Welcome to a new edition of SkillWorks Plus. In the last issue we touched briefly on the Leitch Report, published in December 2006. This important document forms the cornerstone of the LSC's national strategy - and let me reassure you that it is a very practical assessment of where we are today and where we have to get to in the future to maintain our economic competitiveness, the basis of a stable society.

Lord Sandy Leitch is Chair of the National Employment Panel and formerly Chief Executive of Zurich Financial Services, one of Europe's largest insurance businesses. He isn't a man to pull his punches. His report is a wake up call to us all.

He believes, first of all, that the UK skills base is weak by international standards, holding back productivity growth and social justice. And our workforce still has too many weaknesses. Today more than one third of adults don't have the basic school-leaving qualification.

Regionally, we're not faring any better.

Let me give you just one statistic: the Greater Merseyside LSC area is in the unenviable position of having the second highest percentage of adults with no qualifications in the country, that's more than one in five of the workforce. And in areas of most deprivation that will be even higher. The employment rate of those with no qualifications has actually fallen over the last 10 years as employers need a better trained workforce to remain competitive. Skills are THE key element in getting a job and keeping it. We need to ensure that, at the very least, people have that basic platform of skills to be able to keep up-to-date with the challenge of the future.

We have the resources to help you to bring your workforce up to the mark, which in turn will help to increase productivity and competitiveness for you. Please do read this issue and consider signing the Skills Pledge. We are pleased to be highlighting the drive and energy that some companies are already showing to increase skill levels right across their organisation.

Your commitment to training your employees is crucial if we are to remain a competitive community.

Helen France,
Director of Area,
Learning and Skills Council Greater Merseyside

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