Skills for Business today welcomed the Chancellor's commitment to improving the skills of the UK workforce, calling the pre-budget report a 'blueprint for education and enterprise' but stressed the continuing need for employers to be engaged in reform to ensure their needs are met.

Christopher Duff, Chief Executive of Skills for Business, the network of employer-led Sector Skills Councils, said:

"For decades now, employers have been saying that the UK's education and training system doesn't meet their needs; that the skills they need to boost their bottom line simply aren't coming out of our network of schools, colleges and universities. The Chancellor was right to call low skills our 'Achilles Heel'.

"The commitments outlined in his Pre-Budget Report today - including a learning allowance of ten pounds per week for people out of work and on benefit, and the report commissioned on the long-term skills needs of the economy - will help to alleviate this. It is vital to make sure that increasing the skills of the workforce results in increased productivity - and the only way to do this is to make sure employers are in the driving seat in the demand, development and delivery of skills.

"Skills are crucial to business success, and Skills for Business, consisting of the Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA) and a network of employer-led Sector Skills Councils, has been charged with a major new role in the delivery of the government's Skills Strategy. By spearheading an employer-led approach, we will be creating the education and training system the UK needs if it is to increase its productivity and competitiveness on a global scale and ensure that the skills business needs are the skills business gets.

"The proposals produced by the working group on 14-19 reform, chaired by Mike Tomlinson, provide an opportunity for Sector Skills Councils to influence both academic and vocational pathways so the education system meets employers needs more. Sector Skills Agreements, which will be drawn up by every Sector Skills Council, will create a 'compact' between organisations which supply education and training and those that demand it. We welcome the commitment demonstrated by the Chancellor and Her Majesty's Treasury today, and look forward to helping ensure that the UK has the skills needed for economic success on a global scale."