The vision of this strategy is to have achieved by 2015:
- a highly competitive economy in global terms, with a healthy export market and inward investment
- progressive leadership shown by skilled local managers,
- entrepreneurial and innovative people, who expect to learn new skills throughout their working lives
- coherent support and services available for businesses of all sizes
- high value-added jobs
- broader adoption of technology and e-learning, which will reduce transport and location barriers
Strategic themes
There are 4 main themes to the strategy:
- Understand the demand for skills – success in this will depend on employers fully understanding their role in identifying and articulating current and future skills needs. Employer led Sector Skills Councils are being set up for each employment sector. Better use will be made of labour market information.
- Improve the skills level of the workforce – addressing low productivity rates in our businesses, and developing work based skills specific to particular sectors. ICT skills are seen as increasingly important under the category of essential skills, along with numeracy and literacy. Employability skills will include the key skills of teamwork, problem solving and flexibility. Careers guidance will be enhanced and based on up-to-date labour market information.
- Improve the quality and consistency of education and training – building on the FE Means Business Strategy which aims to ensure that college curriculum provision is focused on economic and workforce needs, using flexible approaches to learning through the use of technology. Current vocational qualifications will be reformed under a new ‘Framework for Achievement’, which will replace the current National Qualifications Framework by 2010, making it simpler and more accessible. A differentiated curriculum will be developed for all 16-19 year old college students integrating the skills of problem solving, team work and ICT, within an enterprise culture.
- Tackle the skills barriers to employment and employability – a menu of service provision will be developed to equip those not in work with the skills necessary for economic activity underpinned by the Government’s Welfare to Work Agenda. This will include assisting the disadvantaged and economically inactive to engage with skills acquisition where this is seen as their main barrier to work.
