Home > News > June 2007 > 15 June 2007

150 employers sign skills pledge

Education and skills secretary Alan Johnson yesterday congratulated the first 150 employers to sign up to a public pledge to train their staff.

By making the skills pledge, employers commit to support all their employees to develop basic literacy and numeracy skills and work towards a full level 2 qualification equivalent to five GCSEs A* to C.

In addition Mr Johnson announced the chair of the new UK Commission for Employment and Skills and unveiled four New National Skills Academies.

Mr Johnson said: "Skills are vitally important for individuals, for their future employability and for the success of businesses throughout the UK.

"That is why I am so pleased to see so many companies making the skills pledge today. I hope others will follow their lead, helping the UK to meet the challenges set out in Lord Leitch's Review of Skills.

"We have made record investments in education and training over the past ten years, and we are reaping the benefits with dramatic improvements in attainment. But there are many people who have left school without qualifications and have been in the workplace for many years without acquiring basic skills. As the demand for unskilled jobs continues to decline at a significant rate it is essential that government and employers do all we can to ensure those people are receiving the skills training they will need to be able to compete for jobs in the future.

"The UK Commission for Employment and Skills will be key to driving forward the skills agenda and I am delighted that Sir Michael Rake will be the first chair of this new organisation."

The new Commission for Employment and Skills was a recommendation in the Leitch Review of Skills and aims to offer employers an opportunity to drive and shape the skills and employment systems to meet their needs. The Commission will be formed from the Sector Skills Development Agency and the National Employment Panel and is expected to become operational in April 2008.

Margaret Salmon, chair of the SSDA, said: "We warmly welcome Sir Michael's appointment. The new Commission is hugely exciting. It is a real opportunity to drive a step change in the UK's performance on skills and in the UK's ability to move people from welfare and inactivity to jobs with real prospects. As one of the two main foundation stones of the new Commission the Sector Skills Development Agency is committed to making it a big success."

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber welcomed the skills pledge. He said: "The lives of millions of UK employees have already been transformed by workplace learning. As employers start to sign up to the skills pledge, thousands more workers will get the chance to learn valuable new skills at work.

"Union learning reps are working hard to encourage more people to sign up for training around their jobs. The pledge is the perfect opportunity for the TUC and unionlearn to work with a whole new batch of employers to make big improvements to the UK's skills base.

"But the Government needs to find a way of reaching the third of UK employers who steadfastly refuse to offer their employees any form of learning at work. Ministers need to make good their commitment to introduce a statutory right to training by the end of the decade if these short-sighted bosses continue to short change their staff over training."

Mr Johnson also announced the selection of four further National Skills Academies. These are in retail; sport and active leisure; glass manufacturing, coatings, print and building products; and fashion textiles and jewellery sector.

The education secretary said: "The National Skills Academies are another key feature of our commitment to raising productivity and giving employers a real stake in skills training. They offer employers, in return for their investment, and the opportunity to exercise direct influence over both content and delivery of skills training in their sector. I would like to be the first to congratulate the latest four successful applicants."

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Department for Education and Skills

The Sector Skills Development Agency

The National Employment Panel

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