15 February 2010: To help employers in the region meet the needs of the evolving regulatory climate and changing political and economic landscape, the National Skills Academy for Financial Services (NSAFS) hosted a conference for South West financial services employers titled “Recession, recovery and regulation”.
Keynote speaker John Penrose MP, Shadow Minister for Business, Enterprise, and Regulatory Reform said there was a need for better skills across all sectors including financial services to help the UK remain competitive. He said:
“If we are going to earn a living in an increasingly globalised world, we have to have a far higher average rate of skills in Britains economy than we have had in the past.
“Our plans at the moment are to have 20,000 more graduates than we have had in the past, but also far more apprentices—200,000 more apprentices is what we reckon we can afford at the moment by redeploying money from elsewhere.”
Independent education charity, NSAFS launched in the South West 12 months ago and is working with employers from large well know companies to SMEs in the region, to provide a knowledgeable and supportive service that assists them with their skills and training requirements.
Please see attached picture from the conference on Thursday 11 February at the Exchange in Bridgewater: (from left to right) Jonathan Bundy (Senior Associate, Professional Standards Policy from the FSA), Paul Beesley (Senior Manager, Operational Support, HR Resourcing & Engagement Nationwide and Regional Chair), John Penrose MP (Shadow Minister for Business, Enterprise, and Regulatory Reform), Sylvia Perrins (CEO NSAFS), Nigel Benton (SW Regional Director NSAFS), Alun Powell (Senior Economist at HSBC).