Skills digest

Our summary of policy and publications, announcements and appointments from recent months

Policy and Publications

Jan 07 2010: Government publishes Going for Growth: Our future prosperity
This document sets out plans for sustaining recovery and achieving tomorrow’s prosperity. It describes how Government has put in place the agenda set out in New Industry New Jobs in 2009. It signposts how it will now build on those foundations in seven main areas:

Supporting enterprise and entrepreneurial activity.
Fostering knowledge creation and its innovative application.
Helping people develop the skills and capabilities to reach their personal and economic potential.
Investing in the infrastructure required to support a low carbon, modern economy.
Ensuring open and competitive markets, allowing businesses to grow.
Building on industrial strengths in sectors where there is expertise, and investing to foster new comparative advantage.
Understanding and employing the right strategic role for government in markets so the country can capitalise on new opportunities.

http://www.bis.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/GoingForGrowth.pdf

Dec 15 2009: Government publishes White Paper, Building Britain’s Recovery: Achieving Full Employment
This sets out a £400m programme over the next 18 months, including £300m to tackle youth unemployment. Over 100,000 new opportunities for young people will mean that everyone under 25 will have a guaranteed job, training, or a work experience placement after six months’ unemployment.

Alongside the White Paper, Ministers launched a cross-Government 16-24 participation strategy, Investing in Potential, setting out what the Government is doing to maximise the number of young people aged 16-24 in education, training and employment. www.dwp.gov.uk/buildingbritainsrecovery

Dec 15 2009: Government publishes Investing in Potential
A cross-Government strategy to increase the number of 16-24 year olds in education, employment or training. This includes a target of reducing the proportion of 16-18 year olds not in education, employment or training (NEET) by two percentage points by 2010. Other commitments include:

Investing an extra £202m in 2010-11 in post-16 participation, on top of the funding announced in Budget 2009, which means an additional 142,500 learners will have an opportunity to learn as part of the September Guarantee.
Bringing forward the Young Person’s Guarantee so that all 18–24 year olds still unemployed after six months will be guaranteed access to a job, training or work experience.
Introducing a Graduate Guarantee so that all new graduates still unemployed after six months will have access to an internship, training or help to become self-employed.

Nov 16 2009: Government sets out skills investment strategy
The Government set out how it will invest in the skills critical to the recovery and long-term success of the UK economy. The skills investment strategy 2010-11 underpins the priorities of the national skills strategy, Skills for Growth.

Main points:

Government investment in further education and skills for 2010-11 set at £4.4 billion.
More than £3.5 billion in 2010-11 allowed for adult training places, an increase of nearly three per cent compared with 2009-10.

http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/skills-for-growth

Nov 13 2009: London Assembly publishes report on employment and skills
The London Assembly Economic Development, Culture, Sport and Tourism Committee published Time to Skill: the Mayor's Role in Employment and Skills in London. The report looks at how the Mayor's priorities for skills and training support are working and how they address the short and medium-term needs of Londoners. http://www.london.gov.uk/assembly/assemmtgs/2009/mqtdec16/item09b.pdf

Nov 11 2009: Mandelson sets out National Skills Strategy - Skills for Growth
The Business Secretary announced aims to give people and businesses the skills they need to help drive economic growth.

Government will:

Create a modern class of technicians, through an expansion of advanced apprenticeships, creating 35,000 new places over the next two years.
Give every adult a personal skills account (PSA). This will allow learners to shop around for training, with new information on how well different courses and colleges can meet their needs.
Simplify skills policy provision by working with the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) to reduce the number of public bodies by more than 30.

http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/skills-for-growth

Nov 3 2009: Publication of Higher Ambitions: The future of universities in a knowledge economy
The report sets out the Government’s strategy for ‘sustaining the strength of HE’. The report offers proposals in a number of key areas including:

Ensuring access for all who have the ability to benefit through greater diversity of models of learning i.e. part-time, work-based, foundation degrees etc.
Supporting universities in making a bigger contribution to economic recovery and future growth by acting as a mechanism through which knowledge is generated and preparing people for the modern world of work.
Encouraging universities to compete based on quality of service provision by asking them to publish information about what students can expect from their programme.
Ensuring universities maintain excellence under tighter public financial constraints through a review of the fees structure in English universities.

http://www.bis.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/publications/Higher-Ambitions.pdf

Announcements

Nov 13 2009: Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act receives Royal Assent
This new law includes a host of measures to prepare for the country’s long-term economic and social needs, including provision for the new Skills Funding Agency (SFA). In London the LSEB will direct the SFA's adult skills budget. The SFA will be one of the main organisations helping the LSEB fulfil the skills and employment strategy for the Capital.

