Semta urges companies to develop workforce skills

Philip Whiteman, chief executive of Semta comments: "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. It is essential for companies to map out how they will develop the skills of their people to achieve their business objectives. There will be less public funding in future so we need to help get real returns on skills investment. "Investment in training needs to provide a bottom line return. Our focus in 2011 will be to work with employers and governments across the UK to ensure a policy focus on science, manufacturing and engineering skills is at the heart of rebalancing the economy. A sector-based approach, delivering practical learning programmes that meet specific company and broader industry needs is the right way to provide real economic benefit and energise people and companies through learning." The Government's recent skills strategy announced funds for 75,000 new adult apprenticeship places per year; good news for Semta's employers, where new technical skills are crucial in filling the skills gaps caused by retirements. But with only 15% of engineering employers currently offering apprenticeships, Semta's innovative approach to apprenticeships will be critical in finding the 10,000 higher skilled employees needed each year between now and 2016.