As the year draws to a close, the government, under Lord Mandelson’s leadership, has published its new skills white paper, Skills for Growth. It outlines plans to address current and future skills issues as part of Britain’s move to grow out of the recession. It has been produced in the context of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills’ Ambition 2020 skills document, and in fact around 90% of the UKCES’ recommendations can be found in the white paper, giving momentum to some of the proposals outlined.

Positively, Skills for Growth is very supportive of the strong role that the re-licensed Sector Skills Councils have. The strategy states that an “employer-driven system is essential if we are to address current and future skills issues”. This is encouraging, as you know we are committed to ensuring the future success of our sector – we are vital in so many ways to the health, prosperity and quality of life for everyone in the UK. However, we are yet to see policies truly reflect the needs of our sector, and there are various question marks around the detailed recommendations put forward.

The problem is, this is an overarching strategy and, despite referencing Sector Skills Council’s, doesn’t reflect any sector-specific differences. A few highlights reveal the government recognises that ‘it is as valuable for a young person to gain a good technical qualification through an Apprenticeship as it is to go directly into university’, and I agree. However, if this approach is going to have an impact, Apprenticeship legislation needs to support the development of frameworks that work for our sector. As a sector that doesn’t have a long tradition of Apprenticeships, we have worked hard with you, the employers; to develop the right frameworks. In fact, we boast record figures of completions annually and have already issued over 4,000 certificates so far this year.

Equally, it is encouraging that the government ‘set a bold new ambition for the higher education and skills systems – that three quarters of young people should participate in higher education or complete an Advanced Apprenticeship or equivalent technician level course by the age of 30’. This highlights the need to develop high level skills as we come out of a recession, however we would question the benefit in such a large number of individuals studying for degrees without the courses on offer appropriately preparing graduates as ‘job-ready’.

Our sector doesn’t necessarily need a degree as an entry level requirement. It’s the technical, job-ready skills that employers want. We also question a move for such a high level of Advanced Apprenticeships due to the availability of places to train and currently the employment opportunities. That said; we do look forward to working with employers, FE and HE to explore this proposal and find a way to make it work for us.

Other challenges include the move toward a digital Britain and a low carbon economy. The white paper states this approach will take us out of the recession. This in itself poses us a challenge. We must continue to demonstrate the vital role our sector plays in the economy, the physical activity agenda, and the health and well-being of the nation, and not get overlooked within this new approach.

The commitments outlined in the paper are a start, a platform to build on, as long as the government continues to recognise that a sector approach to tackling skills challenges is the right one. One thing is sure; as we approach a general election, the white paper puts skills firmly at the centre of political debate. This recognises their importance to the future of the UK. 2010 promises to be an interesting year.