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Pat McFadden MP, Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills
Congress House, 11 June 2009
It’s great to be here.
I think originally it was John Denham who was supposed to be here – the Secretary of State as he was for University and Skills. And what we’ve done in the reorganisation is bring together Science, Innovation and Universities and Further Education with the work we were doing in my previous Department of Business and Enterprise – which involves business support and employment relations and that whole field.
And the reason we’ve done it is really to try and pull together all the key elements that we need to help the country through the current economic difficulties but also, and in the long term, to try and shape the economic future of the country. We would only be doing part our job if we concentrated on the day today and didn’t concentrate on the longer term.
So I’m really pleased to be here today. I see on the posters at the back that this is a celebratory moment – getting 22,000 Union Learning reps many of whom are here today.
And this has just been a great story over the years of expansion in opportunity and of reaching out to give people a better chance in life. A chance to improve skills and learning that wasn’t happening before that. It’s a fantastic effort and the first thing I want to do is thank every single one of those Union Learning reps for the commitment that they’ve made and for the benefits that they’ve been able to pass on to others.
As Brendan said I’ve had a fairly long involvement with the unions in one way or the other over the years. Many years ago I worked for John Smith in his office, then for Tony Blair as a staffer and more recently as a Minister under Gordon Brown.
And that experience has been a fantastic vantage point from which to observe the whole range of work that unions do. And in my role as local MP in Wolverhampton I had the honour of opening the Union Learning centre at a company called Mueller Europe in my constituency. The union involved was Unite.
I saw there the real commitment in the heart of Black Country manufacturing to improve skills and improve chances for the future. I also visited the Union Learning centre at Birmingham NEC and was able to see exactly the value, not only for the unions who were making use of the facility but also for the employers too.
It’s particularly important in the current environment when most of the new jobs are going to require more skills than has been the case in the past. And the number of unskilled jobs is going to decline.
At a moment like this it is absolutely essential that there’s a chance to learn throughout working life. That’s precisely what Union Learning is all about and that’s precisely what Union Learning reps are doing.
That’s why the Government has backed this providing more than £21m for trade Union Learning activities this year – that’s a tenfold increase from when this all started back in 1998.
So the reps, you, are unsung heroes.
Government can provide funds but real effectiveness depends on the enthusiasm in workplaces up and down the country.
That’s not just a verdict from me but from the Ofsted report. It highlighted the success of UnionLearn’s centres and singled out learning reps for their, and I quote, “outstanding peer support’ as “mentors, advocates, negotiators, role models and advisers”.
That was Ofsted’s verdict and I wholeheartedly agree with it. The Ofsted report also showed that employers benefit with improved staff moral, reduced sick leave and staff turnover, fewer complaints and grievances and higher rates of internal promotion.
Now let’s just look at the views of employers some of which are quoted in the Leaders in Learning booklet that you launched today.
Neil Scales, Chief Executive Officer of Merseytravel, says: “We’ve seen some really good outcomes for business…we’ve reduced sick leave by an average of two days a year per employee; we’ve increased motivation; we’ve increased performance; and morale here is fantastic even though we’ve got a turbulent business environment.”
Marilyn Scott, Teeside company Tristar Homes, said: “I’ve worked for the company for 28 years and never had the confidence or the opportunity before becoming a Union Learning rep to do any kind of training…I must say I have got the bug now…I love my job at the moment because my life is very full.”
So from both the employer point of view and from the worker point of view this is hugely valuable and the statistics show it:
- 220,000 workers helped back into learning.
- 2,300 Apprenticeships supported
- 220 learning centres opened or significantly enhanced.
This shows off the really excellent work of unions and their learning reps and I know there are more in the booklet to which I refer.
Now I’ve talked a little bit about the new Department and why we’ve brought that together. But there are three particular points I want to make about learning that I think are essential during these tough economic times.
Firstly, learning has a critical role to play in ensuring that sometimes the hardest to help can climb out of the low paid trap that they’re in and earn a better living. Not everyone has got the time, the confidence, the information or the opportunity to walk into a college and sign up for a course.
Further education colleges do a fantastic job but it doesn’t always work like that.
And the Government has done a number of things to help the lot of the more vulnerable worker.
When we came to office we took a view that statutory rights for people at work were too weak and in some cases not there at all. Think back to that period. No minimum wage, no rights to paid leave, the balance between work and family life all in the wrong place.
Today though, we have a minimum wage that’s celebrated its 10th birthday, maternity rights have been extended and strengthened and overall, people at work have stronger rights and are protected by higher minimum standards.
Now Brendan and the union leaders always pressure us for more, we understand that. And sometimes we’re able to agree and sometimes we’re not. There’s no doubt looking back that the rights of people at work have been significantly strengthened in recent years.
We have also backed good employers by cracking down on these rogue employers who sometimes ruthlessly exploit vulnerable people – paying them less than the minimum wage, denying the rights to which they’re entitled. And one thing I’m clear about, both in my former role as the Minister for Employment Relations and in this role, is that people must not be allowed to neglect their responsibilities and workers must not be denied because they’re in tough economic times.
But rights and responsibilities are only one part of the equation. What we’ve also got to do is give people the skills that they need.
And one of the most pleasing aspects of the work of Union Learning reps was that this has helped more than 33,000 with literacy and numeracy needs.
The Ofsted report also talked about “strong ethos to widen participation and promote social inclusion” with success rates for Asian and Black learners, for example, well above the national average.