The Act provides the first complete legislative overhaul of apprenticeship law for nearly 200 years. It is a crucial step towards Ministers’ ambitions for one in five young people to be in apprenticeship training by 2020. http://www.bis.gov.uk/news/news-releases

Nov 12 2009: Mayor announces £11.5m to skill up London's future workforce
New funding will increase the Capital's workforce skills by preparing 8,000 young people for apprenticeships and training. The funding will provide employability workplace skills and mentoring for young Londoners, boosting the Mayor's commitment to help the Capital through the economic downturn. http://www.london.gov.uk/view_press_release.jsp?releaseid=24280

Oct 26 2009: More support to help lone parents into work
Lone parents with children aged ten and over will get help to look for work rather than stay on benefits. New Government rules will also make clear they can look for part-time work or jobs that fit with school hours to ensure family friendly welfare reforms.

Lone parents with a child or children aged ten or over will move to Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) if they are able to work, rather than Income Support. On JSA they will benefit from return-to-work support including training opportunities, job application advice, interviews with specialist advisers and financial grants. http://www.dwp.gov.uk/newsroom/press-releases/2009/october-2009/dwp051-09-261009.shtml

Oct 20 2009: Mandelson calls on business to help shape the future of education
Speaking at a CBI conference the Business Secretary argued that an education system responding to the specific and general skills needs of employers also comes with a new responsibility. Employers must support education financially and strategically through greater collaboration with universities and colleges. http://www.bis.gov.uk/news/news-releases

Appointments

Jan 4 2010: Brendan Loughran appointed as new Group Director for Learning and Skills at the London Development Agency. http://www.lda.gov.uk/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.3537

Dec 23 2009: Learning and Skills Council Chief Executive Geoff Russell appointed as the first Chief Executive of the new Skills Funding Agency. http://www.bis.gov.uk/news/news-releases

Aug 14 2009: Mayor appoints three new Board members to the London Skills and Employment Board. Mike Westcott, Global HR Director of National Grid, Gerry Murray, Chief Executive of Huveaux plc, and Peter Lewis, Chief Executive of London Voluntary Services Council. http://www.london.gov.uk/view_press_release.jsp?releaseid=23219


