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Stephen Timms MPLaunch of the National Skills Strategy |
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Firstly, my thanks to Ivan for inviting me to take part in this event, and to Ivan and his Department for involving us so fully in the work of developing the National Skills Strategy. I am particularly pleased as MP for East Ham to be taking part today and I have none of Ivan's reticence on London. I am very glad to be sharing this problem with George Barlow from the LDA and I apologise that I am under strict instructions to leave by 9pm. The goals of my Department are around improving the country's science and engineering base, developing an enterprising society, and ensuring sustainable improvement in the economic performance of London and of all the English regions. Progress on skills will be key to achieving those goals as we promote excellence in the science base, encourage innovation and support entrepreneurship. The evidence is that we have made some progress on skills, but that lingering weaknesses on skills are still acting as a brake on UK performance. We need to raise levels of employer investment in skills and training, and encourage businesses to use skilled people more effectively. We want to ensure that more businesses are better informed about the opportunities available to them for investment in skills, and that they commit those investments as part of their overall business strategy. We want more businesses to tell providers what their skills needs are – to improve the quality and the responsiveness of training and education. The Small Business Council called recently for an education system that delivers "employment ready" students. We recognise that we aren't there yet. Ivan and I worked closely together in proposals for 14-19 education when I was at DfES, and that is an aspiration that in Government we all share. The new network of Sector Skills Councils will help us to understand sectors' skills and education needs. The Councils will be employer-led organisations, representing large and small businesses alike, that will be able to inform and influence, through their dialogue with government, the agencies and learning providers. We want employers to identify their skills needs and the Councils to act as "catalysts for change" in reducing skills shortages and anticipating future needs. I want to emphasise that, along with the TUC and CBI, we see management and leadership skills as vital to improved performance. The Council for Excellence in Management and Leadership has reported recently on what we can do to raise our skill levels in these areas. There are many outstanding examples of excellent management and leadership in the UK, but, in this area as in others, published Competitiveness Indicators suggest perceptions of management quality as a whole in the UK compare poorly with many other developed countries. In response to the CEML report, we are working across Government to put in place a strategy to improve management and leadership skills. In the DTI, we have focused particularly on the need for the supply of skilled scientists and engineers to create new products and services. Business services and construction face the most pressing skills shortages in London, and it is in the supply of advanced IT skills that those shortages are most acute. Technical skills are essential to productivity right across the economy as well as to what is traditionally seen as their home in manufacturing and construction. We have supported establishment of the Engineering Technology Board, which is focusing in particular on the supply of people with technician and intermediate skills. The announcement, following the spending settlement in July, of new targets for greater take-up of Modern Apprenticeships and improving vocational routes for young people will also help. We are also jointly taking forward the key recommendations of Sir Gareth Roberts' review on the supply of scientists and engineers. This supports initiatives to encourage enterprise and financial literacy at a young age, through the promotion of science, technology, and mathematical skills as precursors for careers based on innovation and entrepreneurship. The countrywide network of 53 Science, Engineering and Technology Points, or SETPoints, delivers assistance to teachers to encourage young people to take an interest in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths by setting those subjects in the context of the work. SETPoints also deliver the Science and Engineering Ambassadors programme, which encourages young people already in a science-based career to visit educational establishments to promote their disciplines as an exciting choice of career. We need to keep the mechanisms for business support under review to ensure relevance and value for money. The Small Business Service works to ensure that the skills programme meets the needs of smaller enterprises. The Small Firms Initiative will encourage small firms to invest in business development strategies through working towards the Investors in People standard. Business Link operators also provide guidance on a wide range of training and development opportunities. We have seen sufficient evidence to be convinced that our joint working with the other departments can "add Value" to the skills agenda and so increase productivity and boost economic development. I hope we can all work together to that end and I welcome this summit wholeheartedly. |
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Other speeches by Stephen Timms MP
(the following are available from the archive) |
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