2. Skills for Business: A Sectoral Approach to the Identification of Skill Needs in the UK Dr Vicki Belt Senior Research Adviser, Sector Skills Development Agency Systems, Institutional Frameworks and Processes for Early Identification of Skill Needs International Conference 25th-26th November 2004, Dublin, Ireland

3. The Context The UK productivity gap
GDP per hour worked is estimated to be:
9% points below the EU average
16% points below the USA
(Source: O’Mahoney and van Ark, 2003)
Sectoral differences in productivity and performance
UK performing above average EU in 16 sectors
But below average in 37 sectors
(Source: Groningen database)

4. The Importance of Skills
Skill deficiencies in the UK labour market
Skills shortages and gaps
Uneven distribution of skills
Making the links between skills and performance
Training rates/investment
Higher level skills
High performance workplaces
Benefits for the individual as well as business/economy
Economic change: the skills implications

5. The Skills for Business Approach
Demand-led
UK-wide remit
Opportunities for all
Employer engagement
Sectoral focus
A network of Sector Skills Councils (SSCs)
The Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA)
The Skills for Business Network
…Working together to improve learning supply and skill utilisation - ultimately impacting on UK economic performance

6. Identifying Skill Needs: Research Remit
Clear, accurate articulation of employer’s skill needs by sector
Collation and development of high quality sectoral labour market information
Nationally
Regionally
Internationally
Cross-sector/generic skills research
Drawing effectively on existing data and research
Working in partnership
Evaluation or “what works”?
Making the business case for investing in skills

7. Sector Skills Agreements (SSAs)
Compacts between SSCs, employers, training providers
Objective to ensure that ‘the skills the sector needs are the skills the sector gets’
Key aims:
Bringing provision in line with employer demand
Improving entry level and employability skills
Raising employer commitment to skills
Consists of 5 linked stages
From initial skills needs assessment to final action plan

8. Sector Skills Agreements
Stage 1: The Skills Needs Analysis
The foundation stone of the SSA
High quality, authoritative assessment of a sector’s skill needs
Forward-looking
To cover four key components:
What drives skill demand?
Current skill needs
What lies ahead?
Geography
Drawing on mix of:
Existing data sources
SSC’s own primary research

9. Some Issues and Challenges
Avoiding duplication of effort in research
Ensuring consistency in the use of LMI
Dealing with areas of shared interest or ‘overlap’ between sectors
Representing the needs of sectors where there is no SSC
Integration of Skills for Business within the existing institutional system within the UK
Nationally
Regionally