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Government calls on employers to sign 'Skills Pledge'

The chancellor Gordon Brown and education secretary Alan Johnson have called on all employers to sign up to a 'Skills Pledge' to ensure that all their employees reach a skills level equivalent to five good GCSEs.

The Skills Pledge, part of a plan to equip Britain's workforce for the future, will share responsibility between the State, employer and employees and will be open to all employers irrespective of size, status or sector. It's aim is to stimulate demand for training services and support a new culture where gaining skills is taken as a matter of course.

Gordon Brown said: "In the future skills will be the only route to prosperity and jobs. Of 3.4 million unskilled jobs today, by 2020 we will need only 600,000. So if the UK is to continue to succeed in the new global economy we will need to be more ambitious with more people training and employers, employees and government each meeting their responsibilities.

"This will only succeed if the British people themselves are involved in discussing and agreeing this priority to invest in education and skills. This way we can build the consensus essential if today's working men and women are going to achieve better-paid jobs and a better future for their children."

The Skills Pledge was unveiled at a public debate on skills held last week at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre. It's expected that the scheme will be fully launched in the summer.

Alan Johnson said: "We are kick-starting a public debate on the best way to improve skills in this country, our future competitiveness depends on it. Employers have a crucial role to play in this and must make skills training relevant for the challenges of the future. It is also vital we generate a culture of learning amongst individuals.

"We want to build a consensus around Leitch and the best way to improve skills in this county. I am looking forward to hearing from training providers, individuals and employers about how they think we can best promote skills and be truly competitive by 2020."

Employers making the Skills Pledge would commit to a training plan building on the needs of their business. The plan would show timescales for training all staff to Level 2 as well as committing resources and setting priorities.

According to the government, the Skills Pledge will help employers' competitiveness by helping them focus on the skills needs of their workforce.

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