Who benefits?

Major investment bringing significant benefits to our economy.

Clearly National Skills Academies represent a major investment for both government and employers across industry. So who benefits?

Employers

The major benefits of the National Skills Academy are undoubtedly for employers across all sizes and types of organisation. Skills gaps cost a typical 50-employee business £165,000 a year and 130,000 jobs remain unfilled because of a lack of skilled candidates.
(NESS 2007)

“Getting involved in the National Skills Academy for Financial Services has been a great success and has helped us to meet our own business objectives by improved leadership and management skills throughout the organisation. Our employees and customers are already seeing the benefits of our involvement, through better communication and interaction among staff and management.” Malcolm Streatfield, CEO Lighthouse Group Plc

For example, Valve Train Components increased their manufacturing capacity by 50% as a result of improved efficiency created by up-skilling their staff with the National Skills Academy for Manufacturing. Guttridge Limited—a company with 100 employees—made an estimated annual saving of £129,720 due to the work of their skills academy trained NVQ candidates.

In other words, long-term investment in high quality training brings real returns to employers. It provides a long-term solution to skills shortages and gaps which would otherwise threaten their continued productivity and economic success. Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform studies consistently show that employer-led learning in countries such as Germany, France and Scandinavia is the most successful approach to solving skills problems.

Skills education and training

National Skills Academies bring benefits to the whole education and training system. As employers establish their position as education leaders, standards will rise and the vocational training system as a whole will gain in confidence and authority.

The economy

The ability of the National Skills Academy network to respond to the needs of particular sectors or localities will result in strong support to the economy at all levels.

Learners

Learners benefit from easy access to the skills academies and their flexible learning programmes. This results in the engagement of new and different types of learners:

• Those who may previously have been excluded from training opportunities
• Those who may have thought particular types of skills training were beyond their reach
• Those who are attracted into sectors they may not have considered previously.

And since employers are ensuring that the training is in real skills for real jobs, learners can look forward to a head start in their chosen sector as well as long-term potential in their chosen career.

“Before I studied the financial courses I wanted to become an actor. Now I would like to work in Investment Banking, or work at the FSA where I can help promote consumer rights. In the future, I would like to give something back to the community and help somebody in the way that I have been helped by the Skills Academy.” Dorian Williams, Tower Hamlets

Employers