Pauline Moylan Partnership Manager for South West of England /

Sector Skills Development Agency  Into its second full year – a new company and a Non- Departmental Public Body  Developer, standard-setter, ambassador, champion of Sector Skills Councils  Jointly sponsored by DfES and DTI  Partner in the Skills for Business network with all licensed SSCs and SSCs in development

Licensed SSCs  Automotive Skills  Cogent  ConstructionSkills  Energy & Utility Skills  E-Skills UK  Lantra  SEMTA  SkillsActive  Skillfast UK  Skills for Justice  Skills for Logistics  Skillset  Summit Skills

SSCs in development  AssetSkills  Financial Services Skills Council  GoSkills  Hospitality, Leisure, Travel & Tourism  Improve  Lifelong Learning  Proskills (inc Print)  Skills for Care (inc Early Years)  Skills for Health  Skillsmart Retail (Trailblazer)

Skills for Business network  Over 75% of UK workforce covered by licensed and emerging SSCs  Positive engagement with sectors not forming SSCs  4 Cross-Sector Boards  Employability  IT Users  Management and Leadership  “Golden Threads”

Working in the South West  Partnership Manager appointed by SSDA  Most SSCs have a regional presence, or are in process of recruiting  SSC Forum established  SSCs “clustering” where needed  Business Plan in development  SSCs in FRESA Groups

The Skills for Business Policy Agenda  Policy Influence – White Paper puts SSCs centre stage - direct engagement with Government for long term structural change  Delivery Influence – Key mechanism is Sector Skills Agreements - true partnership with public agencies

Sector Skills Agreements  Announced in Skills Strategy Jul 03  4 Pathfinders start Feb 04:  ConstructionSkills  E-Skills UK  SEMTA  Skillset  6 more due to start Summer 04

What is a Sector Skills Agreement?  Compact between employers, the SSC, and providers to: “Ensure that the skills the sector needs are the skills the sector gets”  Development of costed action plan to meet the sector’s needs underpinned by:  An assessment of current and future skill needs  A review of current provision in relation to this assessment  Developing sector’s priorities for action  Commitment to collaborative action by employers to meet skills needs over the short, medium and longer term  Agreement at national level to the commitment of public resources

What will it Offer Employers?  Provider network and infrastructure which offers the right skills  Qualifications fit for purpose  Progression routes that the sector needs  Flexible delivery models and support services to suit employers  A more collaborative environment within the sector  Closer working with Government agencies

Who is the Agreement Between?  Employers, Employees and the SSC  Setting out the sector’s skills requirements and what they will contribute  SSCs (on behalf of their employers) partners and Government  To guarantee support for the proposals contained in Sector Skills Agreements  To ensure required resources are available for effective delivery

Five Key Development Phases PhaseLead 1Assessment of current and future skill needs. SSC lead, input from SSDA & delivery partners 2Assessment of the effectiveness of current workforce development activity in meeting the requirements identified through the sectoral needs analysis phase. SSC lead, support from SSDA & delivery partners 3Analysis of the gaps and weaknesses in current workforce development activity in light of the sectoral needs analysis, leading to agreed priorities, objectives and proposed solutions for agreement. SSC lead, support from delivery partners and TUC, CBI and SBC

Development Phases Cont’d 4Agreeing the scope for collaborative action by employers and their workforces to tackle the identified priorities, what form the action might take and an assessment of what employers are likely to contribute and input to the agreed solutions. SSC lead with support from social and economic partners. 5Developing a costed action plan with delivery partners including the actions to be taken over the short, medium and longer term and proposed contribution of each partner. SSCs in conjunction with delivery partners.

Next Steps  Licensed SSCs to work with SSDA to develop Project Plan for Sector Skills Agreement.  Project Plan to map out key milestones, methodology and costings for the five phases.  Assessment will then be made of readiness for June or December Start subject to delivery partner capacity.