13 May 2008

NSAFS celebrates first anniversary

Employers, training providers and learners have gathered today to celebrate the 1st anniversary of the National Skills Academy for Financial Services.

David Lammy, Skills Minister joined Tony Vine-Lott, Chair of the National Skills Academy for Financial Services as well as representatives from the Financial Services Skills Council and the Lighthouse Group plc at Reuters to showcase all of their successes to date. Since its launch the Skills Academy has already helped 3,000 learners achieve their goals and has had a hugely positive impact on the financial services sector as a whole. With so much progress in the first year the National Skills Academy for Financial Services is improving the outlook for the industry on a daily basis.

The Skills Academy is working closely with financial services employers to ensure the availability of innovative, flexible and bespoke training solutions based on the requirements of individual employers – with the aim of delivering real job opportunities, not just qualifications on their own. It is also helping to address the real need for better leadership and management in the sector – offering courses that equip employees with the skills to improve business performance.

Speaking at the event, Skills Minister David Lammy said: “I am delighted to celebrate the success that the National Skills Academy for Financial Services has had over the last year. This National Skills Academy is helping to ensure the future growth and success of the financial services industry in the UK by taking a new approach to spotting and developing industry talent. I’d like to thank all the employers who are giving their support to the Skills Academy and helping to nurture talent in this vital industry.”

The National Skills Academy for Financial Services was developed to plug the long-standing skills gaps facing financial services employers – according to the latest National Employer Skills Survey (NESS) 19% of all financial services organisations reported skills gaps .

In particular, the Skills Academy is striving to improving the employability of young people and providing high-quality entry-level training as well as facilities to help continue to grow the skills of existing employees. In its first year alone it reached out to all of these groups and delivered courses to 3,000 learners and these numbers are set to increase dramatically in the coming years.

Tony Vine-Lott, Chair of the National Skills Academy for Financial Services said: “A Skills Academy in the financial services sector is vital not only to help attract new entrants, but to improve the skills of the current workforce. In these difficult times it is more important than ever to ensure that our people are equipped with the skills needed to respond to new challenges and I relish the opportunity to continue developing innovative skills and development solutions for our sector.”

The National Skills Academy for Financial Services continues to develop its infrastructure and portfolio of education, skills and training programmes – enabling it to reach even more people across the UK. This year it is rolling out the new financial services apprenticeships at foundation and advanced levels, designed to create the workforce for the future.

Malcolm Streatfield, CEO Lighthouse Group plc said: “Getting involved in this National Skills Academy has been a great success and has helped us to meet our own business objectives by improved leadership and management skills throughout the organisation. Our employees and customers are already seeing the benefits of our involvement, through better communication and interaction among staff and management.”

National Skills Academies have been created to solve specific and potentially acute skills shortages in their respective sectors, enabling employers, government and other stakeholders to design more effective solutions to training needs. There are now nine approved National Skills Academies, representing real progress towards the Government’s target of having a Skills Academy in each major sector by the end of 2011.

Notes to Editors:

1. The National Skills Academy for Financial Services is a not for profit company limited by guarantee which was created with the express purpose of delivering world-class education and training aligned with employer needs in the financial services industry to people of all age groups and learning backgrounds, helping them to prepare for and develop financial services careers. For more about the National Skills Academy for Financial Services email lisa.whitehead@nsafs.co.uk: lisa.whitehead@nsafs.co.uk. Employers wanting to find out more about how to get involved in the National Skills Academy for Financial Services should contact Sylvia Perrins, National Director on 0845 618 2360 or sylvia.perrins@nsafs.co.uk.

1. You can view David Lammy’s speech in full at www.dius.gov.uk/speeches/index.html.

1. The Financial Services Skills Council is an independent, employer-led organisation, established in 2004 to provide strategic leadership for education, training and skills development for the financial services industry across the UK. It aims to improve productivity and business performance by ensuring that the industry is equipped with the range and level of skills that it needs. The financial services sector is central to the UK economy, generating over 5% of UK GDP and with a turnover of more than £46bn a year. It employs more than a million people in more than 35,000 companies, and affects every single person in the UK. The FSSC sets performance standards for the entire sector, including banking, building societies, insurance companies and brokers, independent financial advisers, investment administration and pensions.

About the National Skills Academy

The National Skills Academy network is the new gold standard for industry training, aiming to improve productivity and tackle skills shortages across England. In addition to the National Skills Academy for Financial Services, there are eight more active skills academies. Construction, manufacturing, food and drink manufacturing, nuclear and process industries have been operational for some time and new Skills Academies for sport and active leisure, hospitality and the creative and cultural industries were approved and announced on 7 May 2008.

Each National Skills Academy puts employers at the heart of skills training for their sector: they influence the curriculum to ensure it reflects employers’ needs; get involved in the skills academy’s management; set standards; and influence strategic direction.

National Skills Academies aim to:

• deliver high quality training for a specific sector
• provide first-class teaching in a modern learning environment
• be centres of innovation and creativity in skills development for their sector
• be flexible, sustaining the closest possible relationships with employers of all sizes
• build specialist networks with a range of other learning providers, so that new thinking, new methods and higher standards are shared to the benefit of learners and employers.

The National Skills Academy network was initiated by the Government to address the need for a world class workforce with better skills than ever before. It is managed by the Learning and Skills Council working in partnership with the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills, the UK Commission for Employment and Skills, the Skills for Business Network and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform.

The Government’s commitment to have 12 National Skills Academies in place by the end 2008 was further endorsed in ‘World Class Skills: Implementing the Leitch Review of Skills in England’ presented to Parliament by the Secretary of State in July 2007.

The Skills for Business Network is made up of licensed Sector Skills Councils. This network is responsible for improving skills and productivity within the UK.

For more information see www.nationalskillsacademy.co.uk.