The Skills Pledge and UKSP's Good Employer

Making a real difference

Over a third (34 per cent) of businesses that made the Skills Pledge now have a robust training programme in place. When a business increases its investment in HR, training or people management by approximately 10 per cent, this would result in:

- An increase in gross profits per employee up to £1,568

- An increase in operating profit per employee up to £1,284

In the National Employer Skills Survey 2007, 90% of companies said training had resulted in demonstrable benefits such as increased productivity, improved employee morale, better employee commitment and involvement in the business. It is estimated that skills gaps cost £165,000 every year for a typical company with an average of 50 employees.

Reaping the benefits

Background

Today training is more important than ever. Improving employee skills during the economic downturn is the best way to ensure organisations are as resilient as possible. Also, employers whose employees have the skills to offer high-quality products and services most efficiently will not only be best-placed to weather the downturn, but they can also take advantage quickly when the economy picks up again.

It is estimated that 15 per cent of organisations currently suffer from skills gaps. If we don't bridge these gaps, our economy will shrink and our standard of living will fall. To combat this, we are working with employers, employees and the Government to improve our nation's skills. The Skills Pledge & ‘Good Employer’ aims to achieve a shared understanding of the value of training and encourage businesses to invest in skills accordingly.

The English Government launched the Skills Pledge on the back of the Leitch Review of Skills (published December 2006), which warned that the UK must ‘raise its game’ on skills at all levels, if it is to sustain and improve its competitive position in the global economy.

Skills Pledge

The Skills Pledge is a voluntary, public commitment made by an organisation to invest in the skills of its workforce. It’s a promise that, through training, the employer will work to boost the productivity and efficiency of their organisation and realise the potential of their employees by developing their basic skills and working towards relevant, valuable qualifications to at least Level 2 – the equivalent of five good GCSEs, grades A-C.

However as understanding skills needs and priorities is the key to an organisation’s success, employers are encouraged to up-skill their people to the level required by their industry and their specific organisational needs.

By making the Skills Pledge, employers commit to improving the competence of new and existing staff in line with the needs of their business through skills training.

Good Employer

‘Good Employer’ has been developed by People 1st and its employers in response to the recognition that a fully competent workforce is required to drive productivity, to increase competitiveness and to ensure business sustainability.

Building on the Skills Pledge, Good Employer comprises a commitment tailored to our Sector industries that identifies the key requirements for skills training to ensure sustainability and serves to drive up-skilling across the HLTT sector UK wide.

Good Employer therefore complements and enables the sector to build on the Skills Pledge; employers committing to Good Employer will be expected make the Skills Pledge.

What are basic skills?

Basic skills - the ability to read and write and to use mathematics at a level necessary to function and progress in work and life.

People who can’t read effectively could be at risk because they cannot read Health & Safety requirements or communicate effectively through the ever increasing media of emails and texts. Those with limited numeracy skills could have difficulty measuring or counting and may even find it hard to manage their monthly bills.

Good basic skills are therefore essential to perform a wide range of activities safely and effectively within a workplace and underpin the success of every organisation. Poor basic skills may hamper the sustainability and growth of a business, the quality of its services or products, and affect the ‘bottom line’.

Basic skills are the foundation for further skills development. Considering that 50% of those already in the workforce have poor basic skills and 70% of the workforce for the year 2020 has already left compulsory education, the problem becomes more apparent.

Who can benefit from committing to the Skills Pledge and Good Employer?

The Skills Pledge and Good Employer are aimed at all companies, whatever their size. There is no cost attached; no hidden agenda and they are voluntary. The Skills Pledge and Good Employer aim to give employers a coherent framework for addressing basic skills as well as higher level skills training and complements the work of People 1st and the Sector Skills Agreements.

Why should employers commit to the Skills Pledge and Good Employer?

By committing to the Skills Pledge and Good Employer, employers in England will have access to the £112M that has been identified for the HLTT Sector through a deal secured by People 1st with the LSC and the Government. Employers do not have to commit to the Skills Pledge and Good Employer to access the new flexibilities to the full; but doing so, Employers are provided with a coherent framework for addressing skills gaps.

What are the Good Employer criteria?

The Good Employer criteria are an approach similar to that used by Investors in People as part of its IIP Interactive diagnostic. A less comprehensive tool, however in a similar way it enables organisations to identify strengths and potential development areas.

Can you afford not to be a Good Employer

Click here, the sooner you are signed up, the sooner you begin to benefit.

More information on Skills Pledge?

Click here