Manufacturing Skills Alliance to give sector 'greater voice'

Proskills chief executive Terry Watts has said manufacturing will be given a "greater voice" following the formation of the Manufacturing Skills Alliance (MSA).

The new body is made up of five manufacturing sector skills councils (SSCs), Proskills, Improve, Cogent, Semta and Skillsfast-UK, and will establish "common ground" between the SSCs.

The alliance has been formed with the aim of simplifying the way employers can access the correct training support and in turn address skills shortages within the industry.

Watts said finding the right skills provision and funding was the main demand from employers within the manufacturing sector.

He added: "The MSA gives manufacturing a greater voice and will enable employers to exercise increased leverage to benefit the whole of the manufacturing Sector.

"We at Proskills see the work of the MSA as critical to influencing government at all levels, who tend to see manufacturing as a homogeneous sector and, through this work, we plan to get results for the range of employers across the whole of UK manufacturing."

The MSA, which is being spearheaded by Proskills, plans to meet the demands from employers through being a skills broker offering qualifications.

According to Unite assistant general secretary Tony Burke, who sits on the Cogent board, skills development is key to building a strong base within the industry.

"We are working through the MSA and with employers to ensure a framework where employees develop new skills and gain qualifications that really mean something," he said.