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Government funds to boost workplace skills initiative
Page 8
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Operators in England are to receive additional training funds from the Leitch Implementation Plan. Tim Maughan reports.
A FAR-REACHING government initiative aims to make England a world leader in workplace skills by 2020, and road transport is one of the sectors that will benefit, The Leitch Implementation Plan (which affects only England) will, in part, rely on company bosses to identify weaknesses in the workforce: in turn, money will be made available to ensure staff are given the correct training—it is hoped that this will ultimately boost productivity.
Haulage company owners will be able to pass on their workforce& training needs to Skills for Logistics (SfL), which will advise on how best to put training in place.
Ian Hetherington, SfL's chief executive, recognises that productivity is good in England's road transport sector.
But it could be better: poor literacy and numeracy levels continue to weaken the industry. Some 23% of operators complain they have been held back by low literacy skills, he explains, and there is evidence that this can cause problems at work — warehouse instructions may not be understood, and so on.
Moreover, Hetherington continues, 15% of road transport staff have no formal qualifications.
To date, many operators have been frustrated by the lack of training funds.The Leitch plan seeks to turn this around, by targeting knowledge gaps. Government cash will triple for Level 2 training. that is, five GCSEs or equivalent.
Changes in funding methods are already happening, Hetherington says, although operators can expect to see more significant developments from September 2008 as the plan gains momentum.
Money will go to trainers or operators rather than personnel, says Hetherington. -We 're aiming to launch a campaign to raise awareness of low skills in the industry, and make awareness of the training available."
SfL will field teams of 'skills brokers' to help put tuition in place, with the nine English regions likely to have four brokers each.