Help for firms to compete

Engineering employers joined representatives from Northern Ireland’s government, education and training providers and funding bodies at the Odyssey Arena, Belfast, early in February to learn how new Sector Skills Agreements (SSAs) will help boost their productivity and competitiveness. SEMTA, the Sector Skills Council for science, engineering and manufacturing technologies, and its partner organisation, the Engineering Training Council Northern Ireland (ETCNI), developed the SSAs which cover the aerospace, automotive, electronics manufacture and marine sectors. SSAs are a new form of demand-driven contract signed up to by employers and those who plan, fund and supply education and training. They map out exactly what skills employers need their workforce to have and how these will be supplied, enabling government, employers, employee representatives, funding bodies and supply-side organisations to work to a common set of objectives. SSAs are designed to shape the supply of education and training at all levels to close skills gaps and reduce skills shortages. They will ensure the UK has the skilled workforce it needs to increase productivity and compete globally – now and in the future. SEMTA’s SSAs are the culmination of in-depth analyses of the relevant sectors and detailed consultation with a broad range of employers over the last three years. The agreements have the backing of Sector Strategy Groups whose membership of employers, professional and trade associations and trade unions led their development. Dr Mark Sweeney, managing director of Larne-based FG Wilson (Engineering), a manufacturer of quality generator sets, said: “Education and skills needs of employers are at the heart of the SEMTA/ETCNI Sector Skills Agreements. These agreements will provide the platform to deliver enhanced benefits in terms of quality, productivity and competitiveness for our company and for the wider engineering manufacturing sector across the whole of Northern Ireland.”