The head of food and drink sector skills council Improve says he ‘cautiously welcomes’ government plans to cut the number of skills bodies in order to make the system easier for employers to navigate.
Responding to the publication of the paper Skills For Growth – The National Skills Strategy on Wednesday (11 November), chief executive Jack Matthews said there was plenty of room to simplify the skills system and said the proposals would be welcome news for many employers in the food and drink industry.
But he expressed some concern over the government putting a figure on the number of skills bodies facing the axe – over 30 – prior to any consultation with industry.
Mr Matthews said: “There is little doubt that the current skills system is unwieldy and in need of an overhaul. Employers are bewildered by the sheer number of different bodies responsible for different areas of skills, training and qualifications , and it is high time the whole system was made more stream-lined and user-friendly.
“However, I am concerned that the government has put a figure on the number of bodies it wants to cut – this suggests it has already made up its mind on which are to go. As the purpose of simplification is to make the system easier for employees and people seeking training to use, it should be done in full consultation with them, the customers. What we must get at the end of this process is a skills system which is fit for purpose to meet employers’ needs.”
Mr Matthews said he was not concerned by indications that the government intended some bodies axed to be sector skills councils, as long as the needs of the food and drink industry were recognised. “The paper is very clear about the important role sectors skills councils have played in engaging employers in training and representing their needs over the past five years, and that they will continue to play a central role in the future. Improve’s own success in working for and with the food and drink industry was recently acknowledged by the government when we were rewarded a renewed license to operate.
“What is absolutely clear is that the training and skills needs of the food and drink industry must continue to be represented by a dedicated body which can act as a voice for employers, a catalyst for reform and a central, employer-facing resource. The food and drink industry is vital to the future prosperity of the UK, it turns over £78.7 billion a year and is the largest of the UK’s manufacturing sectors. What we must do is work hard to ensure the government recognises this. Disappointingly, this paper talks about ‘priority sectors for growth and prosperity’ in relation to allocating skills funding without making any mention of the food and drink industry. This is a matter we will be taking up with government. The food industry has a vital role to play in leading UK plc out of recession, in developing advanced manufacturing and green technologies, and in leading the agenda on food sustainability and security, it cannot be relegated to secondary status on the skills agenda.”
Mr Matthews added that he welcomed the announcement that only qualifications approved by sector skills councils will qualify for public funding by 2011. “As employer-facing bodies, sector skills councils are in the strongest position to judge whether vocational and work-based qualifications are fit for purpose to meet employers needs, so this is a very sensible step. It will help ensure that funds are directed where they are needed most.
“However, I do think the government has missed a trick in its efforts to make the funding system more efficient. The fact that funding for training in the workplace is currently matched solely to the attainment of full qualifications is in itself wasteful because full qualifications often involve training and learning in areas not directly relevant to the specific needs of a business. With the new credit and unit-based Qualifications and Credit Framework, there is now an opportunity to link funding directly to the attainment of specific skills. This would make the system more efficient and would give employers better control over how their workforce develops skills.”
Author: ImproveSkills
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Posted: 13th Nov 2009
Keywords: Skills For Growth, The National Skills Strategy
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