National Skills Academies, such as the National Skills Academy for Environmental Technologies, have been described as a ‘key instrument in the Government’s agenda to make the UK economy competitive on a global scale on the basis of world-class skills.’
The statement was the conclusion of Creating Better Futures II, the second monitoring and evaluation report which details the National Skills Academy network’s collective accomplishments since the first report in 2010.
The report demonstrates the growth of the National Skills Academies’ reach and depth of engagement with key audiences. There are currently 19 Skills Academies in operation across different sectors of the UK.
Significant progress
Jonathan Ledger, Chair of the National Skills Academy Strategic Network commented: “Creating Better Futures II demonstrates that National Skills Academies have made significant progress in the engagement of organisations, including SMEs, and that employer leadership and ambition has been accelerated as a direct result of National Skills Academy activities.
“Nearly 30,000 organisations have been engaged with a Skills Academy since 2006, 11,000 of these have been engaged since 2010, providing a 60% expansion in just two short years.
“Through the report the network has identified a number of priorities to maximise and add value to the work already undertaken; this includes concentrating on the visibility of the network. This brand is a kitemark of quality that is well known by businesses, providers and government. We need now to promote the brand to individuals so that they can choose providers and courses with confidence.”
The National Skills Academy for Environmental Technologies comprises 23 hubs that each work with partner training providers across the UK to offer industry recognised renewables and energy efficiency training.