Skills development

Skills Development

Developing workplace skills is key to getting the best from your organisation and the people who work for you. Having a commitment to training and skills development can give your organisation a competitive edge and creates motivated and loyal employees. Skills development isn't simply about sending staff on training courses, but involves working towards quality standards such as Investors in People and implementing National Occupational Standards in the workplace.

A number of bodies exist to help you do that such as the Alliance of Sector Skills Councils and the individual Sector Skills Councils with a footprint in the voluntary and community sector. NICVA works closely with these organisations in developing research into skills gaps for the voluntary and community sector but also in addressing some of these gaps within the Voluntary and Community Sector Workforce.

The Alliance of Sector Skills Councils

The Alliance is a new organisation established on the 1 April 2008, comprising all 25 licensed UK Sector Skills Councils (SSCs), the employer driven organisations that together articulate the voice of employers of 85% of the UK's workforce on skills issues. It's core purpose is to:

• Act as the collective voice of the Sector Skills Councils.
• Promote understanding of the role of SSCs within the skills system across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
• Co-ordinate policy positions and strategic work on skills with stakeholders across the four home nations.
• Help build the performance capability of the SSCs, to ensure they continue to work effectively on the employer driven skills agenda.

Sector Skills Councils

Each Sector Skills Council will agree priorities and targets with its employers and partners to address four key goals:

• reducing skills gaps and shortages
• improving productivity, business and public service performance
• increasing opportunities to boost the skills and productivity of everyone in the sector's workforce, including action on equal opportunities
• improving learning supply, including apprenticeships, higher education and national occupational standards

Visit the Alliance of Sector Skills Councils website at www.sscalliance.org more information on the Alliance or go to the individual websites of the SSC by following the links below.

Skills - Third Sector: new third sector skills body (England only)

UK Government Ministers announced on 21 October 2008 that £2.5 million will be made available over the next 3 years to set up a brand new skills body for the third sector, opening up thousands of new learning and development opportunities for people working and volunteering in the third sector across the UK. At present, the skills body is currently limited to England. However, NICVA and its sister councils in England (NVCO) Scotland (SCVO) and Wales (WCVA) are working together to continue engagement in the UK Skills agenda. Skills - Third Sector, the new independent skills body for the Third Sector was established in September 2009. Full details are here.

For further information on NICVA's work contact Úna McKernan, Director of Corporate Services on 028 9087 7777 or una.mckernan@nicva.org