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[July 2006]
Proskills Embarks on Major Consultation on Building Product Skills
Sector Skills Council Proskills has embarked on a UK-wide consultation with employers which will shape the future of skills provision and funding for the building products industry. The information gathered during this consultation process will form the basis of the Sector Skills Agreement (SSA), the fundamental collaborative action plan between the three key players: employers, government and the education sector, which will determine the way skills are delivered and developed for the sector.
Proskills CEO, Terry Watts, commented: "Appropriate training provision is vital if UK industry is to thrive and survive in today’s fiercely competitive global market. According to productivity figures, UK manufacturing ranks only 11th out of 16 competitor nations, and much of the problem lies in our lack of skills. If the UK were as productive as the best in Europe then we could add £80 billion to our nation’s wealth each year.
"This major consultation is not a vendor-led initiative to promote training for its own sake. Nor is it a single-issue initiative to address a specific problem such as encouraging more young people into the building products industry – although that is of course a worthy aim. The objective of the SSA is to generate measurable improvements in productivity by developing and maintaining skills in this key sector of the economy. However, for the initiative to succeed it requires support from everyone involved, particularly employers, managers and professionals who really understand the needs of the building products industry."
It is anticipated that the entire five-stage SSA process will be completed by September 2007. The initial stages, which include the assessment of current and future skill needs, together with the assessment of current provision and an analysis of present gaps and weaknesses, are being undertaken by an external consultancy.
Work is already underway on stages 1 and 2: the assessment of needs and provision, which includes an employer survey of 2,000 telephone and web-based interviews, with an additional 500 in-depth interviews and discussions with key employers. Focus groups and workshops addressing specific industry groups will develop a range of possible future scenarios and elicit key future issues and drivers from business leaders.
Initial findings from this stage will be reported and will be used to create the detailed interviews and discussion topics of the focus groups. A postal survey of 150 training course providers will also be undertaken, supported by 60 in-depth telephone interviews with key training provider managers. Reports on both these activities are expected to be delivered in September 2006.
Stage 3 of the SSA process will analyse the gaps and weaknesses in training provision which have become apparent as a result of the responses to the survey. Critical areas will be identified and a report on strategic priorities will be delivered by the end of October 2006.
Proskills is the Sector Skills Council working with Government to develop the skills that UK business needs in the following five industry sectors; Paint & Coatings, Building Products, Glass, Extractives and Print. Proskills is a not-for-profit employer led organisation working on behalf of the Process and Manufacturing industries with close links to training providers, higher/further education, trade and professional organisations and government agencies.
www.proskills.co.uk
ENDS