30 Jul 2008
Employers, training providers and skills brokers from across the North West turned out in force recently to the regional launch of the National Skills Academy Process Industries, to hear how it is working with employers and other stakeholders to address the skills gaps holding back the £23bn industries.
The Skills Academy, one of several established by the Government in a drive to upskill the UK’s economy, was launched nationally earlier this year. It is already working alongside North West employers and training providers on creating an industry-wide training and development framework driven by employers themselves.
Projects
include publishing a Good Practice guide, setting up an industry-wide employee
skills registry and developing accreditation of prior learning systems to verify
the skills of existing staff. The Skills Academy also offers employers expert
skills assessment and advice, and is developing a new Gold Standard training
level that will create a common standard of transferable skills and a route
through which every employee and employer can use to map out career pathways and
measure performance.
Delegates at
the North West launch, which was held at the
Catalyst Science Discovery Centre in Widnes, heard Claire Curtis-Thomas, MP for
Crosby, outline the measures the Skills Academy will use to bring together
stakeholders and foster a partnership approach to the industry’s skills and
training needs. Claire
Curtis-Thomas commented: “The process industries, along with other sectors, are
being seriously hampered by skills shortages. The Government is committed to
working with business to tackle the problem and we are delighted that the
National Skills Academy Process Industries has chosen to establish one of its
regional spokes in the North
West region. It is set to be a real force in helping
the industry upskill its existing workforce and attract the 24,000 apprentices
and 10,000 graduates needed over the next 10 years.”
Philip Jones,
Chief Executive Officer for the National Skills Academy Process Industries,
said: “We are delighted that so many of the North West’s employers and
stakeholders have turned out to hear how their involvement with the Skills
Academy is set to benefit both their organisations and the regional economy.
“Together we
can ultimately deliver £1.5bn of value to an industry that already makes up 15%
of the UK manufacturing sector, and ensure its continuing success and today has
been all about getting closer to employers and answering their questions about
how the Skills Academy will help them become more successful.”
Industrialist
Allan Laing, Chief Executive of the privately-owned fine chemicals manufacturer
Pentagon said: “The process industries are strategically important to the
region, with over 77,000 employees working in the processing, energy and nuclear
industries, and we welcome the Skills Academy’s decision to establish a base
here.
“As an industry
we are well aware of the problems of skills gaps at various levels, a lack of
apprentices coming through to replace an ageing workforce and a struggle to
attract staff at supervisory levels. These are all issues where the Skills Academy’s experts can help and we look
forward to working closely with the team to build a training and development
framework that will benefit the whole of the process industries and everyone
working within them.”
For more information contact Roger
Langford, North West Regional Skills Manager, tel: 07894 483695
Photo: Joanna Woolf, chief executive of
Cogent SSC; Allan Laing, chief executive of Pentagon; Philip Jones, CEO of
National Skills Academy Process Industries; Jules Burgess-Wilson,
director, Catalyst Science Discovery Centre; Roger Langford, regional skills
manager, National Skills Academy Process Industries; Claire Curtis-Thomas, MP
for Crosby.
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