Skillset to help UK leather workers
Skillset, currently known as the Sector Skills Council for creative media industries, is to support thousands of UK leather workers, according to Skillfast-UK.
A new deal is about to be signed, under which the UK’s 79,000 fashion and textiles businesses will join Skillset from April 1, 2010. The move is expected to give employers a stronger lobbying voice on skills issues for the future.
Once the final arrangements are agreed, Skillset, which already represents the skills needs of more than 500,000 workers, will have a portfolio of industries that contribute £45 billion to the UK economy each year.
To-date, the fashion and textiles sector, which includes the leather industry, has had its own Sector Skills Council, Skillfast-UK. However, secretary of state for business, innovation and skills, Peter Mandelson, announced on December 15 that Skillfast-UK’s licence to operate will not be renewed when its current contract comes to an end on March 31 next year.
The decision for Skillset to represent the fashion and textiles sector on skills was made by Skillfast-UK’s board, which comprises prominent fashion and textiles industrialists, trade associations and union representation.
Commenting on the new arrangements, John Wilson, director general of UK Fashion and Textiles and board member at Skillfast-UK, said: “The UK is home to some of the world’s best designers and manufacturers, but to retain our position in the face of global competition we need a highly-skilled workforce. More needs to be done to ensure that our schools, colleges and universities produce people with the skills employers need, and for that we need a Sector Skills Council to provide strategic influence at the highest level.
“Skillfast-UK made great strides, but through Skillset, fashion and textiles employers will be able to influence on the skills agenda at a new level. This is a good decision for the industry, and one that we hope employers will embrace.”
