By Sylvia Carr, 22 March 2005 16:55
NEWS The government has released a new plan for how to reform the state of skills in the UK while an industry group is calling for the issue to be front-and-centre during the coming election.
The white paper, Skills: Getting on in business, getting on at work, published today by the Department for Education and Skills, calls for closer cooperation with employers to determine the best ways to meet the needs of the workforce.
As part of this effort, it is setting up a new National Employer Training Programme (NETP) which will provide public funds for workplace training as deemed necessary by employers.
The department will also aid adults who want to retrain for career advancement and improve capacity of existing colleges and training suppliers.
The report singles out skills in information and communications technology (ICT), saying: "The pervasiveness of ICT, both at work and for leisure purposes, means that functional competence in using ICT needs to be counted as an essential skill for the modern world."
The government calls for the improvement of ICT education across schools' curriculum and particularly for 14-to-19 year olds, while adults can receive ICT training though venues such as the government-backed learndirect facility.
As for certification, the report points to e-skills UK's Passport, a means of compiling individuals' ICT skills and certifications as well as to the group's efforts to develop new ICT degree programmes with various universities.
The government also highlights the need to provide internet and computer access for people who do not have these facilities at home, which it says it does in 6,000 libraries, community centres and colleges.
In response to the white paper, Karen Price, CEO of e-skills UK, said in a statement: "The skills white paper gives unprecedented influence to employers and for the first time puts them in the driving seat in determining what qualifications they need and how they should be delivered. We welcome it wholeheartedly."
While Price said e-skills "welcomes" the National Employer Training Programme, she added: "The future of business in the UK depends upon its ability to exploit IT effectively for competitive advantage - and this requires skills at a much higher level. We will be focusing on developing these skills in our work with employers, educators and government."
The parliamentary-industry group European Information Society Group (EURIM) is also hoping to affect workplace skills.
In its Election Manifesto, released today, EURIM named ten issues it would like to see addressed in the coming election, one of which was "enabling students (of any age, including those in work) to acquire and maintain the skills they need, where and when they need them".
While the political debate tends to focus on teenagers going to university, the manifesto said the greater need is to retain working adults and keep their skills up-to-date.
EURIM's recommended actions include requiring public-funded courses to prove market demand for their services, providing resources to regional skills councils to conduct research on which skills are most needed and exempting those undergoing professional training from national insurance and income tax.
Comments
There are 5 comments. Join the discussion
1. anonymous
Yet more UK cash moving to American IT companies.
When will the UK wake up to the reality of what is going on?
2. anonymous
Using IT is for the masses, owning IT is for the rich and powerful; they don't use it, their plebs do it on their behalf.
Just ask Tony B, he doesn't know one end of a computer from the other. Hasn't hindered his career too much.
3. anonymous
The problem starts with the acronym ICT - Information and communication are only of benefit if action is taken as a result. Problem Solving & Decision Making skills are also very poor across the entire population.
Maybe ICCT would be more appropriate "Information, Communication and Control Technology"
4. Alfred Reading
Everyone seems to want spoon feeding today. When I was a youth, employers took on apprentices and trained them to their needs. True some were exploited but others were subsidised for further education. University students in technical subjects got vacation jobs in their field of study which made them experienced and valuable on graduation. Very little of that happens today so employers who have abdicated their responsibility complain because the system does not provide fully trained and experienced people then expect the government to sort it out at taxpayer's expense.
5. Robb Kimmer
UK skills awareness is a joke. People in the UK seem to think that the ECDL, NVQs and other such low-level timewasting is a serious attempt to up-skill us.
Get real. The ECDL, as the NVQ, was a political bandaid. It provides us with people who can actually write a letter in a work processor! Wow, that really is going to put the UK at the top of the world-leading techno-countries.
University graduates are mostly useless and know nothing of IT or it's infrastructure. They become pen-pushing jotter-dotters who rely on the real techies to help them keep thier worthless jobs.
We value the worthless and pay our skilled technical people peanuts.
Let's look at 'proper' top-end training and less at whether or not Mrs Bloggins can type a letter, or whether or not Mr Crumble can fill out a spreadsheet.
Kill off the training company's cash cows and get this government and it suited fresh-faced graduate thinkers to talk to people who work at the coal-face, not some pinko office wallah.