Sector Skills Councils
SSCs are state-sponsored, employer-led organisations that cover specific economic sectors in the UK. They have four key goals:
- to reduce skills gaps and shortages
- to improve productivity
- to boost the skills of their sector workforces
- to improve learning supply.
SSCs achieve these aims by contributing to the development of National Occupational Standards, the design and approval of apprenticeship frameworks, brokering Sector Skills Agreements and creating Sector Qualification Strategies (SQS). The current SSCs cover about 85 per cent of the workforce. SSCs are licensed by the Government through the UK Commission for employment and skills (UKCES).
The Sector Skills Council Alliance was created in April 2008. The full extent of the Alliance’s scope will develop over time, but its core purpose is to:
- promote understanding of the role of SSCs within the skills system across the four home nations
- co-ordinate policy positions and strategic work on skills with stakeholders across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
- help build the performance capability of the Sector Skills Councils, to ensure they continue to work effectively on the employer-driven skills agenda http://www.sscalliance.org/
Sector Footprint
Every SSC has a "footprint". This footprint defines which areas of industry each SSC covers. For example SEMTA (science, engineering and manufacturing technology cover the following areas within their footprint:
- aerospace
- electrical engineering
- electronics
- mechanical engineering
- motor vehicles
- shipbuilding
- biotechnology
- nanotechnology
- mathematics
- forensic science
Sector Skills Bodies (SSB)
Sector Skills Bodies (SSBs) are employer led organisations responsible for identifying and representing the skills needs of the sector they represent. These include:
- Sector Information and Research
- Developing and maintaining National Occupational Standards
- Qualifications Strategies
- Learning Frameworks
Business sector SSBs support the skills needs of close to 5 million workers, some 15% of the workforce, across a range of significant industries ranging from beauty therapy to security. Cross sector SSBs are responsible for skills needed in almost every business in the UK such as administration, management, accountancy and health and safety.
Many SSBs contract with the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) and other Government agencies for work in these areas and have to meet the same quality criteria as Sector Skills Councils. Alliances are being formed between individual SSBs and Sector Skills Councils to improve coherence and to ensure that all employers’ needs are included in Government skills initiatives.
The SSB Group aligns with the Sector Skills Council Alliance where possible to develop coherent multi-sectoral and whole-economy approaches to skills development.
If you would like to know more about ways in which Agored Cymru works with SSCs please contact a member of the Business Development team.
