employers, working with the public sector, can get training support that directly meets their needs. I am also delighted that Sector Skills Councils are playing a central role in this initiative. At the SSDA we will continue to work with the UK-wide network of Sector Skills Councils to promote such practical employer led initiatives."

At the Financial Services Skills Council, the Sector Skills Council for the financial services industry, chief executive Teresa Sayers said: "The creation of a National Financial Services Academy will represent an important step forward in encouraging financial services employers to work in partnership with the public education sector to ensure that the skills that the industry needs are the skills that it gets. We need employers in all sectors of the industry to join us in the development of the Academy, to help us shape the programmes and to provide financial backing."

SEMTA is the Sector Skills Council for the science, engineering and manufacturing technologies sector. Chief executive Philip Whiteman said: "We are delighted that industry has accepted this challenge. Right now industry finds it hard to determine the most relevant and appropriate courses or providers. The Skills Academy will transform our industry by providing a constant national standard for the design and delivery of high quality, flexible and relevant training."

Jack Matthews, chief executive of Improve, the Sector Skills Council for food and drink manufacturing, said: "We've already secured the support of trade associations and hundreds of employers and we've worked hard to create an effective model for what will be a highly successful Academy. Our priority now is to set the wheels in motion and work to make the model a reality, with the Academy up and running by September 2006.

Peter Lobban, Chief Executive of CITB-ConstructionSkills said: "We are delighted that construction has been selected as one of the first sector skills academies. Construction is a modern, mobile industry which requires a modern, in-situ skills training solution. This dynamic and flexible National Skills Academy will be a Centre of Excellence for Work Based Learning, enabling training to be delivered to workers in the most effective way – through supply chains on major projects.

"There are beacons of good practice for on-site training - such as Paddington Basin and Canary Wharf - but for the industry to have high-performing workplaces as the norm rather than an exception requires a step-change in the concept of project-based training. We are now looking forward to working up detailed plans with the industry to make the National Skills Academy for Construction a reality."

Commenting on the Construction Skills academy, John Spanswick, Chairman of Bovis Lend Lease, said:
"Bovis Lend Lease is delighted to be involved in the planning stages of the skills academy, which breaks the mould in construction training. We will be able to train new entrants, up-skill existing workers and ensure the resulting skills are shared throughout the supply chain on an individual project, all on-site.

"This proposal makes a huge and real difference to construction and it validates an approach we first implemented with Lend Lease at Bluewater 10 years ago. We are looking forward to seeing how we can integrate on-site training into forthcoming London-based projects, including Greenwich Peninsula, to help form building blocks for the Olympics 2012."

The Fashion Retail Academy was the first National Skills Academy to be developed and opened its doors to students in September this year. The aim is to have at least 12 National Skills Academies - one for each major sector. A new prospectus for a second round of bids will be published in Spring next year.

External links

ConstructionSkills (Sector Skills Council for the construction industry)

Financial Services Skills Council (Sector Skills Council for the financial services industry)

Improve (Sector Skills Council for the food and drink manufacturing and processing sector)

SEMTA (Sector Skills Council for the science, engineering and manufacturing technologies sector)

Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA)

Learning and Skills Council (LSC)

Department for Education and Skills (DfES)

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