Proskills defferred bid ‘lacks vision’

I take issue with your suggestion that there is ‘infighting within Proskills (PrintWeek, 8 August). There is no such infighting among employers involved in the Proskills bid for a National Skills Academy.

It is also important to note that the Academy bid was prepared by a completely independent board, operating under the Proskills banner for the purposes of writing and submitting the bid only, which was chaired by Polestar’s Catherine Hearn and also included Andrew Pinder. I have never been involved in the Academy bid except when invited to give
views/feedback.

In my view the ‘deferred’ bid does lack vision and it’s foolish in the extreme to just call for everyone to unite behind a bid irrespective of its merits.

As an employer trying to contain serious cost increases in a recessionary environment, it concerns me that the government should be spending so much money - £12 billion at the last count being spent by the LSC alone - on one scheme after another with the promise of some revolution in training. I have seen these claims made repeatedly over the last fifteen years as one quango after another has set out its ‘raison d’etre’.

My answer is to simplify the system, dump the quangos, and let companies keep their money to spend on the training they need to do.

If government wants to make a further contribution - and I’m all for that where there is a clear wider public benefit from the training - then it can do so simply and easily through a Corporation Tax credit system, similar to the (not so simple) Research and Development tax credits.

We have simply got to get away from the Soviet style ‘tractor planning and delivery’ that exists for skills training in the UK, if only for the very good reason that it doesn’t work.

Mark Snee, managing director Technoprint

Learning and Skills Council called bid ‘too ambitious’

As a board member, I am disappointed at the deferral of Proskills National Skills Academy. This seems to be the favourite tactic of the Learning and Skills Council given the fact that all 11 of the Sector Skills Councils that have bid for an NSA have failed with their first submission.

The Proskills Board will be reassessing the situation and responding to the constructive points that
the LSC have put forward. The comments from Darren Stevens (Polestar) were helpful and are what I expect from someone who understands the difficulties and hurdles that government organisations dealing with learning and skills make you go through to justify their role.

Mark Snee’s lack of vision comments were well off the mark, as the LSC felt the bid was too ambitious! However it doesn’t surprise me, as it’s always easier to blame someone else for the fact that the majority of employers don’t see training as part of their business plan – that is presuming they have one!

Bernard Rutter, national sector skills co-ordinator, Unite the Union