Free Report About Government- Led Skills Development Initiatives

Government- led skills development initiatives

The human resource of any organization has a great impact on the productivity of the institution as well as an impact on the economy. Skilled personnel understand and execute their roles properly thus are able to meet the company’s goals and objectives in a timely manner. The basic education provided at the lower levels of schooling may not be sufficient to cater for the skills demanded at the workplace. This creates a need to train the employees at the workplace so as to develop their skills. Skilled employees are beneficial to the employers because they are able to utilize company’s resources effectively. Training and developing the workforce makes it easier for a company to execute its succession plan effectively. The employees are trained in various fields including ethics, safety, diversity, quality initiatives, human relations and communication. The knowledge they acquire form the training and development programs is helpful in their day to day operation of their workplaces.
In order to enhance the talents and skills of the workforce, the UK government has taken an initiative to ensure that the human resource acquire the right skills for their jobs. The government has introduced lifelong learning initiative to raise the demand for learning using vocational training so as to make the learning process more interesting. Further, the government aims at providing world class training to its citizens so as to make its employees competitive in the job market in Europe and the rest of the world through the initiative. The lifelong initiative also enables people to develop their skills without necessarily having to take courses but they only need to update their current knowledge and skills (Harvey and Harvey 2013). The UK government has realized that the basic education provided in schools is not sufficient for the youth who complete their studies and have to go to the job market.
There is therefore the need to develop their skills so that they are able to transfer the theory they learn in school into practical work. The government has realized that it is important to promote the notion of lifelong learning since learning should not end with the completion of formal education but should be a continuous process throughout one’s life. The government has ensured that its possible for those working for a large organization to request study leave and time to attend training.
The population of UK comprises of very few illiterate adults but there are still a large number of people with poor numeracy and literacy skills. In order to widen the participation of individuals in the lifelong learning initiative, the UK government aims at raising the quality of basic education provided. The government introduced the family literacy program meant to encourage young parents to learn basic literacy. University for Industry is the other initiative that the government has undertaken to ensure that the population improves on their skills. The long distance learning provided by the University for Industry will enable people advance their education level at their workplaces without having to attend classes. The initiative is convenient for people who want to advance the skills in their careers but have no time to attend classes due to their busy schedules.
In the past, the Northern Ireland has been developing its own employment and training programs to meet its economic and social needs. The New Deal, an initiative by the government to promote the acquisition of employment by unskilled and semi-skilled employees covers the whole of UK. The skills funding agent has especially been helpful in ensuring that individuals who wish to advance their education are not restrained by their low financial status. This has helped the young people with low skills and the unemployed adults get employment from various organizations after they acquire the different skills. The fund helps in providing the young people gain skills through provision of traineeships for those who are in not in education, training and employment. The fund facilitates the running of the national apprenticeship service that supports finances and coordinates the delivery of traineeships and apprenticeships throughout England.
Another initiative of developing the skills of the workforce in the UK is the Sector Skill Councils (SSCs). These are employer –led institutions covering specific industries in the UK. The SSCs helps in establishing the apprenticeship standards for the employers. Further, the organizations reduce the shortage of skills in the workforce, increase the learning supply and increase the productivity of the companies through the councils. The government has also introduced a national skills academy to help the youth in career choice in the various disciplines and help develop skills of the employees in various fields through provision of appropriate training. The government’s support for the apprenticeship schemes are meant to improve the skills of the employees by combining both practical and on- the- job training. The apprentices work alongside the experienced employees so that they gain the skills as they work. They are trained in different fields so that one is able to identify their strengths in various fields. The schemes have different levels including intermediate, advanced and higher level thus is able to accommodate trainees at the various levels.
The Train to Gain is another UK government’s initiative to provide vocational training to the employed individuals. The initiative helps individuals who are above 25 years of age and who have not attained a full level two qualifications attain training in various fields. The initiative is a form of training model by the employer in that the employer takes the initiative to train the employees and they consequently gain more productivity. The reason behind the train to gain initiative was to provide skills that match the business needs of the organizations. The identification of skills needs of the organizations involve the identification of skills needs through a collaboration of organizations with the skill brokers. Once the training needs are identified they employees are trained accordingly. This ensures that the employees develop their skills continuously to match the market demand.
The establishment of teaching agencies is another government-leg initiative to promote the skills of its workforce. The agencies are responsible for developing the training developing teachers and leaders by reforming their pay and performance. For there to be quality education and lifelong learning, the quality of basic education is vital thus having trained teachers’ helps in achieving high quality education. The training serves as a motivating tool for the teachers, thus boosting their morale. The teaching agencies ensure that the teachers are well compensated for their services by looking into their remuneration and welfare.
The government has initiated a work based award called the National Vocational Qualifications (NVQs) achieved through assessment and training. The NVQ has five levels that deal with different levels of education and training (Great Britain 2007). Level one focuses on basic education that deals with a routine and predictable work. The second level involves the application of knowledge in varied work activities in various contexts. The third level deals with activities that involve the application of a wide variety of activities that are non-routine. The fourth level involves a broad range of technical and professional knowledge. The fifth level, suitable for the top management, involves the application of a broad range of fundamental principles. Investors in people are another initiative by the UK government meant to improve business through development of the manpower. In order to make sure that the standard of education provided is high the, UK government uses the standards and testing agency and OFQUAL. This is done through regulation of exams, tests and qualifications. The learning direct initiative targets those people who wish to advance their learning through the internet.
The contemporary training initiatives introduced by the UK government have contributed greatly to the success of Rolls Royce Company. By developing the skills of the employees, the company makes a profit through increased sales. The increased sales can be attributed to the customer service training that the employees gain from initiatives such as the Train to Gain and the lifelong learning. The trained employees work well because they feel confident in the activities they do. Training also enables the company to reduce wastage of resources thus it is possible for the organization to meet its targets in time. The customer demands are met since the skilled employees are aware of what the company expects of them .The employees of Rolls Company can acquire skills through the traineeship and apprenticeship schemes making them sharpen their skills by getting firsthand experience with the work. The Sector Skills Council is another contribution towards promotion of employee skills in the company because they have a chance to be trained.
The lifelong initiative promotes the learning process of employees since they take the initiative of learning throughout their lives. The willingness to continuously learn new skills contributes to the success of the organization. The University for Industry Initiative is also a major contributor to the success of Rolls Company because the employees are able to gain skills form the traineeship offered by the employers to the students. They get exposed to the day to day running of the organizations and are able to get experience in different fields.
Conclusively, development of skills and talents of employees is very important in achieving the goals of the organizations. Skilled workforce enables the organizations make maximum benefits through the increased productivity. Apart from the growth of the organization, skilled workforce enables the organizations to create more employment in the country because they are able to set up more branches and product lines. The increased employment level in the economy addresses the issue of poverty as the increased earnings help the individuals afford better living standards. Developing the skills of employees thus contributes greatly to economic development of a nation. In addition, providing the employees with world class training and development makes them able to compete globally for employment opportunities. Therefore, the various initiatives by the UK government are important in ensuring its economic growth.

References

GREAT BRITAIN. (2007). Future of UK manufacturing: oral and written evidence. London, Stationery Office.
HARVEY, B., & HARVEY, J. (2013). Creative teaching approaches in the lifelong learning sector. Maidenhead, Open University Press.