Ministerial foreword
In today’s global economy Britain must compete through higher levels of skills. We must take advantage of new opportunities, new jobs and new industries and make sure that all the people and places across the country are able to benefit.
In a rapidly changing world, the Government is determined to unlock the talent and potential of all our people. We need to give people the skills that will be required in both today’s and tomorrow’s labour market. That will make British businesses more profitable and will make our society fairer and ensure everyone can gain from future prosperity.
In the past the biggest barrier to full employment was a shortage of jobs, but today and tomorrow it will be a shortage of the right skills that will lie between us and our goal of employment opportunity for all. This paper sets out how we’re going to help people take control of their skills needs, both for today and in the future, and how we will support employers to get the skilled workforce they need.
We will extend the entitlement to Level 3 training for young adults aged 19-25 to the workplace and also look at how everybody can have their own personal Skills Account so that they can get the training that they need and the jobs that they want.
We are developing a new adult advancement and careers service in England, which will provide people with broader advice about how to get on in work in a way that fits in with their lives.
The right skills are crucial to getting people who are out of work into a decent job or to start their own business. And they are crucial to getting a better job too. We have set ourselves the goal of integrating our welfare and skills services so they can respond to the needs and ambitions of both employers and individual people. We will make sure that when people sign on for benefits, they sign up for skills as well. Increasingly, addressing skills needs, where they are preventing someone returning to work, will be an important part of receiving an out-of-work benefit.
At the same time, we’re radically improving how our welfare and skills services are delivered. Every town, city and region has a range of different jobs and opportunities available in its local economy. The problems facing people and places also vary, with worklessness today concentrated in particular neighbourhoods.
So, to provide the best services and to get the best results, we’re devolving much more responsibility to local councils and their communities. People on the ground know how best to meet the current and future needs of local people and the places in which they live. Employers must also be at the heart of this, as they are the ones best placed to identify their own skills needs as well as those in the future.
With this package of proposals we will develop the talents and skills of our people and build stronger foundations for the future success of Britain and her people.
James Purnell John Denham
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