Wednesday, 3rd September '08
As the summer holidays draw to a close, this is an opportune moment to think about investing in skills for the future.
More and more employers are recognising that skilled employees are an organisation’s most precious resource. Meanwhile employees are seeing that learning a new skill or gaining a new qualification can help them move up the career ladder, earn more money and boost their confidence and self-esteem.
Train to Gain delivers even more for business
Now, as Train to Gain enters its third year of delivery, we have the opportunity to expand the service – with more money and support available to help even more employers and learners. There is also a range of new flexibilities to enhance the delivery of Train to Gain and enable the service to be even more responsive to the needs of employers and individuals.
Mark Haysom, Chief Executive of the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), wrote to all Train to Gain training providers and colleges in June (2008), outlining the additional flexibilities being introduced to the service. These build on those announced in Train to Gain: A Plan for Growth at the end of last year (2007).
More support available
Mark explained that the new changes represent a “further significant improvement to Train to Gain.” They will support the rapid expansion of the service and confirm the major role it is playing in helping to deliver the Government’s skills strategy and ambitions. By 2010/11, more than £1bn of public funding will be routed through Train to Gain and the service will support more than 950,000 employees each year.
The provision on offer ranges from basic skills through to Level 4 qualifications (the equivalent of a Higher National Diploma) and beyond, and consists of training that we either fully fund, or co-fund with a contribution from employers.
Meeting the needs of all sectors
The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) and the LSC has agreed sector compacts with semta (Sector Skills Council for science, engineering and manufacturing technologies), ConstructionSkills, People 1st (Sector Skills Council for hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism) and Proskills (Sector Skills Council for the process and manufacturing sector), with others to follow. These enable Sector Skills Councils to specify the priority qualifications and activities needed for their particular sector, thereby ensuring that Train to Gain meets the skills needs of employers in all sectors.
From now on, Train to Gain will also support a number of “additional” Level 2 qualifications (the equivalent of two A level passes) while employees with higher levels of prior qualification who have a literacy or numeracy need will be able to access basic skills support through Train to Gain.
The new flexibilities, which were introduced on Friday 1 August, reflect what employers have told us they want and we feel very positive about them. After two years of Train to Gain we have seen a significant growth both in the number of employers who have engaged with the service and in the number of employees who have benefited from training as a result. There is no doubt that Train to Gain is a service that is meeting the skills needs of employers and employees alike.
Paul Holme
Director of Skills for Employers
Learning and Skills Council
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