28 January 2008
Gordon Brown has set out plans to enable a major expansion of apprenticeships which, alongside tough new reforms of welfare policies to encourage the inactive to get new skills, will help equip Britain for the challenges of the future.
Read the transcript
I am delighted to join you today to celebrate the achievements of employers up and down the country as we make a reality of our shared vision — a vision of a Britain equipped with the most highly skilled workforce in the world.
And I am pleased to have the opportunity to be here with the new Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell and the Skills Secretary John Denham to talk to you about the next steps we must take:
- to reform our welfare system and help move more benefit claimants into work;
- to ensure British young people and adults have the best skills for the new jobs of the future;
- and to give everyone in employment the chance to make the most of their potential - including through an unprecedented expansion in apprenticeships.
Over the last ten years we have worked - government and business together - to strengthen our economy, to create jobs, and to upskill our workforce. And because of the New Deal and other policies we have put in place 1 million fewer people are now on out-of-work benefits, 2 million adults have improved their literacy and numeracy, and almost 3 million more people are in jobs today than in 1997.
But you, more than anyone, understand that in the new global economy, Britain’s future depends on doing even more to increase in the skills of our people — the importance of constant reskilling so that we can successfully compete with the best in the world.
I recently returned from China and India. And, as for anyone visiting those countries today, it has real impact to see at first hand just how vigorous their commitment to raising skills is: how they are now turning out 5 million graduates a year - 150,000 computer scientists and 200,000 engineers - but Britain only 400,000 graduates in total.
And it is more obvious to me than ever that globalisation rules out Britain competing on low pay against countries where the unskilled are paid only 5 per cent as much as unskilled workers here — and when our social security benefits alone are ten times the pay of that Asian worker.
Instead, I know - as you do - that Britain’s imperative, and our opportunity, is to compete in high valued added services and high value manufacturing. And that requires us to upgrade and upskill and to do it now - unlocking not some of the talent of some of our people but all of the talent of all of our people.
A generation ago, a British Prime Minister had to worry about the global arms race. Today a British Prime Minister has to worry about the global skills race —— because the nation that shows it can bring out the best in all its people will be the great success story of the coming decades.
So it is time for a wake up call for young people, employees and employers —- that we now summon ourselves to a new national effort and mobilisation to win the new skills race.
Let us face facts:
The latest studies suggest that of today’s 6 million unskilled workers in Britain we will soon need only half a million - over 5 million fewer. And that whilst we currently have 9 million highly qualified workers in Britain, the challenge of the next yen years is that we will need 14 million - 5 million more.
So the biggest barrier to full employment is now not the shortage of jobs but the shortage of skills among the unemployed and inactive.
The biggest barrier to Britain’s success in the jobs of the future: a skills deficit particularly amongst the low paid.
That is why I have asked James Purnell - working with John Denham - to make this his top priority in the months ahead.
We know that what is needed to unlock the talents of every person in our country is a more personalised approach — identifying the specific circumstances of those out of work and those without skills so that they too can be part of a Britain of opportunity. And we can’t do this without the involvement of you - Britain’s employers.
You know the skills your workforce needs to respond to the economic and technological challenges of today.
You know that to get the best out of your employees you must give them opportunities to realise their potential.
And many employers are already doing a huge amount to bring out the best in their people — recognising that it is your workers who will be the drivers of your profitability.
So today I want to outline a new deal between employers and Government to deliver the changes we want to see:
- The Government putting new duties on individuals to get the skills they need and to look for a job. You helping us match benefit claimants with the jobs you have on offer;
- The Government offering a credit of at least £3,000 to help cover the costs of an apprentice. You offering more apprenticeship opportunities in your businesses;
- The Government giving you a bigger role in directing skills budgets and the chance to develop your own accredited qualifications. You continuing to improve and expand workplace training.
Our first priority is to move welfare claimants from passive recipients of benefit to active job and skill seekers and to match the talents of those on the dole to the needs of local employers.
