Home > News > October 2005 > 03-Oct-2005

Lifelong Learning UK promises action in Wales

Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK) has officially launched in Wales and is pledging to raise the quality of learning available to young people and adults.

Speaking to more than one hundred guests in the Wales Millennium Centre Lifelong Learning UK’s chief executive David Hunter promised that, by upskilling teachers and other learning professionals, the new Sector Skills Council (SSC) would help ensure that more opportunities for training and development were on offer to employees and those seeking work throughout Wales.

Lifelong Learning UK is one of 25 SSCs set up through the Skills for Business network. It works with employers in the lifelong learning sector which it defines as covering further and higher education, work-based learning, community learning and development, and libraries, archives and information services. According to LLUK, the sector employs more than one million people across the UK.

"LLUK's priority in Wales is to give our employers a voice and so enable us to truly represent our workforce," said David Hunter. "There is a massive agenda ahead for us which includes key issues such as the need to support raising literacy and numeracy levels among young people and adults and supporting the delivery of bi-lingual learning. LLUK operates across the UK which means we will be embracing the contrasting needs and challenges facing learning professionals in all four countries."

"We are committed to helping all staff, whether they work full or part-time, to participate in initial training and continuing professional development. This is not just as an end in itself, but a recognition of the knock-on effect that it will have on the rest of the workforce."

Jane Davidson, minister for education and lifelong learning said, in her address, that she was delighted to give her support to LLUK. "The Assembly Government is working closely with Lifelong Learning UK through the Strategic Partnership Agreement and I have considerable expectations of them as they face the challenge to ensure that the standards and qualifications of the people who deliver training in the lifelong learning sector are second to none."

John Hedger, chairman of LLUK, said the SSC was confident of the support of employers that were desperate to tackle skills gaps and hard-to-fill vacancies. "By offering employers in the wider economy a better skilled workforce, we can help Wales, along with the rest of the UK, to compete more effectively internationally," he said.

LLUK's operations in Wales will be headed by Michelle Sayers, who was appointed national performance manager by the SSC in August. She is also chair of the Skills for Business network in Wales.

"Lifelong Learning UK holds a unique position in the new network of SSCs," she said. "Because our sector trains learning professionals in the widest range of disciplines we are pivotal in supporting the whole sector skills council network in ensuring skills levels across the entire Welsh economy are raised. We are also exploring our role as a broker between our employers and the learning demands that are emerging as Sector Skills Agreements are established in other sectors.

"With the futures of thousands of learners in its hands, it is imperative that our workforce gains the capacity to pass on skills and knowledge effectively. Working as part of a cohesive network of sector skills councils is key."

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