The need for change

No response has been received to date from the Government on the formal expression of interest submitted by the electrotechnical, heating and ventilating and plumbing industries for a joint Sector Skills Council.

It may be a little early given the six week turnaround promised, but this waiting period gives an opportunity for investigation into why the Government is abolishing National Training Organisations (NTOs) in favour of the new Sector Skills Councils.

The Government has issued two guiding documents that give an insight into its thinking: Meeting the sector skills and productivity challenge: building a stronger sector skills network; and in – referring to influence, investment, interested, involved and information. It is to the former of these that we must look for the reasoning.

The title gives the game away. The Government sees the improvement of the UK's productivity as key to the economic and social well-being of the country, businesses in it, and the population as a whole. Without a profitable private sector – and the Government sees an absolute link between profitability and productivity – this will not be possible.

Contractors understand this link and know that productivity is impossible to improve without the main ingredient of business – the workforce. This doesn't only mean operatives, it means everyone involved – from electricians and apprentices to estimators, buyers and anyone else working in the business.

The changes to NTOs are part of a much larger and wide- ranging review of the system for supplying the UK's skills and workforce development needs.

Government feels that the NTO network hasn’t delivered the fundamental changes that were, and will be, needed for a step change in skill levels and productivity

The Learning and Skills Act 2000 introduced the most radical shake-up of education and training for post-16 year olds since 1945. For example, it created learning and skills councils (LSCs), which are responsible for the funding of academic and vocational further education and training outside higher education for post-16 year olds. The LSCs also created business-led Regional Development Agencies to ensure that skills and productivity become the engines of regional and economic growth. In addition, they have charged the small Business Service with targeted support for smaller businesses.

The Government recognises that the UK has strong economic performance with low interest rates and low rates of unemployment, and considers that such benefits have been underpinned by the recent increase in the educational achievement of the workforce.

However, it also knows that the country's productivity is lower than other advanced economies, such as France, Germany, the USA and Japan and that it is patchy, with that in Northern Ireland and Wales lower than in England, and Scotland, the north and south-west lagging behind London, the east and the south-east.

The Government has determined that the key to raising this productivity, and coincidentally the wealth of the nation, is raising the skills of the workforce. It has noted that workforce skills are lower than those in the countries with higher productivity, and that the basic skills of literacy and numeracy of 20% of those in work are lower than would be expected of an 11 year old in school today.

It has looked around for someone to blame for this state of affairs and has focused on NTOs. Not, it must be said, for the lack of basic skills. The Government feels that the NTO network hasn't delivered the fundamental, wide-ranging changes that were, and will be, needed for a step change in skill levels and productivity. Its answer is, therefore, the closing down of NTOs and a complete rethink of the way in which training is to be managed, delivered and organised. Step forward Sector Skills Councils.