Britain’s problem in 1997 was lack of jobs.
Today, with 600,000 vacancies - many of which need skilled people - the problem is lack of skills.
So British unemployed and inactive men and women should have a skills check - and to make sure Britain raises its education and skills game to world class, James Purnell will intensify welfare reforms to include compulsion for the unemployed and many inactive men and women not just to seek work but to acquire skills.
400 major employers - many of them here today - are already signed up to Local Employment Partnerships — working with Jobcentre Plus to prepare benefit claimants for specific jobs in the local labour market. I urge many more of you to fill your vacancies in this way. And to strengthen business involvement even further, participating employers will have the right to advise on the pre-employment training that Jobcentre Plus are providing to potential candidates.
We know that the biggest success stories are where mentors, coaches or role models have persuaded people to move from inactivity to work or to improve their skills — that where one-to-one help is given it can make all the difference. And it is often the private or voluntary sectors - not government - who are best placed to provide this kind of support.
So building on the recommendations of David Freud, we will contract with new providers and incentivise them to find innovative ways of helping the long term unemployed and those outside the labour market to move into work.
Reinforcing this personalised approach will be stronger rights and responsibilities for benefit claimants — new incentives for training but in return more compulsion to take up those opportunities.
So if the unemployed don’t train when given the opportunity it will affect their benefit entitlement.
We want lone parents on benefit to be training in preparation for going back to work when their child goes to school.
And there will be a new regime for Incapacity Benefit claimants which, for the first time, will mean work for those who can, education or training for those with no skills, and treatment for those who need medical help.
Preparing Britain for the future means not just engaging the 4 million unemployed and inactive but also preparing every young person for the world of work.
So today I want to set out new challenges for the future of our workforce - our young people.
Today’s unskilled young people will be unemployable tomorrow unless they acquire skills. And again, the role of employers is at the heart of our approach.
After discussions with you we are raising the education and training leaving age to 18.
We are re-vitalising work-related education with new diplomas that will give young people the skills employers ask for.
And we are announcing today plans to achieve a radical expansion of the training that best equips young people with the skills employers want - apprenticeships.
Since 1997, we have seen the number of people starting apprenticeships more than double to over 180,000 each year.
And whereas five years ago, less than 1 in 4 of those starting an apprenticeship place went on to complete it. Today, nearly 2 in 3 complete their course.
There are now apprenticeships in computer game testing, broadcasting, film and video, hospitality and catering - with companies like the BBC, Vodafone and Tescos taking part.
And new and innovative schemes are being introduced every month - the Royal Opera House and the National Trust now signed up to offer places.
But we cannot simply sit back and congratulate ourselves on that success.
It makes economic sense to expand apprenticeships even further to make use of all the skills available. And taking on apprenticeships is also in the interests of employers - making it cheaper and easier to recruit and develop good people with the skills you most value.
So the Secretary for Skills, John Denham, and the Secretary for Schools, Ed Balls, are today launching a major set of reforms to make it easier for you as employers to offer apprenticeships.
Today, less than one in fifteen of 16 to 18 year olds is on an apprenticeship. Our goal: that within the next ten years, 1 in 5 young people can get on an apprenticeship.
Today nearly 70 per cent of 16 to 18 year olds go to school, university, college or join an apprenticeship - a figure that has risen by 7 percentage points since we came to power.
But with the raising of the education leaving age, 100 per cent of young people will now stay in learning until they are 18, so that thousands more will be qualified for university, college, or skilled work.
While the number of people starting an apprenticeship has more than doubled since 1997, still only 10 per cent of employers have apprentices. I want to extend this. So today I am calling on the employers who do not take on apprentices to become trainers of young people.
The best employers do brilliantly.
BT - for example - have 75 applicants for every apprentice they take on. Ericksson - the telecoms firm - recently advertised for 4 advanced apprentices and received 250 applications.
