About Skills Action Plans
Skills Action Plans (also known as Sector Skills Agreements
- SSAs) are all about ensuring employers have the right people
with the right skills at the right time. They are a new form
of contract between employers, trade unions, government and
providers for action on skills.
SSAs set out the skills that employers need their workforce to
have to maximise productivity and competitiveness, and how these
skills will be supplied.
Sector Skills Agreements apply to the whole of the UK.
Why do we need SSAs?
We have never before assessed the skills employers need in a
systematic way. This has left us with skills gaps and
skills shortages and an inadequate supply of training.
With Sector Skills Agreements we can make employer demand drive
the training supply and work together to boost our skills base.
How can SSAs help?
Because they are based on solid evidence, Sector Skills
Agreements can help us match education and training provision to
employers’ needs.
That means more courses with the right content and at a time and
place to suit employers.
SSAs can help us get funding to tackle skills priorities.
Government has taken notice of what our sectors say they need and
earmarked funds to spend on training that will help businesses
perform better. For more information on funding for skills training
and development
click here.
Who has developed SSAs?
Employers have led the development of SSAs through Sector
Strategy Groups.
Having employers in the driving seat means that the Agreements
Semta has published truly reflect business needs.
How have SSAs been developed?
Painstaking research, analysis and wide-scale consultation over
a period of years have gone into drawing up Sector Skills
Agreements.
They have been developed through a five-stage process, starting
with a thorough assessment of the sector and ending in agreement on
actions.
The 5 stages of the SSA process
- Skills needs analysis: what skills are needed now and in the
future?
- Assessment of current training provision: what is the nature
and range of skills training currently on offer and how relevant is
it to employers?
- UK gap analysis: what is the difference between what we have
and what we want?
- Action plan: how employers can invest in skills development to
improve business performance.
- Implementation plan: how Semta and employers will work with
funding bodies to get the necessary training.
Semta has published the following Sector Skills Agreements:
- Automotive, Aerospace and Electronics
- Bioscience
- Marine
- Metals, Mechanical and Electrical Equipment sectors
Please click on your sector below to view the relevant SSA
documents:
Aerospace
Automotive
Bioscience
Electrical
Electronics
Marine
Mechanical
Metals