So one thing Union Learning reps can do is reach out to those who sometimes, perhaps, have not been helped as much as they should be by the formal education system.
The second point, of course, is that learning and training offers people a second chance in tough economic times.
In the past year we’ve seen employees faced with redundancy or short time working.
From October to December last year the number of redundancies increased more sharply than at in any time in the past 16 years.
Our answer to the recession is different from previous governments. We don’t see our role as simply paying a benefits cheque and leaving people to fend for themselves. That might keep body and soul together but doesn’t, help someone make a new start or give someone a second chance.
No Government can say that we can always prevent unemployment or prevent redundancy from happening. But we can give people a better chance of getting through this by giving them the chance to update their skills. And that’s why, even when finances are tight, we believe it’s important to invest in training. As your leaflet says: “The blunt truth is companies which turn their back on training are two and a half time more likely to fail than companies which invest.”
Train to Gain
So as well as Union Learning, of course, there’s Train to Gain. So far it has reached 127,000 employers and allowed nearly a million people to begin learning. Eighty-nine per cent of new learners said their training gave them skills that would help with current and future jobs.
And again these schemes bring direct benefits to employers. Seventy-eight per cent of employers would recommend Train to Gain to others while sixty-eight per cent reported improved long-term competitiveness.
Now, since January, we've made it easier for Small and Medium-sized firms to access this kind of training provision by including bite-sized qualifications, more funding for second qualifications and an extension of Train to Gain’s leadership and management programme to employers from 5 to 250 employees.
And we will continue to increase the money we’re invested in Train to Gain from next year by investing more than £1bn.
Apprenticeships
Another area I just want to recommend is Apprenticeships. You’ll have seen that we’ve hired Sir Alan and as you would expect that makes us very keen on Apprenticeships. And you'd be right. It’s very important in giving people vital skills to get back into work.
Ninety-four percent of people believe that taking an Apprenticeship has brought them benefits – better job prospects, salaries, confidence, social skills and a stronger sense of direction.
Again employers value Apprenticeships too. A recent survey found that 81 per cent of employers said Apprentices helped to generate higher productivity.
And they are becoming a mainstream option for young people. Now I’ve seen this go full circle. When I was growing up Apprenticeships were there but they were probably in decline. And when I was in my 20s and 30s it seemed that Apprenticeships were almost disappearing.
We have restarted Apprenticeships.
We are very proud we’ve done that – 250,000 expected to start an apprenticeship this year.
And Union Learning Reps play a big, big part in many of the successes I’ve mentioned.
The public sector and organisations in government must also play their part. I now go to meetings with government ministers where we challenge one another on the number of apprentices being hired within government departments.
Lincoln City Council is taking on its first craft apprentices in 20 years.
Training Coordinator Sally Des Forges said: “The apprentice scheme does not only address our requirements: it also aims to help offset a regional skills shortage at a time when the construction industry is suffering the effects of economic downturn.”
So this is a real role to play not only in terms of individual opportunity but also in terms of wider economic need.
And the third point I really want to make on this is that developing world class learning and skills is ultimately the way the country is able to take advantage of the upturn
We are living through nothing less than a new industrial revolution. The economy which emerges from this downturn across the world will look different. And this country will look different from the economy we have today. It’s not simply going to be a case of rewinding the clock to sometime around 2006. The financial sector is probably going to be smaller but will still be a very important part of the British economy.
Representing a constituency in Wolverhampton, I want to see us with a greater emphasis on making things. We are still the sixth biggest manufacturing economy in the world and I believe that we excel in modern manufacturing.
The way that we heat or homes, the way that we transport ourselves, the way that we can produce our goods, is all going to undergo a low carbon revolution.
The countries and the people who can take advantage of the opportunities presented by this change are those who have the learning and skills.
So what you’re doing is absolutely at the centre of the labour market of the future. Both in terms of individual opportunity and in terms of the kind of economy that we will become.
New areas like fuel cells, plastic electronics and Bluetooth technology. Traditional sectors reinventing themselves though ICT software, robotics and materials.
We don’t want to be in a position of picking individual companies who are winners. But as a government, as the department at the centre of this, we have a very clear view that there are areas where we want to see Britain succeed.
Not only low carbon. But communications technologies. Internet technology and broadband are going to be a far bigger part of our individual lives and the economies of the future than has been the case in the past. Again we take an active industrial view in making sure that Britain can take advantage of these opportunities.
And we’ve brought this together in a recent document Building Britain’s Future – New Industry, New Jobs, and that really was the genesis of the marriage between what was the Department for Universities and Skills and the Department for Business and Enterprise. We produced that before the Budget and then thought it made sense to bring these departments together to drive that forward.
So there’s no doubt that this transformation in our knowledge economy will require greater levels of specialisation and skill. And it isn’t just about improving our training. It’s about innovation, creativity, confidence and raw talent to do new things.
So I’m delighted to be here in this group of champions for learning.
That’s what you are, and that’s what the job description is.
Your work is helping to give people hope and get people through difficult economic times.
And from the Government’s point of view we value it and this Government will continue to support it.
But I want you to consider how to do more in the future. How to make the contribution to that industrial revolution some elements of which I’ve set out today.
Because I believe there is a real opportunity here for trade unions to place skills at the heart of what they do as organisations but also to be part of a national conversation about how we make the best for Britain in this.
That’s the kind of industrial dynamism that we’re looking for. And the workforce is absolutely essential to it.
Union Learning is a success story. It’s increasing opportunity for many people and long may it continue.
Thank you.
ENDS
