Skills plan welcomed

Welcoming the publication of details revealing how the Government intends to respond to the last year's Leitch report and improve the skill levels of UK workers, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said:

'Ministers should be congratulated for drawing up a skills plan that does more than justice to Lord Leitch's original recommendations and which will do much to tackle the problems that low skills create for both employers and individuals.

'The UK's previous focus on skills only ever seemed concerned with what a lack of education and training meant for employers and their productivity. Today's announcement is a real departure in that it recognises that individuals who improve their skills through workplace learning can look forward to rewarding careers and an enhanced earning potential.

'The decision to legislate to strengthen the existing right for adults to achieve the equivalent of a school leaving certificate prepares the ground for the introduction of a legal right to training in three years time, should enough employers fail to give their staff access to learning at work.

'The TUC's learning and skills organisation, unionlearn, will now begin work on a strategy to help unions and union learning reps make the most of these new skills initiatives so that they can reach out to the employees who have yet to experience the benefits of workplace learning.'

Members of the Work Place Learning Centre team are available to provide journalists and media organisations with expert comment on all aspects of learning at work.

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