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Proskills 5th Anniversary
In August 2005 Proskills UK opened its doors as the 24th of 25 Sector Skills Councils (SSC), representing 5 industries (Print, Coatings, Extractives, Glass and Building Products). At the time, London had just been awarded the 2012 games, and despite the terrible impact of the tube bombings in July, there was a mood of optimism. Proskills had to start from scratch by taking over the skills responsibility from 5 predecessor organisations that had had a tough time in agreeing to be part of one SSC. All credit to the staff transferred and the employers who supported it, they worked hard together, focused on the areas of common interest while doing everything to keep the separate industry flavour for employers. It is still an ongoing battle for recognition by Government in four distinct countries and to engage, often skeptical employers, but Proskills now represents 9 industries with Furniture and Paper joining after 2 years followed by Ceramics a year later and wood at the end of 2009, so it must be doing some things right! Proskills now represents 90,000 businesses employing over 900,000 people through a series of industry boards, lead by active employers, trade unions, trade associations and providers.
Government likes to simplify and is influenced by its own agenda so Process Manufacturing tends to get less focus than Engineering Manufacturing (Automotive and Aerospace) and when policy makers think of construction, the fact that glass, brick, cement, wood, ceramics make up the supply chain to construction it is still often forgotten. Increasingly however Proskills, working with the many trade bodies, has been instrumental in building a much higher profile for the sector and there is now activity in all 4 nations to help employers develop skills.
In the background Proskills has developed 322 new National Occupational Standards in areas where none existed for the sector, and updated a further 525, as well as certifying over 3,600 Apprentices and overseeing over 35,000 qualifications. We have carried out extensive annual market research into the skills needs of the sector; without this evidence base government won’t move, so it is vital that it is well regarded. The research has led to industry specific information about skills needs for each of the 9 industries and sector reports for each nation and the English regions. We have identified that even with £300M invested by employers in the sector on training, 78,000 people have definable skills gaps and that the average impact of these gaps is £1200 per person in lost productivity.
The profile of the sector is certainly high in all parts of UK and we punch well above our weight, despite the fact that the sector is so distributed it doesn’t have a critical mass of employers in any one part of the UK (the exception being Ceramics companies in Stoke). Proskills is the lead SSC for Health and Safety and, even though cuts have been deep, work has started to simplify the hundreds of definitions of good practice across the UK in national standards to make it easier, and safer for employers and employees to tackle H&S skills.
On the more public stage 500 companies have so far sign the Sustainable Skills Pledge across the sector and the sign up rate is accelerating. In 2008 Proskills won a budget of £62M, protected for employers in the sector from the Train to Gain flagship programme of the last Government. In the 18 months before the budget was dramatically cut, 541 companies have benefited to the tune of almost £24M of funding support from the Government, for many this is the first and only help that they have had from Government. The result is 16,000 new learners and an increase in the uptake of qualifications in the sector of 33%.
There are areas of exciting new technology growth for the sector, in printed electronics for example and companies are really beginning to see the benefits of lean manufacturing, as well as recognition of their leading role in carbon reduction, but the replacement demand for people is becoming a critical issue with an ever aging workforce. Proskills response is suite of schools programmes designed to teach and encourage young people about the exciting world of the process and manufacturing sector and the career opportunities available. The PrintIT! Scheme, as the first of these, is a totally industry-backed major programme which has engaged more than 100,000 students since its launch in 2005 in understanding print and worked with 1000 schools making it one of the largest schools programmes in the UK.
The latest big step has been the launch in June 2009 of the National Skills Academy for Materials Production and Supply; or the Proskills Academy. Over the years, employers have called for simplification of the skills offer as they have voiced the challenges they have faced to gain easy access to industry-specific, high quality skills training provision. The Academy has been to designed to provide a gateway to quality-assured, industry-relevant skills training programmes and solutions, starting with a management centre to engage those who are skeptical about the return on skills investment and the skills needed to close the productivity gap.
However, despite its achievements, it has been a challenge for Proskills as the sector has often been overlooked by Government and consequently Proskills has continuously tried to “educate” policy makers on the importance of the sector. The new Government is yet to show its hand, but if they do take the opportunity to engage with Process Manufacturing through the SSCs, employers will at last have a voice to influence policy.
“Our role is to ensure that the sector has the skills it needs to stay competitive in global markets as it adopts advanced manufacturing processes, and exploits its expertise in a low carbon economy. We believe that by working in partnership with employers and by supporting them we can help people to build their future in UK manufacturing.” Said Terry Watts, CEO, Proskills UK
“The past 5 years have been a challenge but the rewards speak for themselves. We have achieved some great things and we hope to do a great deal more over the years to come to develop the skills of the UK work base and ensure that manufacturing stays here in the UK. With our knowledge of process manufacturing and the enthusiasm of our employer boards we are well placed to help the Government build out of recession; the offer is already firmly on the table, and then the next 5 years could be even better!”