What is the Leitch Review?
Background:
The Government commissioned the Leitch Review to identify the UK's skills mix in 2020 to maximise economic growth, productivity and social justice, and to consider the policy implications of achieving the level of change required.
Overview of the long term skills challenge in the UK
- The UK has a strong economy and world leading employment levels, but its productivity trails many key comparator nations; poor skills are a key contributor to this problem as well as having a wider impact on social welfare.
- Over a third of adults in the UK do not have basic school leaving qualification.
- Five million people have no qualifications at all One in six adults does not have the literacy skills expected of an 11 year old and half do not have these levels of functional numeracy.
The Hospitality, Leisure, Travel and Tourism Sector
- Approximately £600 million of taxpayer's money is invested in skills in this sector, however 80% of employers have no idea how to access this funding and only 8% have done so.
- There are 500 qualifications for our industries but employers and individuals do not understand their relevance to careers in the industry.
- Staff turnover is twice the national average and costs the sector £886 million a year.
- 75% of the workforce required for 2020 are already at work, however adult workers are the least likely to receive training.
- --Industry with Government help must refocus on upskilling and retaining its existing workforce, particularly adult workers.
Main Leitch recommendations:
- The role of Sector Skills Councils to be strengthened and empowered in order to:
- Strongly influence the demand for and supply of training
- Reform and approve qualifications, including those devised by employers, instead of QCA
- Only vocational qualifications approved by SSCs should qualify for public funding
- Raise employer engagement and investment in training
- Double the number of apprentices to half a million
- In addition:
- The formation of a new commission for employment and skills.
- Setting ambitious targets for Skills for Life Shift the balance of intermediate skills from Level 2 to Level 3
- A new pledge for employers to train all eligible employees up to level 2 in the workplace and introduce a statutory entitlement if required in 2010.
- Create a new integrated employment and skills service locally.
- Route all adult vocational skills funding through Train to gain and Learner Accounts by 2010
