Four further Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) have been relicensed, Business, Innovation and Skills Secretary Lord Mandelson announced today, on behalf of the UK Government and the Devolved Administrations.
Sector Skills Councils are employer-led bodies, established to enable employers to exert influence on the UK’s education and skills systems to ensure they meet their needs.
Creative & Cultural Skills (covering the creative and cultural sector), Lantra (covering the environmental and land-based sector), Proskills (covering the process and manufacturing sector) and Skillsmart Retail (covering the retail sector) have been successful in their applications for further trademark licences to operate as SSCs and have gone through a comprehensive assessment process led by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills.
The relicensing process is overseen and managed by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills through a panel chaired by Charlie Mayfield, who is also chairman of the John Lewis Partnership.
Business, Innovation and Skills Secretary Lord Mandelson said: “Sector Skills Councils are the principal mechanism by which employers can exert influence over the UK’s education, skills and training systems. As such, it is vitally important that they operate effectively. The relicensing process has been designed to ensure just this, and the announcement that a further four SSCs have reached the required standards is an endorsement of their effectiveness. The renewal of these licences also gives confidence to the government that each of these SSCs is truly backed by its industry, has the support of employers and is properly equipped to identify the skills needs of its sector.”
The NAO reports and the recommendations of the Relicensing Panel are available at both www.ukces.org.uk and www.nao.org.uk
