City & Guilds creates industry skills board
1 min read
City & Guilds has created an industry skills board made up of leading employers and representation from the TUC, Its aim is to more closely align the UK education and skills with the needs of business.
Kirstie Donnelly, UK managing director of City & Guilds, said: "As skills shortages increase across many sectors, there has never been a more critical moment in time to ensure our young people are prepared for the world of work.
"The industry skills board will influence and ensure the right reforms in apprenticeships take place and more broadly ensure the whole education skills system supports more than one choice for our young people, as well as addressing what employers really need to grow and achieve economic success."
The need to better equip young people for the workplace is why City & Guilds recently expanded its offer for 14-19 year olds with the launch of the City & Guilds TechBac. This is a new curriculum that "provides learners with a professional pathway to their chosen career alongside the technical qualifications and core skills and competencies they need to progress in work".
Donnelly added: "We've long recognised the need for greater employer engagement and interaction in education to help create a system that is more responsive to the skills needs of today's businesses. Despite Government reforms that are putting more power in the hands of employers through programmes such as apprenticeships, there is still a big disconnect between the skills young people are learning in education and the skills demanded by employers.
"We hope this Industry Skills Board will support us in our focus on developing the skills that allow people to progress into a job, on the job, and onto the next job."
