WorldSkills UK said today (Wednesday 2 February) it was keen to play its part in driving up opportunities for people whatever their background and location. Responding to the White Paper on levelling up, the organisation said it was uniquely positioned to help the government drive forward ambitious plans to increase the number of people undertaking high-quality skills training by tens of thousands every year. The organisation was responding to government plans that put improving skills and job opportunities at the heart of its plans to level up.
WorldSkills UK CEO Dr Neil Bentley-Gockmann OBE said: “It is really encouraging to see the government putting high-quality skills at the heart of plans to drive up opportunities for people, whatever their backgrounds. We are keen to play our part in helping as many people as possible fulfil their potential. Our competition-based training programmes have a specific focus on opening up career opportunities to young people from all backgrounds, especially those who may traditionally have been denied them.
“We have to focus on the high-quality technical skills that employers need in the long-term as well as the short-term. A Future Skills Unit tasked with identifying and closing skills gaps will be vital in developing a world-class skills economy to match the UK’s world-leading knowledge economy. Our Skills Taskforce for Global Britain is currently exploring how we make sure more parts of the UK can develop these high-quality future skills as a key part of attracting dynamic international firms to those areas and creating the high-quality high-wage jobs required to help truly transform people’s lives.”
