Home > News > November 2007 > 19 November 2007

LSC reports positive response to marketing campaign

According to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), the response it has received after the launch of its 'Our future. It's in our hands' marketing campaign, shows that the nation is being inspired and getting ready to improve their skills.

The campaign was launched by the secretary of state, John Denham MP, in July 2007.

Over a three to five year period, the campaign aims to bring about the cultural change needed to improve the attitudes and aspirations of employers and individuals to learning and skills across England.

The LSC says the campaign is already tracking at 69% in terms of recognition and has also performed well against the majority of hard to reach groups which are a major focus. The organisation adds that tracking figures for this group shows recognition either exceeded or is consistent with the national average.

In addition, the LSC says its dedicated Skills Helpline is receiving nearly one thousand calls from members of the public each week with more than 122,000 people visiting the campaign's 'Our future. It's in our hands' website.

The LSC also reports that the business sector is responding well to the related Train to Gain campaign for employers, with around half (47%) of target employers exposed to the campaign in the first three months. The research also found that one in five employers have taken action or experienced Train to Gain. According to the LSC, more than 62,000 employers have accessed the website or the helpline to find out more about the Train to Gain free skill brokerage service available from the Government.

Chris Banks, chairman of the Learning and Skills Council, believes the initial success of the campaign shows how government partners, key stakeholders, employers and individuals are working together towards the same objective.

He said: "This campaign is definitely a long term initiative for the LSC, as we know that cultural change towards learning and training can realistically only happen over a length of time. So the fact we have had such an incredible response just two months after the launch is really remarkable.

"We are very excited about this reaction, and over the next five years of the campaign we hope to really impact on the nation's attitude to learning and skills by creating further awareness and desire."

David Lammy MP, skills minister added: "In today's world having a highly skilled workforce is an economic necessity, not an optional extra. But developing our skills base is about more than competing in the global economy. It's also the most effective way of tackling family poverty, of encouraging people to strive for a better life and enhancing social mobility. For this to happen we need to bring about a step change in this country's attitude towards training and skills.

"The new Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills has been created to ensure skills are centre stage, and we already have seen commitment from major national employers to train their employees through Train to Gain and by making the Skills Pledge. We need to ensure that all young people, whatever their talents, have the opportunities to take control of their future through fulfilling careers and continued learning throughout their lives."

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