Employers in the UK are reporting significant skills shortages within their own workforce and from the pool of labour from which they recruit. This is having a detrimental effect on UK businesses, hindering their growth, productivity and profit levels making the country less competitive in the global market.
Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) have been set up to tackle the skills and productivity needs of the UK. UK governments have agreed that the new remit for all re-licensed SSCs will be to:
• Raise employer engagement, demand and investment in skills
• Ensure authoritative labour market information specific to the sector
• Develop National Occupational Standards and ensure qualifications meet the needs of employers.
Alliance of Sector Skills Councils
Lantra is a member of the Alliance - a new organisation comprising all 25 licensed UK Sector Skills Councils – which together articulate the voice of employers of around 90% of the UK’s workforce on skills issues. The Alliance’s core purpose is to:
• Act as the collective voice of the Sector Skills Councils
• Promote understanding of the role of SSCs within the skills system across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
• Co-ordinate policy positions and strategic work on skills with stakeholders across the four home nations
• Help build the performance capability of the Sector Skills Councils, to ensure they continue to work effectively on the employer-driven skills agenda.
By working with Lantra, employers in the environmental and land-based sector have a stronger voice to influence government policies, education and training providers and funding to meet their skills and training needs.
