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A SKILLS AND PRODUCTIVITY ELITE PANEL Sixteen of Europe’s leading academics on skills and productivity are being brought together to form a mini think-tank to drive forward the effectiveness of UK plc, it was announced last week by the Government. Leading lights from the worlds of academia, research, commerce and human resources have been invited to sit on a new ‘expert panel’ to advise the new Skills for Business network on how to boost productivity and make sure the workforce is up to scratch. Using their knowledge, existing data, and new research the panel will advise on the national policy of Skills for Business and the new network of Sector Skills Councils. Each of these SSCs are being put in place to help UK employers develop the skilled workforces they need to compete more effectively on a local, national and international scale. Skills for Business has been tasked by the government with informing and influencing policy on training and skills development relating to productivity it also works closely with the delivery side of learning, through the Learning and Skills Council and other agencies. The remit of the panel will be to:
The 16 experts have been chosen on the basis of their national and international reputations, as well as their wealth of experience in commercial and academic fields. They include: David Ashton, founder of the Centre for Labour Market Studies at the University of Leicester, and currently an emeritus professor at the same institution; Derek Bosworth, professional fellow at Melbourne University and Emeritus Professor at UMIST; Professor John Burgoyne, Professor of Management Learning at the University of Lancaster; Dr Lorraine Dearden, Director of the Centre for Early Years and Educational Research at the Institute for Fiscal Studies; Dr Andy Dickerson, Principal Research Fellow at the Institute for Employment research at the University of Warwick, Jim Hillage, an associate director for the Institute for Employment Studies; Ewart Keep, a fellow of Warwick Business School; John Philpott, chief economist of the CIPD; Professor Andy Neely, deputy director of the Advanced Institute for Management Research; and Hilary Steedman, senior research fellow at the London School of Economics. Professor Mike Campbell, Director of Strategy and Research at Skills for Business, will chair the panel.
Comment NEWS FROM US – LAUNCH OF AFAQ UK! The celebration launch of AFAQ UK was held on 16 June on HMS Belfast, which is berthed on the Thames near London Bridge. There were presentations on the ISO certification role of AFAQ-EAQA and the worldwide AFAQ Group from Trevor Wilmer and, on the training side of the business, from Bill Fenton and Ray Pritchard. Dave Goldthorpe from Aztec Technical Services covered how open learning courses are designed. Over 40 delegates were introduced to our new CD interactive Working Safely open learning course. This is intended for all safety representatives and members of Health and safety Committees. It is a quick and easy way of getting training to newly appointed representatives and we recommend that all have their own personal copy as a reference to help them in their work. Contact tyla.davis@afaq-eta.com for further details. AFAQ-ETA are now also offering training courses to support ISO certification. In October we will be running a ISO 9001:2000 Lead Auditor/Auditor IRCA approved course at our London office. Details of this are obtainable from phillippa.greig@afaq-eta.com Later this year we will be developing an ISO 18001 OHSAS course. Information on this can be obtained from bill.fenton@afaq-eta.com
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