But the chance of getting an apprenticeship in those firms is less than the chance of getting accepted at Oxford or Cambridge universities.
So I want the best firms to train more apprentices and we will give new incentives for them to do so. And I want open national access for apprentices just as there is for university places for applicants - young people in any part of the country to be linked up to the apprenticeship that meets their needs.
I understand the special challenges facing small companies and we will introduce special incentives for small employers to take on apprentices and ensure that they complete their certificates.
A new ‘matching service’ will link potential apprentices with employers offering places right across the country.
And we will now also offer a credit of at least £3,000 to cover the costs of training, give support for larger companies to train apprentices for smaller companies in their supply chains, and reform preparation courses so apprentices are ready to start making an effective contribution on their first day in the workplace.
So the message goes out - if you want to train for a skill in any part of the country we will help you.
Our first step is to get 90,000 more young people taking part in apprenticeships by 2013 - when a new legal entitlement to an apprenticeship place for suitably qualified young people will come into force. Together with opportunities for those in their twenties and older, this will mean 220,000 people starting an apprenticeship each year overall.
And I am asking schools to join us in a ’sign up to apprenticeship’ campaign.
Today fewer than 10 per cent of apprenticeships are offered by the public sector and only the military are making a significant contribution.
I want to see apprenticeships expanded in services from nurseries and playgroups to caring for elderly people.
So I am asking every Whitehall Department to come forward with plans for expanding apprenticeships, and I want to break down any barriers that stand in the way of hiring apprentices and training them up in the public services.
And we should extend the range of apprenticeships.
In future they will include environmental technologies, new media and the creative industries.
And as we invest in the major infrastructure projects like Crossrail, in renewable and nuclear energy, in building new homes, and in preparing for the Olympics, we will expand apprenticeship opportunities in those areas too.
Today over 80,000 apprentices are girls but it is still unusual for girls to do apprenticeships in engineering and construction.
Young women should be encouraged to become apprentices.
And we need more role models of apprentices for girls to look up to.
But let me say this: I do not believe that we should price apprentices out of the market with unaffordable wage levels. Apprentices have a lower minimum wage because they are still in training. The TUC must recognise that we must not move the apprenticeship away from what it is - potentially the best vocational training for work and a career, raising the young person’s prospects of earning a higher wage just as it boosts the employer’s productivity.
Mobilising to make apprenticeships work as we also expand college and university is at the core of a better economic future for Britain.
Without this mobilisation British workers will lose out when new jobs are filled by employers. Instead I want British young people to have the skills to acquire the new jobs we need.
And because in today’s race for skills, we should not expect education or training to stop once people have completed their apprenticeship or moved into their first job, we also need to give everyone in Britain the opportunity to develop their skills throughout their careers.
Employers are already leading the way - and we approve of work-based qualifications.
That is why the Government is investing £1 billion over the next 3 years in ‘Train to Gain’, the national skills service providing advice and skills brokering to employers.
Where that funding goes will now be decided by you, financing courses you say are valuable.
And because too often the training you have done has not been recognised either for their benefit or the benefit of your workforce, we are developing new ways to accredit it so that the good training you offer can lead to nationally recognised qualifications.
This plan to designate employers who can award qualifications shows our total commitment to giving every worker in Britain the chance of a skill. These work-based qualifications independently validated are good for the country as well as the individual and could lead to thousands more workers qualified for the future.
And in return we want more employers to sign up to the voluntary skills pledge - joining the 850 who have already made a public commitment to actively encourage their employees to improve their skills and gain new qualifications.
So this is my proposal today: a new partnership between government and employers to create a Britain of opportunity where everyone can make the most of their talents. A new commitment to take the tough long term decisions to create the skills and welfare system we need.
And I believe this is the only way we can prosper and succeed in the modern world:
- the only way individuals will be able to fulfill their potential
- the only way we can successfully meet and master the challenge of globalisation to the benefit of us all.
delicious
digg
facebook
