Taking on skills gap

Jun 18 2008 by Alex Turner, Liverpool Daily Post

A SKILLS shortage in the process industries is being addressed by the setting-up of a regional centre of the National Skills Academy Process Industries, in Runcorn.

The centre, which will be based at the former ICI headquarters, at The Heath Business Park, will link up with employers and training providers to help the £23bn industry tackle its key skills shortages.

The process industries produce biofuels, plastics, rubber, synthetic fibres, pharmaceuticals and chemical additives and employ more than 420,000 people in the UK.

Roger Langford, who will head up the North West centre, believes the problems with recruitment could hamper the UK’s reputation in these industries.

He said: “We face a very real skills shortage throughout the process industries, which if not addressed will hamper the sector’s progress and see it left behind on the world stage. The Skills Academy’s aim is to work alongside employers, providers and supporting bodies to help employers themselves influence direction, raise standards and drive change through the industry.

“Nationally, we are already working with employers to set the new Gold Standard for process industries training. We have already secured the support of employers representing more than 75,000 staff and the next few months will see us look to secure further in- volvement from both plcs and SMEs in the region.”

alex.turner