Home > News > November 2006 > 02 November 2006

Minister launches first National Skills Academies

Education and skills secretary Alan Johnson has announced the launch of the first three National Skills Academies.

In addition, Mr Johnson announced the next four sectors that have successfully bid to be part of the National Skills Academy programme.

Through the National Skills Academy network, the government is aiming to provide vocational education and training for school leavers and adults that's tailor made to meet the specific needs of industry.

The first three academies that have been approved and will shortly become operational are in financial services, construction, and manufacturing. A fourth, representing the food and drink sector is close to being approved.

Bids from the nuclear industry; the chemical industry; the hospitality sector; and the creative and cultural industries have been accepted by the Government and will now be invited to work up business plans ready for the next stage of the process.

The government is aiming to have up to 12 academies operational by 2008. The programme will be delivered through the Learning and Skills Council working with employers and their Sector Skills Councils. Two bidding rounds have taken place so far with a third planned for early 2007.

Prime minister Tony Blair said the start of the National Skills Academy programme marked a turning point in skills training that would ensure British industry remained competitive in the long term and able to respond rapidly to changing needs and demands.

Tony Blair said: "It is vital that we continue to improve skills right across the board and I am very pleased that we are able to launch the first three academies today.

"The new National Skills Academies are an exciting partnership between government and industry to ensure we have the well-trained staff needed for the future."

To mark the launch, Alan Johnson, together with Skills Minister Phil Hope, hosted a business breakfast to congratulate the founders of the first three National Skills Academies and encourage other sectors to follow suit.

Alan Johnson said: "Raising skills is essential to wealth creation and creating a society of opportunity for all. The National Skills Academy programme will improve our capacity for learning by driving up standards and specialisation with the learning sector. This will be good for individuals and employers alike and give all parties a real chance to address the skills gap and close it."

The government says employers are at the heart of the development of the National Skills Academy programme, giving them a real say in how they are run, including:

• Influencing the curriculum to ensure it reflects their needs
• Setting standards
• Determining what network of providers they want to work with
• getting involved in the management of the academies
• Shaping their strategic direction

They will also part fund National Skills Academies providing capital investment as well as equipment know-how and industry insight. Employer sponsorship is expected to fund about 50% of the capital costs of a National Skills Academy with about 35% coming from the government and the remainder from other sources such as European funding.

The National Skills Academies will operate under a number of different models. These include dedicated centres, linked networks of providers in Further and Higher Education, mobile delivery of training on work sites, and e-learning.

Chris Banks, chair of the Learning and Skills Council said: "Ultimately, we envisage the network will train tens of thousands of learners each year with ambitions to have one for each sector of the economy in place by 2012.

"The benefits to employers are far reaching. The National Skills Academy network will be another route to help ensure consistent high quality training across the country, resulting in a more highly trained and motivated workforce, with improvements to productivity and performance overall."

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