Without the right talent in place to take advantage of new opportunities, UK manufacturing cannot hope to compete in a global economy
By Kevin Brennan, Minister for Further Education, Skills and Apprenticeships, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)
In the current economic climate it’s perhaps more important than ever that every penny of public money provides the maximum return possible. When it comes to skills, that means ensuring our budget is focussed on areas that will drive economic growth. Manufacturing is one of those areas.
The Skills White Paper, ‘Skills for Growth’, launched in December, places skills at the heart of the government’s business agenda. The reason for that is simple: Without the right talent in place to take advantage of new opportunities, we cannot hope to compete in a global economy.
Our landmark Train to Gain scheme is already playing a huge role, funding more than 141,400 learners in the 2007/08 and 2008/09 academic years. We’ve also seen a significant hike in the number of people studying graduate level courses in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) subjects. And this autumn, we made available an additional 10,000 STEM graduate places.
But despite steady progress over the past 10 years, our skill set still does not compare with the best in the world and we need to change that. The UK Commission for Employment and Skills estimates that in the next decade, we will need over 650,000 people skilled to intermediate technician, associate professional and skilled occupation levels. This amounts to nothing less than the creation of a new ‘technician’.
To do that, we will stand by our commitment to expand the number of apprenticeships. Through government procurement, for example, we’ll support an additional 20,000 apprenticeships by imposing a training obligation on companies that win government contracts.
An additional 35,000 government-funded apprenticeships in key priority subjects will also enable more people to progress in their chosen career. It’s that progression that underlies the Strategy’s objective.
Skills must provide people with the opportunity to climb the career ladder. It’s not just about training for training’s sake. We want to enable hard-working people to attain the skills they need to reach their career aspirations and to fill higher-paid, higher-skilled jobs.
That requires joined-up policy to ensure every new government strategy has an emphasis on skills. The Manufacturing Strategy is a good example of that. One of its key recommendations was the establishment of Manufacturing Insight, an independent body tasked with changing the image of manufacturing.
It will be an important piece of the jigsaw, encouraging youngsters to seek out careers within the sector and to undertake training.
We must also ensure the skills system meshes effectively with our education system, creating a clear pathway from apprenticeships to foundation degrees and beyond. A new £1,000 scholarship will provide the best apprenticeship graduates with funding to go on to university courses.
From April next year, the Skills Funding Agency will work with colleges and other training institutions to focus on courses in priority sectors.
Strengthening the relations between industry and government is also crucial. Businesses need to play a much more active role in training and in addressing potential skills gaps before they arise. They must also take on more financial responsibility for the training that will ultimately benefit their businesses.
A Joint Investment Fund supported by public and private sector investment has the potential to raise £100 million for key growth sectors. In return for investment, businesses will have a say over which educational establishments are best suited to meeting the needs of their sector.
With businesses placing an increased focus on training beyond apprenticeships, universities will be under increased pressure to provide quality courses, which teach the skills businesses need. These are the skills they are willing to pay for.
There is life after recession and we must be ready for the opportunities that will come. We have the sixth largest manufacturing sector in the world and our manufacturers are world leaders in many new, emerging and high-tech fields. We must now build on those comparative advantages with a robust, long-term skills strategy.
Edited by Ian Armitage
SOURCE: Manufacturing Digital Magazine