Now, the sector has a better chance than ever to influence skills provision and the financial support that comes with it. The government’s original mantra of Education, Education, Education, has now developed into Skills, Skills, Skills. At no time in the recent past has skills been so high on the government’s agenda. But what is needed is employer involvement to take advantage of this new policy outlook.

Sector Skills Councils, such as SummitSkills, have been set up to act as the conduit for employers across the UK to get directly involved, and benefit from, the initiatives in place or in development.

There are two major projects currently taking place that employers and individuals in the sector have the opportunity to shape: our Sector Skills Agreement and 14-19 diplomas.

Sector Skills Agreement

Sector Skills Agreements were devised to meet the government’s policy intention for employers to have a greater say in training the next generation of employees. This being in relation to what is taught, how it is taught, and how training affects and enhances the underlying performance of the business.

In simple terms, the Sector Skills Agreement is a deal between employers, training providers and government. Employers lay out what their workforce and skills requirements are now and in the future. In return, the government and providers agree to fund and deliver training tailored to this need, providing employers are also willing to make a commitment.

Essentially, it’s about getting the right people with the right skills in the right place at the right time.

The Agreement will map out exactly what skills employers need their workforce to have, and how these skills will be supplied. It will also enable the government and all parties within the sector to work together to tackle skills provision.

SummitSkills has been charged to facilitate the Agreement, but the project is signed up to by everyone who supplies, funds and plans education and training.

Step by step

The first two stages of the project will be taking place between now and July 2006.

Stage one is an assessment of current and future skills needs. This means SummitSkills will be carrying out extensive qualitative research around the UK to build a profile of the direction that the sector thinks that it is going, the way it wants to go, and the skills it will need its employees to have to get there.

Stage two looks at training provision across various providers such as colleges and private training establishments. The intention of this stage is to answer: what training is on offer and does it meet the current and future needs of employers? The subsequent report on this issue will impact on the sector being able to directly influence providers.

Following this work, SummitSkills will be working with partners to look at the main gaps and weaknesses in workforce development, liaising with employers to agree to collaborative action, and finally producing an agreement on how employers will work with funding partners to secure the necessary supply of training.

Speak now

The time for feedback is now, as the government is placing great emphasis on the Sector Skills Agreements. Once the strategy developed through the Agreement is rolling, it will be very difficult fundamentally to change its direction.

Businesses in the sector have a very important role to play in providing their views on required skills and committing to action. We hope that as many people as possible will take part in the project development.

14-19 Diplomas

The second project that employers have a chance to contribute to is the new diplomas for 14-19 year olds.

In the 2005 skills white paper, the Government made it clear that it felt new vocational qualifications are not valued or understood by employers and higher education institutions in the way that traditional GCSEs and A levels continue to be.

Diplomas will be a ‘made to measure’ qualification, designed by employers, to provide the best possible workforce of the future. The aim is to provide 14-19 year olds with a new route to both work-based and academic achievement.

Sector Skills Councils are leading the development of the diploma content and requirements, which will be designed to offer young people a programme of applied practical learning, based on future industry needs.

Between now and 2008, five diplomas will be developed and launched. By 2013, nine more will have been introduced into the education system.

Diplomas for our sector

Out of the five diplomas currently being developed, two relate specifically to the building services engineering sector: the Construction & the Built Environment Diploma and the Engineering Diploma.

This major reform of the education system will no doubt have a huge impact on our sector’s employers – diplomas will provide a real material benefit to employers by reducing recruitment and training costs, and staff turnover, as young people come in to the workforce with higher levels of skills and having made better informed choices.

You can make a difference

As one of the principle aims of this reform is preparing young people for the workplace, a major ingredient of developing the diploma are employers – the people recruiting these students.

It’s crucial that businesses who are current or future employers of staff can contribute to the development process, to ensure that views are heard on what shape the diploma takes.

We would like to hear from employers who have an opinion on the development process. Amongst general issues relating to the diplomas, we also are interested to hear views on areas such as:

• What do employers want to put into the diploma? This is your opportunity to define the content.

• What skills do employers rate most highly from an employee?

• What qualifications or training schemes have employers had a good experience with in the past?

This is a rare chance that employers have to influence the content of a diploma that will have a huge impact on their future workforce. Don’t let it go past unnoticed.

For more information on 14-19 diplomas visit www.summitskills.org.uk/14-19.

For more information on the Sector Skills Agreement call 01908 303960.

Skills Minister calls on sector’s employers

Skills Minister Phil Hope MP has called upon building services engineering employers to play a part in the major skills developments taking place in 2006.

The New Year has signalled the start of a host of skills and training projects that the Minister was keen to highlight. In addition to SummitSkills’ Sector Skills Agreement project and developments in 14-19 education, the Worldskills competition and new technology were also included in the call to action.

“The building services engineering sector plays a pivotal role in the UK economy. Developing a demand-led system of skills delivery for the sector calls for the involvement of employers in a wide range of issues,” said Mr Hope. “Crucially, I want to encourage employers to engage with SummitSkills in producing a Sector Skills Agreement to meet priority skill requirements and map the main drivers for change in building services engineering over the next 10 years.

“I also want employers to take the lead, with SummitSkills, in the design of the Diplomas in the Built Environment and Engineering for 14-19 year olds, for delivery in September 2008.”

Skills competitions were also on the agenda following the UK’s bid to host the 2011 Worldskills competitions. “Additionally, I would invite employers to join SummitSkills in supporting the bid for Worldskills 2011, to double-raise the profile of skills alongside highlighting the preparations for London 2012, which will entail an essential contribution from this sector.”

Mr Hope continued: "The impact of technology is another important area for the sector as building services equipment becomes more sophisticated and we consider new energy applications and new materials. Through the Sector Skills Agreement, I want to see the building services sector, as well as updating, adapting and anticipating skills needs, raising the ambition for skills and promoting skills progression to challenge the perception that vocational skills somehow exclude excellence. I am delighted that SummitSkills has singled out career progression to raise skills ambition as one of its five key objectives."

Keith Marshall, Chief Executive of SummitSkills, said: “It is excellent that the Minister recognises and has shown a clear interest in the building services engineering sector. His comments demonstrate to employers the need to contribute to skills and training development. We clearly have Government commitment – what we now must strive for is an equal commitment from employers to take advantage of the influential role they have in shaping the future workforce.”