Employers in the UK are reporting significant skills shortages within their own workforce and from the pool of labour from which they recruit. This is having a detrimental effect on UK businesses, hindering their growth, productivity and profit levels making the country less competitive in the global market.
Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) are critical in overcoming these issues. They are the key link between employers in each part of the economy and the education and training systems. Through their research on employers' needs, they provide vital intelligence to help ensure that learning provision and qualifications meet the evolving needs of business and of a dynamic labour market. They have a key role in encouraging employers to take an active part in driving up the skills of their workforce.
Sector Skills Councils work with:
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with businesses – to enhance production and ensure profitability
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with employees and volunteers – to improve skills and advance careers
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with students, school-leavers and sector newcomers – to help them train for the job they want, and find their way successfully into the sector.
Sector Skills Councils responsibilities include:
- raising employer engagement, demand and investment in skills and development
- collating and collecting sectoral labour market data
- developing standards and ensuring that qualifications meet employer needs
Together, the SSCs cover approximately 90 per cent of the UK workforce.
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Many Sector Skills Councils are experiencing an influx of overseas workers. Therefore, it was Lantra's intention to develop a coherent understanding of the issues concerning migrant workers and investigate appropriate support mechanisms for overseas workers and their employers spanning all sectors.
A group of twelve Sector Skills Councils has come together to form a migrant workers group, led by Lantra, to look at the skills needs in relation to migrant workers and the businesses employing them. The group comprises of the Sector Skills Councils listed below. Some of the Sector Skills Councils have dedicated website pages to provide employers with industry specific information in relation to migrant workers. By clicking on the relevant Sector Skills Council, you will be directed to their websites.
The Sector Skills Councils migrant workers group is one of a number of the Alliance of Sector Skills Councils spanning across sector groups. The group works to:
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develop and exchange information across Sector Skills Councils and provide a strategic overview
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act as a key contact for Government departments and agencies across the UK, including the Migration Advisory Committee
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advise Sector Skills Councils, through their research newtwork, an research requirements
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advise stakeholders on appropriate policies and workforce development interventions.
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The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) was set up to provide transparent, independent and evidence-based advice to the Government on where shortages of skilled labour can sensibly be filled by immigration from outside the European Economic Area (EEA).
The Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) is made up of the chair and four other independent economists, the Commission for Employment and Skills and the UK Border Agency also have representation on the committee. The committee is a non-statutory, non-time-limited non-departmental public body, sponsored by the UK Border Agency of the Home Office.
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