London, 31 October 2006: Education and Skills Secretary Alan Johnson today announced the launch of the first three National Skills Academies to drive up the standard of industry training, improve productivity and tackle skills shortages across England.
In addition, Mr Johnson announced the next four sectors that have successfully bid to be part of the National Skills Academy programme.
The launch marks the start of an employer-led, world-class National Skills Academy network to provide vocational education and training for school leavers and adults, tailor made to meet the specific needs of industry sectors and those who work in them.
The first three academies that have been approved and will shortly become operational are in Financial Services, Construction, and Manufacturing. A fourth, representing the Food and Drink sector is close to being approved.
Bids from the nuclear industry; the chemical industry; the hospitality sector; and the creative and cultural industries have been accepted by the Government and will now be invited to work up business plans ready for the next stage of the process.
The aim is to have up to 12 academies operational by 2008 and the Government is investing £90 million in the programme which will be delivered through the Learning and Skills Council working with employers and their Sector Skills Councils. Two bidding rounds have taken place so far, a third is planned for early 2007.
Prime Minister Tony Blair said the start of the National Skills Academy programme marked a turning point in skills training that would ensure British industry remained competitive in the long term and able to respond rapidly to changing needs and demands.
Tony Blair said:
“It is vital that we continue to improve skills right across the board and I am very pleased that we are able to launch the first academies today.”
“The new National Skills Academies are an exciting partnership between Government and industry to ensure we have the well-trained staff needed for the future.”
To mark the launch, Alan Johnson, together with Skills Minister Phil Hope, today hosted a business breakfast to congratulate the founders of the first three National Skills Academies and encourage other sectors to follow suit.
Alan Johnson said:
“Raising skills is essential to wealth creation and creating a society of opportunity for all. The National Skills Academy programme will improve our capacity for learning by driving up standards and specialisation with the learning sector. This will be good for individuals and employers alike and give all parties a real chance to address the skills gap and close it.”
Employers are at the heart of the development of the National Skills Academy programme, giving them a real say in how they are run, including:
They will also part fund National Skills Academies providing capital investment as well as equipment know-how and industry insight. Employer sponsorship will fund about 50% of the capital costs of a National Skills Academy with about 35% coming from the Government and the remainder from other sources such as European funding.
Currently £33 billion is spent by employers on staff training and development with nearly two thirds (65 percent) providing training for their employees. But investment is often unfocussed and despite this financial outlay, one in five organisations report skills gaps among their workforce.
The National Skills Academy network will help to address these skills gaps by ensuring future recruits have the skills required by industry and are able to make a real difference to businesses’ bottom line from their first day.
They will operate under different models that reflect the needs of their sectors. The varied models will include state of the art centres, linked networks of providers in Further and Higher Education, mobile delivery of training on work sites and e-learning materials for flexible learning.
Chris Banks, Chair of the Learning and Skills Council said:
“Ultimately, we envisage the network will train tens of thousands of learners each year with ambitions to have one for each sector of the economy in place by 2012.”
“The benefits to employers are far reaching. The National Skills Academy network will be another route to help ensure consistent high quality training across the country, resulting in a more highly trained and motivated workforce, with improvements to productivity and performance overall.”
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