By Natasha Lomas, 17 March 2008 10:00
NEWS
Tackling the skills shortage is key to turning the UK into a successful 'innovation nation', according to the government - which has set out its vision for promoting the uptake of new ideas in a Department of Innovation Universities and Skills (Dius) whitepaper.
The UK's long-standing skills crisis - and the reluctance of employers to invest in training - are both identified as barriers to future success.
In the report, the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills, John Denham, said: "We want to create an 'innovation nation' because Britain can only prosper in a globalised economy if we unlock the talents of all of our people."
While the UK's productivity performance has been improving steadily since 1997 it still lags behind some leading international competitors, according to the paper, which claims up to one-fifth of the productivity gap is due to lack of skills.
And there are "long-standing weaknesses in the UK's skills base", it adds, pointing out that while "participation in higher education has increased rapidly, too many people of working age have few qualifications and one-third of businesses do not invest at all in training".
A recent research report polling UK grads and school leavers backs up this view of 'training-shy' employers - just 12 per cent of the 1,000 survey respondents said they had received any formal training at work.
Responding to the white paper, Karen Price, CEO of IT sector skills body e-skills UK, said she welcomed the recognition of "the vital role of IT and IT skills in innovation".
She said in a statement: "Technology enables and accelerates innovation, helping companies of all sizes and across all sectors to improve productivity and competitiveness."
But technology trade association Intellect was less impressed by the government's innovation strategy, criticising the white paper for not putting more emphasis on technology. It said in a statement: "It is regrettable that in a time when our international competitors like India and China are investing heavily in skills and education in technology, our government is not."
Intellect said its primary concern is the lack of support and funding for computer-science students.
The full Dius Innovation Nation white paper can be found here.
Comments
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1. Roger Huffadine
I am an innovator - I started & ran a successful multinational. Now retired I have a dozen ideas that could be innovated - so why don't I? -- Successive governments and Quangos have created a commercial environment in the UK that stifles innovation. When we started up in 1979 there was far less red tape - about 2ft I think. Now we have enough red tape to stretch to the Sun and back 50 times.
The UK already has a skill base that is second to none but most of us have taken early retirement and are disinclined to fight our way through all of the red tape even though we enjoy innovating.
I could mentor someone and teach them all that I know but I'm probably not able to get the insurance to teach someone without first obtaining a Post Graduate Certificate in Education together with another CRB check and ISO 9000:2000 registration.
Once more the Department of Innovation Universities and Skills in particular & the government in general miss the point completely.
2. Simon
100% training tax !
Yes, that's right, there is a 100% tax on self improvement training. So if your boss won't pay for training and you want to improve yourself, unless the training is "essential" (as in you CANNOT do your job without it) then it's not tax deductable.
By the time you add up VAT, income tax, & national insurance, a private individual pays near enough 100% tax on top of what an employer would pay !
So as long as that situation remains, any talk of supporting development is so much more Gordon speak - empty waffle and promises of what you already have.