Skills strategy must be employer-led and tackle confusion

Skills strategy must be employer-led and tackle confusion surrounding wide range of government skills initiatives

Measures announced in the Government’s Skills White Paper to tackle skills shortages are welcome, but will only be effective if they tackle the confusion surrounding the number of different government skills initiatives, deliver a genuine shift away from an overbearing focus on qualifications and targets and towards a genuine, employer-led approach, according to the CIPD.

Responding to the publication of the White Paper today, Mike Emmott, CIPD Employee Relations Adviser, said: The government’s continuing focus on qualifications and targets, rather than on skills relevant to the workplace has caused concern amongst employers. The failure of the education system to equip all young people with the basic skills needed to bridge the transition into the workforce also remains an ongoing problem.

At a time of continuing low unemployment, the issue of basic skills is more important than ever for employers. Yet those with the lowest skills don’t often receive the support they require. New research, conducted by the CIPD amongst employees, shows that those who already have an academic qualification, or have already received training, are the ones who are most likely to get further training. Yet a failure to tackle basic skills deficits harms employers, employees and the economy as a whole.

The proposed Union Learning Academy is one of a number of initiatives that have the capacity to help raise the skills levels of the workforce. All too often employees on the front line view learning, training and development opportunities with suspicion. Yet union learning representatives are successfully helping to increase the involvement of employees who might be classed as reluctant learners. The Union Learning Academy should focus on building on this success.

The ’brokerage’ service, offering a single point of access for employers to government skills initiatives should help to counter some of the confusion surrounding government skills initiatives. CIPD research highlights the need for the role of government agencies associated with learning and skills to be clarified. Sector Skills Councils should help to develop skills frameworks on a sectoral basis, but they will only be able to maximise this opportunity if they are genuinely employer-led, rather than driven by the Government’s agenda.