EU Project Croatia 12 th May 2011 UK Sector Skills Councils, working together
Jan 12, 2016
EU Project Croatia 12th May 2011
UK Sector Skills Councils,working together
Key themes of this presentation:
• Role of Employers in Sector Skills Councils• Origins of the Alliance• Alliance role & responsibility• Benefits of SSCs working together• Examples of effective collaboration• Traps to avoid!
Sector Skills Councils:• Employer organisations- run by & for employers
• Cover 90% of the UK workforce
• 1.7 million businesses across England, Wales, Scotland, & Northern Ireland
• SSC boards comprised of UK employers drawn from across UK industry, commerce and the public sector
SSCs key business aims:
• Reduce skills gaps
• Improve business performance
• Increase skills and productivity of the workforce
• Improve the learning supply through qualifications, Apprenticeships, FE & HE providers
Sector Skills Councils- Key Roles:• Develop & maintain national occupational standards
• Help to ensure qualifications are relevant & valued by employers
• Conduct sector research & publish Labour Market Intelligence (LMI)
• Represent the skills needs of their sectors in partnership with others
New priorities from UK Govt:
• Greater choice and control for the individual• Greater focus on employers and their sectors• Apprenticeships • Proper recognition & celebration of vocational
skills• Effective pathways for progression• Ability to transfer between FE and HE (From
VET school to HE)
Some UK certainties:• 70% of our 2020 workforce is already in the employment market
• UK Employers currently spend £38bn on training & development
• Small business sector provides 60% of UK jobs, and 50% of UK GDP
• 500,000 people are expected to start up their own business in next 12 months.
• Registered Charity, formed in April 2008
• All Sector Skills Councils are full members
• UK-wide remit- offices in Belfast, Edinburgh, Cardiff & London
Alliance Background:
Alliance Governance:
Alliance background:
• Coordinating & collaborative role• ‘Shared leadership’ model• Strategic objectives• Representing SSCs on common issues to government, and other stakeholders
• Improved business performance is the key driver in sustained recovery
• Skills, learning & development are the vital factors in the business mix
• New environment requires new solutions, and new ways of working!
• We have a lot to do before 2020!
Summary:
Examples of Alliance Impact: • Illustrating the power of collective working in a UK context
• Examples are drawn from recent experience
• Further detail available on the Alliance website:• www.sscalliance.org
UK QCF Readiness Programme:
• Revolution in Qualifications design and approval similar to CRO QCF
• Employer needs at heart of the system, ‘bite-sized’ chunks of learning
• Alliance appointed as the contract manager for the programme
• Responsible for preparing all the SSCs to operate the new system
• Series of professional development workshops for SSC staff
• Provision of central resource, help, guidance, support
Low Carbon ‘cluster’:
• UK drive to define future needs• 10 SSCs combine resources• Alliance coordination of report• Direct views of a wide range of employers• Accurate view of future skills needs in a vital economic and social responsibility area
LMI – Alliance Intelligence Network: • Group of LMI experts drawn from all SSCs
Aims:• To share expertise and better practice• To speed up the workflow by collaborating and sharing people and resources• To provide expert advice based on detailed employer/sectoral knowledge•
Alliance and the Federation of Small Businesses(FSB): • Small business vital for UK sustained recovery• Access to skills and training can be difficult• Two organisations agree a joint agenda for
action – aim to ensure the small business voice is reflected in all SSCs
• On-going monitoring of joint performance
• Dominant role of employers• Alliance enables collective voice of SSCs
to be heard• Sharing of expertise and mutual support• Power of collective activity in difficult
times!
UK SSC summary:
• “Coming together is the beginning
• Keeping together is progress
• Working together is success”
Henry Ford 1863-1947
Final thoughts:
“ If you think training is expensive,try ignorance!”
Thanks for listening!
Any questions?
John McNamaraTel: 07879 477448
www.