Skillfast-UK, the sector skills council for the laundry and drycleaning industry, is launching its first big training initiative since it was set up last year.

Sector skills agreements will provide employers with a chance to have a say in the development of skills and training provision for their industry. They are claimed to give employers the best opportunity in ten years to influence the decision makers.

The Government has set an industry training budget of around £140million and the council will be making sure that the money is allocated to the industries it supports, including the laundry and drycleaning sectors.

The right skills

Sector skills agreements are designed to ensure that employers have the right skills to support their businesses and that employees can gain the skills they need both for their current job and for developing a career within the textile care industry.

Research on the project started at the beginning of the year and employers can register their interest in taking part, at the website: www.the bigpush.net, which is due to go live at the end of February.

The site will also report on developments.

During the research stage, Skillfast UK will be talking to employers to find out how current training can be improved and to identify problems such as skills gaps or lack of formal qualifications within the textile care industries. For example, the council can look at whether some of the in-house training schemes could gain official recognition, and therefore the funding needed to develop such training further.

The council has direct links with the Government and will be working with it to fill skills and training gaps within the industry.

Speaking at a recent skills convention, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Ivan Lewis reassured employers: “Whatever the skill needs are that meet the needs of the sector, we will respond appropriately via the Sector Skills Agreement. This really does give us a unique opportunity to re-engineer the way we spend public money on training so that it is spent directly to respond to labour market priorities.”

Presenting the findings

In June, Skillfast-UK will present the findings of its research to employers and set out its plans. Employers will be able to vote on whether they agree or disagree with the proposed action.

Skillfast-UK’s director of workforce development, Chas Hubbard says: “At last, for the first time in 10 years, employers have a genuine opportunity to shape the training provision within their industry.

I urge them to seize this opportunity and to take part as they can be assured that the government is ready to listen and act accordingly.”