The group is frustrated at delays over Proskills bid to become part of a government scheme to boost skills and recruitment. The Sector Skills Council (SSC) could give the PEF a slice of 1.5m of government money over three years.

The SSC is the only show in town and we have to look at a sensible partnership. That may be with Proskills or it may not. We are considering our options, said PEF chief executive designate Richard Beamish.

Proskills covers the process and manufacturing industry including the paper, surface coatings, building products and furniture sectors.

If we can get agreement then it unlocks the door to other funding from sources including the DTI and Europe, he said.


Beamish added: We have around 242,000 people in the industry and you need 500,000 employees to form an SSC. Thats why we need to have partners.

If the PEF leaves Proskills then it will either abandon efforts to work for SSC status and operate alone with limited public funding or look for an alternative SSC alliance. The PEF has attempted this unsuccessfully in the past.

We tried an alliance with photo imaging industry but that was too small to join. We also tried to link up with the publishing sector but that could not get off the ground because of disagreements of how we could work together, said Beamish.

by Philip Chadwick