Helping individuals and employers to get the skills they need
Recent evaluations of the service show that both employer and learner satisfaction with the service is high. Seventy-eight per cent of employers who had taken up training through the service would recommend it to other employers, and 82 per cent gave an overall satisfaction score of eight or more out of ten. Seventy-seven per cent of Train to Gain learners were 'extremely satisfied' or 'very satisfied' with their Train to Gain experience, and 69 per cent of those who had completed their training wanted to do some further learning.
Employers also reported positive impacts on business performance: 51 per cent reported some increase in staff productivity, 42 per cent reported an impact on the bottom line, 25 per cent said that the training had supported the introduction of new products or services, and 22 per cent said absenteeism had reduced.
We're also going further to make sure training fits with what employers want. We're reforming vocational qualifications to make them more flexible in their content, size and delivery. Responding to earlier feedback, bespoke training delivered by an employer can now be accredited and nationally recognised and in some cases may attract public funding.
For example, Network Rail is now officially accredited to award successful learners accredited qualifications designed specifically for its business needs, from mandatory safety and technical competencies, to management and leadership skills. In addition to involving the whole Network Rail workforce of 33,000 people, Network Rail plans to offer bespoke training for contractors and other stakeholders within the rail sector.
We're also encouraging more employers, including local authorities and public sector employers like NHS trusts and colleges, as well as third sector organisations, to make the Skills Pledge; a voluntary public commitment to support their employees to improve their skills and gain new qualifications. Train to Gain can provide support and advice to enable organisations making the Pledge to meet their commitment. To date over 3000 employers have made the Skills Pledge covering nearly four million workers.
At a national level we have set up the new UK Commission for Employment and Skills. The UK Commission is led by business people and will advise the Government on how the employment and skills system can be simpler, better integrated and can deliver the skills and jobs needed to succeed in the 21st Century global economy. It will also oversee the reform and relicensing of an empowered network of Sector Skills Councils that will help deliver the skills employers need now and for a changing economy.
Part of simplification is ensuring we have a direct way of intervening to meet skills needs including pressures and bottlenecks in particular sectors. We will work with employers in key sectors to understand and meet their future skill needs better.
Through Sector Compacts we are tailoring the Train to Gain offer to ensure that it meets the skills needs of the employers in each sector. We ask employers for a renewed commitment to workforce development by increasing the number of people with the skills to succeed in the jobs of the future. We have agreed the first Compact and are currently negotiating several more for announcement shortly with sectors that will contribute to a high skill, modern economy, driven by talent and innovation. During this process we will also consider how we should direct longer-term capital investment in skills infrastructure to meet future need.
The introduction of demand-led funding for training and skills provision has placed genuine purchasing power in the hands of customers - the learner and employer - giving them the choice to determine what training they want, and where. Colleges and providers will therefore be increasingly responsive to employers and learners, delivering the range of skills and qualifications they need, both now and in the future.
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