WorldSkills UK and NOCN are delighted to announce their strategic partnership. As educational charities, they share a common vision to create opportunities through learning and skills development.
They will work together to share global skills insights with businesses, education bodies and governments through the WorldSkills UK Productivity Lab – a new programme designed to mainstream international skills excellence to help boost productivity and economic competitiveness.
Dr Neil Bentley-Gockmann OBE, Chief Executive, WorldSkills UK said: “We are excited to be working more closely on our Productivity Lab programme with NOCN, who have been at the forefront of vocational and technical education development in the UK. On average, it takes us five days to produce what France, Germany and the US can produce in four days, and this must change if the UK is to be economically competitive in the years ahead. That is why we are launching the Productivity Lab which will use the very latest in global skills insights to help transform the wider skills systems by driving world-class skills development in the UK.”
The announcement comes as WorldSkills UK prepares to enter its team of apprentices and students into the international WorldSkills Competition, known as the ‘Skills Olympics’ which takes place this August in Kazan, Russia. A key element of the partnership will see WorldSkills UK and NOCN provide access for industry leaders in a “seeing is believing” programme to the world’s best skills innovations at WorldSkills Kazan, which attracts over 150,000 visitors including international skills experts and public policy makers from over 70 countries.
Graham Hasting-Evans, MSc. MICE, C Eng, FIC-CMC Group Managing Director, NOCN Group, said: “We’re thrilled to be partnering with WorldSkills UK. As a leading provider of Productivity Skills Qualifications, we share a vision to build productivity in the UK by upskilling the construction and manufacturing sectors. The Productivity Lab is a bold new initiative from WorldSkills UK which, will harness collective research knowledge and best practice to build a platform for raised working efficiencies, increased output and lowered lag times. In particular, it will have a powerful focus on the two keenest areas of interest to employers of every type and size – STEM and digital.”
