Current and Future Skill Needs Regional Skills Partnerships in a Global Economy Conference

1. Current and Future Skill Needs Regional Skills Partnerships in a Global Economy Conference 23 June 2005 Reg D’Souza SEMTA Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies 14 Upton Road, Watford, Herts, UK WD18 0JT Tel: 01923 652308 email: rdsouza@semta.org.uk

2. Outline • Role of SSCs • SSA pathfinder report • Priority skills issues from the SSA • Future skills requirements • SSCs and RSPs • Challenges for RSPs

3. Role of SSCs Four key SSC goals: • Improve productivity, business and public service performance. • Increase opportunities to raise the skills and productivity of everyone in the sector. • Improve learning supply, including Apprenticeships, Higher Educational and National Occupational Standards (NOS). • Reducing skill gaps and shortages and anticipating future needs.

4. SSA pathfinder report • SEMTA covers 13 broad sub-sectors • Pathfinder report covers Electronics, Automotive and Aerospace • Marine and Bioscience reports are in progress

5. SSA content The SSA has 5 components: • Assessment of current and future skill needs • Assessment of current provision • Analysis of the gaps and weaknesses • An assessment of the scope for collaborative action by employers • Developing a costed action plan

6. Drivers of change affecting skills • Rapid technological change • Product life cycles • Globalisation of the supply chain • Intensification of competition • Regulation All of the above have led to increased demand for higher-level skills.

7. Issues contributing most to the productivity gap UK compared to US: Working practices such as Lean manufacturing and High Performance Working. UK compared to France and Germany: Mainly due to skills, innovation and investment.

8. Priority skill issues • Management and Leadership • Productivity and Competitiveness • Recruitment and Workforce Development

9. Management and Leadership • Team leaders and front line supervisors, competent in high performance working. • Managers need upskilling in commercialisation, financial management, lean principles and workforce development. • Engineering and science graduates lack employability skills and need work experience

10. Productivity and Competitiveness • New product and process development and implementation (NPPDI) • Supply chain management • Continuous improvement and Lean/Process Excellence

11. Recruitment and Workforce Development Increasing the supply of skills at N/SVQ Levels 3, 4 and 5 by upskilling and recruitment of under represented groups This will allow engineering to: • meet the need to move to higher value products to remain globally competitive • counter the low levels of young people coming into the engineering sector

12. Future skills requirements • Professional engineeringskills– greater demand to meet requirements for NPPDI, supply chain management, lean/process excellence and management and leadership skills • Technician and craft level technical and practical skills - greater demand to meet need for higher value added processes • Operator and assembler skills – less demand due to increased automation and changing technologies • Basic skills – greater demand forbasic literacy and numeracy skills to upskill the workforce to deliver globally competitive work practices

13. Supply side issues • The quality and capability of recruits into the sector • Provision • Key barriers to training and development • Information, Advice and Guidance

14. SSCs and RSPs SEMTA is working with West Midlands RSP: • input into RSP data group • response to Leitch review • manufacturing skills profile • learning and skills balance sheet

15. Challenges for RSPs • Using a data driven approach • Align and integrate training supply with employer demand • Ensure employers understand their future skills needs