Skills
Both locally the UK is facing a serious skills deficit and the statistics paint a worrying picture.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) states that the UK ranks 13th out of 22 countries in the numbers leaving education with poor qualifications.
Only 44 per cent of school leavers gain five GCSEs at grade A* to C including English and maths. The UK also has one of the lowest rates of post-16 participation in education in the industrialised nations (75 per cent).
A recent BCI survey found the availability of trained, skilled staff is the second most important issue facing business today, after employment legislation.
Business Impact
Skills shortages in the West Midlands are and will directly affect the productivity and bottom line of businesses. This is mirrored in a recent BCI survey where 92 per cent of respondents thought the skills levels of their employees were crucial to the success of their business.
The demand for skills will continue to increase and employer attitudes towards skills needs to change and business needs to start taking advantage of opportunities that exist to up-skill their staff.
Chamber Position
The policy department produced a Skills Agenda Report in June 2006 which makes recommendations on how the Chamber can ‘add value’ to the existing initiatives in the region. The report also summarises the relevant government legislation over the past three years and identifies current legislation where the Chamber may have some influence.
Birmingham Chamber supports the current work of organisations dealing with the skills agenda in the region, such as the Learning and Skills Council and Regional Skills Partnership. The Chamber wishes to now ensure that the existing activities and efforts are coordinated and joined up and that effective solutions and strategies are used to solve the skills agenda.
If you would like to find out more about the opportunities that exist to up skill your workforce or you would like to find out more about what the Chamber is doing in the skills agenda and how you can get involved contact Kiran Virk on 0121 454 6171 ext 1781 or email k.virk@birminghamchamber.org.uk
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