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Proskills embarks on skills consultation

Sector Skills Council, Proskills, has embarked on a UK wide consultation with employers with the aim of shaping the future of skills provision and funding for industries in its sector: paint & coatings, extractives, glass, building products and printing.

The information gathered during this consultation process will form the basis of the Sector Skills Agreement (SSA), the collaborative action plan for employers, government and the education sector designed to determine the way skills are delivered and developed for the sector.

Proskills CEO, Terry Watts, said: "Appropriate training provision is vital if the UK's coatings industry is to thrive and survive in today's fiercely competitive global market.

"According to productivity figures, UK manufacturing ranks only 11th out of 16 competitor nations, and much of the problem lies in our lack of skills. If the UK were as productive as the best in Europe then we could add £80billion to our nation's wealth each year.

"This major consultation is not a vendor-led initiative to promote training for its own sake. Nor is it a single-issue initiative to address a specific problem such as encouraging more young people into our sector - although that is of course a worthy aim. The objective of the SSA is to generate measurable improvements in productivity by developing and maintaining skills in our sector.

"However, for the initiative to succeed it requires support from everyone involved, particularly employers, managers and professionals who really understand the needs of the industry."

Proskills anticipate that the entire five-stage SSA process will be completed by September 2007.

The initial stages, which include the assessment of current and future skill needs, together with the assessment of current provision and an analysis of present gaps and weaknesses, are being undertaken by an external consultancy.

Proskills says work is already underway on stages 1 and 2: the assessment of needs and provision, which includes an employer survey of 2000 telephone and web-based interviews, with an additional 500 interviews and discussions with key employers.

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