What does the Sector Skills Agreement consist of?
Depending on their geographical location, employers in each area of the UK have a variety of workforce, skills and training requirements. In recognition of this, SummitSkills will produce a Sector Skills Agreement document for each of the nine English regions, as well as one each for Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. There will also be one overarching document to cover the whole of the UK.
This momentous series of documents will shape the direction of sector training for a considerable time to come. The agreement will form the basis of a continual dialogue between employers and Government.
Each Sector Skills Agreement (SSA) consists of five stages that need to be undertaken on the way to a full agreement.
Stage one
Stage two
Stage three
Stage four
Stage five
Stage One: What skills do we have now and need in the future?
This looks at the current skill needs of the sector and each industry, and also tries to evaluate what future skill needs might be. Here we also look at issues such as globalisation and technological changes. The aim is to build a profile of the direction that the sector thinks it is going, the way it wants to go, and the skills that its employees need to get there.
To build this profile, SummitSkills will be carrying out extensive qualitative research with at least 400 employers across the UK, with draft reports due for consultation in July 2006.
Stage Two: What training provision do we have?
Stage two looks at the existing provision from further education colleges and other providers. At this stage we study what training is on offer and, from an employers’ perspective, whether it meets the current and future needs of the sector. This report will impact on the sector being able to directly influence providers. Draft reports from this stage will be due for consultation in July 2006.
Stage Three: Where do we need to improve current workforce development?
Working with employers, trade associations and training providers, SummitSkills will look at the findings so far and begin to formulate strategies and solutions to address the needs highlighted. At this stage employers and partners will begin to work directly with providers to meet their requirements. The reports from this stage will be drafted by November 2006.
Stage Four: How can we work together to address these issues?
In this section of the SSA employers and partners will work with SummitSkills to formulate a plan for assessing how the sector will address skills needs, and what each party can contribute to the plan. This document, among other things, will provide the evidence needed to help persuade government to re-direct funding where the sector needs it and improve training provision. The findings from this stage will be ready for consultation in February 2007.
Stage Five: The final agreement is produced
The final Sector Skills Agreement will take the form of an action plan, which will be owned by the whole of the sector. This document will include a rationale for the agreement, actions to be taken by each of the partners, a quantified output, how the agreement will affect the productivity and competitiveness of the sector and finally an identified measure of agreement’s effectiveness. The final agreement is planned for launch in April 2007.
