City & Guilds Centre for Skills Development / Provision of Skills / Provision of Skills

Do employers have sufficient understanding of educational matters to play a useful role in training (or skills development)?

Taiye Aro — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 14:14:55 GMT

Do employers have sufficient understanding of educational matters to play a useful role in training (or skills
development)?

Educationa and Skills Development:Why is South Africa still struggling?

Taiye Aro — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 09:30:19 GMT

Education and Skills Development:Why is South Africa still struggling?

Successive Governments in South Africa have placed a heavy emphasis on skills development as key tool for economic growth. It is well documented that a legacy of a resource based economy and apartheid policies have resulted in poverty, unemployment and inequality. Despite a national economy that has until recently experienced steady and strong growth,unemployment in South Africa remains high. How can South Africa meet the dual challenge of broadening economic participation, redressing unemployment and achieve international competitiveness?

How can host countries ensure that migrant workers are equipped with basic skills such as language fluency?

Taiye Aro — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 16:10:16 GMT

How can host countries ensure that migrant workers are equipped with basic skills such as language fluency?

If employers were to set the skills agenda, what is the greatest contribution they could make?

Taiye Aro — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:32:38 GMT

If employers were to set the skills agenda, what is the greatest contribution they could make?

Do host countries have a responsibility to help fill address the skills gaps left in countries of origin?

Taiye Aro — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 13:29:55 GMT

Do host countries have a responsibility to help fill address the skills gaps left in countries of origin?

Are you caught in the 'skills trap'?

Nick Grist — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:02:30 GMT

[size="2"]A new CSD report, [url=http://www.skillsdevelopment.org/PDF/Who%20Trains.pdf][b][u][i]Who Trains?[/i][/u][/b], [/url]which studied organisations’ training practices across the UK, found that unskilled and low paid workers are less likely than their skilled colleagues to receive training, in spite of the Government’s efforts through Train to Gain to improve basic skills levels.

This ‘skills trap’ means that some of the UK’s lowest-paid people have little opportunity to improve their chances of promotion and higher pay. As a result, the pay gap between skilled and unskilled staff is growing.

The report found that women from the UK tend to receive more training from their employers than men, however, they are not being rewarded for their skills to the same extent as their male colleagues. The report calls on employers and the Government to work harder to ensure that women are recognised for their skills.

In addition, the report states that current Government initiatives – such as the flagship Train to Gain scheme – are not doing enough to help, and must to be updated to deal more effectively with the recession.

We want to hear your views:

• What do you think the British Government should do to solve this problem?
• How can we prevent more people falling into the ‘skills trap’?
• Have you fallen into the skills trap? [/size]