Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills
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Workers benefitting from employers' commitment to training top four million
Skills Minister David Lammy today congratulated Transport for London (TfL) for pushing the number of employees now covered by the Skills Pledge, a key Government initiative to boost the nation's skills, to over four million.
Transport for London becomes the latest employer to commit to giving every one of its 20,000 employees access to high quality training, to develop their skills and work towards a qualification. Nearly four thousand employers across the country have now made the pledge.
David Lammy said:
"Transport for London can be proud of the crucial role it plays in keeping London - and the nation - competitive. Through the Skills Pledge, TfL underlines its commitment to ensuring all its staff have the opportunity to access new training which is relevant to their jobs and particularly important in the run-up to the 2012 Games.
"Every employee has the potential to contribute to business performance and improve standards of customer service, but this potential can only be unlocked if every employee can access high-quality training.
"The Government has made a massive investment in training and skills, ensuring every company and organisation can identify and meet their training needs through Train to Gain, Apprenticeships and through partnerships with education and training providers. So today I am calling on every employer in the country who has not yet done so, to make a public commitment to developing world class skills."
To mark the passing of the landmark four million figure, Mr Lammy met TfL apprentices and staff at the Tunnel Services Building in Wanstead.
Peter Brown, TfL Chief Operating Officer for Streets, said:
"Transport for London remains committed to its role in improving the nation's skills base and helping to ensure London and the UK remain competitive. It is critical that employers put skills at the top of their business agendas and we are working to ensure that staff continue to gain the skills that will enable TfL to deliver major improvements to London's transport system.
"Transport for London is committed to working with its staff to ensure they have the skills and ability to deliver our very substantial infrastructure development programme, including the modernisation of the Tube, preparations for the 2012 Olympic & Paralympic Games and Crossrail. This must all be achieved whilst continuing to carry over 27 million passenger journeys daily on rail, DLR, bus and across London's major road network.
"Successful recruitment, skills training and apprenticeship programmes are helping to maintain Transport for London's outstanding record of consistently delivering major projects on time and budget."
Employers across the UK - not just those in London - need to put skills and training centre stage to make the most of the 2012 Games. The Games are expected to generate around £6bn in business contracts directly, with 75,000 supply chain opportunities creating thousands of new jobs. Although many will be linked to construction and transportation, there are also opportunities in catering, merchandising, media, security and telecommunications. The Government wants to work with employers to help them gain the skills they need to win the work, and published Springboard for Success, an action plan for business, last month.
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NOTES TO EDITORS
Skills Pledge
1. The Skills Pledge is a voluntary, public commitment by the leadership of a company or organisation to support all its employees to develop their basic skills, including literacy and numeracy, and work towards relevant, valuable qualifications to at least Level 2 (equivalent to 5 good GCSEs). For those employees who do not already have a full Level 2 qualification, the Government will provide funding to help them gain basic literacy and numeracy skills as well as their first full Level 2 qualification. Employers may want to undertake a wider organisational needs analysis as the best way to work out how training can support their overall objectives. Other employers may want to go straight to an analysis of training needs or may already know their skills needs and want help in working out how best to meet those needs quickly and cost effectively.
The Skills Pledge was launched on the 14th June 2007 at an event in London attended by Gordon Brown, Alan Johnson, Sir Digby Jones and John Hutton at which 157 employers made their Pledge.
Since the launch take up has steadily increased and data indicates there are almost 4,000 employers who have made the Skills Pledge covering 4.4m employees. For further information visit http://www.traintogain.gov.uk/skillspledge
Learning & Skills Council
2. The LSC exists to make England better skilled and more competitive. The LSC is responsible for planning and funding high-quality vocational education and training for everyone. It has a single goal: to improve the skills of England's young people and adults to world-class standards. Its vision is that by 2010, young people and adults in England have the knowledge and skills matching the best in the world and are part of a truly competitive workforce. Established in 2001, the LSC works nationally, regionally and locally from a network of offices across the country. For more information visit: http://www.lsc.gov.uk.
Train to Gain
3. Train to Gain is a service from the Learning and Skills Council, helping businesses get the training they need to succeed. An important element of the Train to Gain service is skills brokerage that offers free impartial advice, and helps find the best training solution from high-quality and responsive training providers to meet business needs. To find out more call 0800 015 5545 or visit http://www.traintogain.gov.uk.
Apprenticeships
4. Funding for Apprenticeships will increase by almost a quarter between 2007/08 and 2010/11, to over £1 billion. Apprenticeship starts have increased from 65,000 in 1996/97 to 180,000 in 2006/07. They are projected to grow to almost 210,000 by 2010/11. For more information on Apprenticeships, visit: http://www.apprenticeships.org.uk
Springboard for Success
5. Springboard for Success, published by DIUS and DWP on 11 June 2008, illustrates the variety of opportunities for the UK's employers around London 2012 and explains how companies across all sectors can prepare their firms to reap the benefits by participating in Government-backed skills training programmes. For more information visit: http://www.dius.gov.uk/publications/SpringboardForSuccess_web.pdf
Transport for London
6. Transport for London (TfL) employs around 20,000 people.
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