| ëA highly skilled workforce is the key
to successí
When the idea of a ëuniversity for industryí
was first taking shape in 1997 the government decided it needed someone
from the BBC to help determine what it would look like.
The BBC had been at the forefront of work
with the Open University (OU) for more than 25 years and, as well as bringing
her extensive business experience, Margaret Salmon, the corporationís
personnel director, brought all her knowledge and experience of workforce
development to the initial development phase of Ufi.
Margaret joined the BBC in 1991 as Director
of Personnel and was the first woman to sit on the BBCís Board of Management.
She was appointed Chief Executive of BBC Resources in July 1999.
An exciting proposition
She says: "For me, Ufi and learndirect
are a really exciting proposition. With the infrastructure we have put
in place we can take learning directly to people. "Many peopleís experiences
of learning, when they sat in a classroom and listened to a teacher at
school, have put them off education. Itís these people we need to engage
with, those who reject the traditional ways, and that is what learndirect
has allowed us to do."
With a network of more than 1,600 learndirect
centres, Margaret says Ufi has ëalready done a fantastic jobí by putting
an infrastructure in place with its partners.
She adds: "I have visited a number of centres
and talked to many learners. The common message that comes across in all
the centres is how pleased the learners are with the
learning experience they are having. "This seems particularly true of
those people who are returning to learning after a long time out of education.
"All the centres
are branded really well, fantastically well-equipped and the staff are
excellent, helping to create the right atmosphere for learners. "What
we need to do now is to work on ensuring a consistent quality of experience
across the network."
Increasing the skills
of the workforce
But itís not just the experience of individual
learners that is of interest to Margaret. She is also mindful of the work
that needs to be done to increase the skill levels of the
UK workforce.
Indeed, it was her experience in this field
that led to her appointment, in February 2002, as the first chair of the
Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA). The SSDA is the new body established
to oversee the governmentís drive to increase skills and productivity
in industry and businesses throughout the UK.
"A highly skilled
workforce is the key to success in todayís highly competitive world economy,"
says Margaret.
"The SSDA will play a pivotal role in ensuring
that all sectors of British industry, commerce and public services are
equipped with the skills they need to compete. I look forward to working
with the new Sector Skills Councils to help improve business performance."
Assessing the skills needs
One of the first things the Sector Skills
Councils will be doing is assessing the skills needs in each sector of
the economy.
Says Margaret: "This work will be a major
source of information for Ufi and it will help to focus the future work
of learndirect. "But there are already areas where learndirect
is starting to have an impact, like tackling the skills for life issue.
Having around seven million people with literacy or numeracy problems
is just not a sustainable position for UK plc. What learndirect
is doing in this key area is starting to make a difference - although
much more work is needed.
"Then thereís the increase in generic skills
that is required. Knowledge of how to use information technology is quickly
becoming a generic skill and learndirect is helping lots of people
learn new, or improve their existing, IT skills."
Margaret also sees a key role for learndirect
in the workplace. She says: "Iíve worked in the workforce development
field for a long time and I think learndirect can play an important
role. "In the large corporates it can supplement companiesí own in-house
arrangements by providing a robust learning system, tutor support and
interesting content.
"It is also an exciting opportunity for
small to medium-sized enterprises. Many of them donít have the time or
resources to develop their staff. It is a notoriously difficult market
to reach but the fact that learndirect can deliver on-line should
provide them with the flexibility they need and we ought to be able to
do a much better job of engaging with them than more conventional routes
to learning have provided."
Challenging plans
So, Margaret sees an exciting time ahead
for Ufi and learndirect. She says: "We have achieved such a lot
in a very short space of time and thereís a major opportunity for Ufi
to transform learning and training in this country. Ufi has set out challenging
plans in its strategy and, like all members of the board, my job is to
give what help and support I can in helping staff at Ufi achieve these
plans."
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