	Home > E-newsletter > January 2010: Skills digest
Home About Strategy Meetings and minutes E-newsletter Press releases Publications Useful links FAQs Contact us	Skills digest Our summary of policy and publications, announcements and appointments from recent months Policy and Publications Jan 07 2010: Government publishes Going for Growth: Our future prosperity This document sets out plans for sustaining recovery and achieving tomorrow’s prosperity. It describes how Government has put in place the agenda set out in New Industry New Jobs in 2009. It signposts how it will now build on those foundations in seven main areas: Supporting enterprise and entrepreneurial activity. Fostering knowledge creation and its innovative application. Helping people develop the skills and capabilities to reach their personal and economic potential. Investing in the infrastructure required to support a low carbon, modern economy. Ensuring open and competitive markets, allowing businesses to grow. Building on industrial strengths in sectors where there is expertise, and investing to foster new comparative advantage. Understanding and employing the right strategic role for government in markets so the country can capitalise on new opportunities. http://www.bis.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/GoingForGrowth.pdf Dec 15 2009: Government publishes White Paper, Building Britain’s Recovery: Achieving Full Employment This sets out a £400m programme over the next 18 months, including £300m to tackle youth unemployment. Over 100,000 new opportunities for young people will mean that everyone under 25 will have a guaranteed job, training, or a work experience placement after six months’ unemployment. Alongside the White Paper, Ministers launched a cross-Government 16-24 participation strategy, Investing in Potential, setting out what the Government is doing to maximise the number of young people aged 16-24 in education, training and employment. www.dwp.gov.uk/buildingbritainsrecovery Dec 15 2009: Government publishes Investing in Potential A cross-Government strategy to increase the number of 16-24 year olds in education, employment or training. This includes a target of reducing the proportion of 16-18 year olds not in education, employment or training (NEET) by two percentage points by 2010. Other commitments include: Investing an extra £202m in 2010-11 in post-16 participation, on top of the funding announced in Budget 2009, which means an additional 142,500 learners will have an opportunity to learn as part of the September Guarantee. Bringing forward the Young Person’s Guarantee so that all 18–24 year olds still unemployed after six months will be guaranteed access to a job, training or work experience. Introducing a Graduate Guarantee so that all new graduates still unemployed after six months will have access to an internship, training or help to become self-employed. Nov 16 2009: Government sets out skills investment strategy The Government set out how it will invest in the skills critical to the recovery and long-term success of the UK economy. The skills investment strategy 2010-11 underpins the priorities of the national skills strategy, Skills for Growth. Main points: Government investment in further education and skills for 2010-11 set at £4.4 billion. More than £3.5 billion in 2010-11 allowed for adult training places, an increase of nearly three per cent compared with 2009-10. http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/skills-for-growth Nov 13 2009: London Assembly publishes report on employment and skills The London Assembly Economic Development, Culture, Sport and Tourism Committee published Time to Skill: the Mayor's Role in Employment and Skills in London. The report looks at how the Mayor's priorities for skills and training support are working and how they address the short and medium-term needs of Londoners. http://www.london.gov.uk/assembly/assemmtgs/2009/mqtdec16/item09b.pdf Nov 11 2009: Mandelson sets out National Skills Strategy - Skills for Growth The Business Secretary announced aims to give people and businesses the skills they need to help drive economic growth. Government will: Create a modern class of technicians, through an expansion of advanced apprenticeships, creating 35,000 new places over the next two years. Give every adult a personal skills account (PSA). This will allow learners to shop around for training, with new information on how well different courses and colleges can meet their needs. Simplify skills policy provision by working with the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) to reduce the number of public bodies by more than 30. http://www.bis.gov.uk/policies/skills-for-growth Nov 3 2009: Publication of Higher Ambitions: The future of universities in a knowledge economy The report sets out the Government’s strategy for ‘sustaining the strength of HE’. The report offers proposals in a number of key areas including: Ensuring access for all who have the ability to benefit through greater diversity of models of learning i.e. part-time, work-based, foundation degrees etc. Supporting universities in making a bigger contribution to economic recovery and future growth by acting as a mechanism through which knowledge is generated and preparing people for the modern world of work. Encouraging universities to compete based on quality of service provision by asking them to publish information about what students can expect from their programme. Ensuring universities maintain excellence under tighter public financial constraints through a review of the fees structure in English universities. http://www.bis.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/publications/Higher-Ambitions.pdf Announcements Nov 13 2009: Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act receives Royal Assent This new law includes a host of measures to prepare for the country’s long-term economic and social needs, including provision for the new Skills Funding Agency (SFA). In London the LSEB will direct the SFA's adult skills budget. The SFA will be one of the main organisations helping the LSEB fulfil the skills and employment strategy for the Capital. The Act provides the first complete legislative overhaul of apprenticeship law for nearly 200 years. It is a crucial step towards Ministers’ ambitions for one in five young people to be in apprenticeship training by 2020. http://www.bis.gov.uk/news/news-releases Nov 12 2009: Mayor announces £11.5m to skill up London's future workforce New funding will increase the Capital's workforce skills by preparing 8,000 young people for apprenticeships and training. The funding will provide employability workplace skills and mentoring for young Londoners, boosting the Mayor's commitment to help the Capital through the economic downturn. http://www.london.gov.uk/view_press_release.jsp?releaseid=24280 Oct 26 2009: More support to help lone parents into work Lone parents with children aged ten and over will get help to look for work rather than stay on benefits. New Government rules will also make clear they can look for part-time work or jobs that fit with school hours to ensure family friendly welfare reforms. Lone parents with a child or children aged ten or over will move to Jobseeker’s Allowance (JSA) if they are able to work, rather than Income Support. On JSA they will benefit from return-to-work support including training opportunities, job application advice, interviews with specialist advisers and financial grants. http://www.dwp.gov.uk/newsroom/press-releases/2009/october-2009/dwp051-09-261009.shtml Oct 20 2009: Mandelson calls on business to help shape the future of education Speaking at a CBI conference the Business Secretary argued that an education system responding to the specific and general skills needs of employers also comes with a new responsibility. Employers must support education financially and strategically through greater collaboration with universities and colleges. http://www.bis.gov.uk/news/news-releases Appointments Jan 4 2010: Brendan Loughran appointed as new Group Director for Learning and Skills at the London Development Agency. http://www.lda.gov.uk/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.3537 Dec 23 2009: Learning and Skills Council Chief Executive Geoff Russell appointed as the first Chief Executive of the new Skills Funding Agency. http://www.bis.gov.uk/news/news-releases Aug 14 2009: Mayor appoints three new Board members to the London Skills and Employment Board. Mike Westcott, Global HR Director of National Grid, Gerry Murray, Chief Executive of Huveaux plc, and Peter Lewis, Chief Executive of London Voluntary Services Council. http://www.london.gov.uk/view_press_release.jsp?releaseid=23219