Semta is broadening their assault on sector skills gaps with a push for better senior management development programmes. Babcock Marine are among the first to benefit.
Semta, SSC for science, engineering and manufacturing, ever vocal in highlighting the hazards of industry skills gaps, is bringing renewed attention to the need for senior management to be up to date with the latest business planning best practice and appreciative of the new skills and processes their workforce will be employing.
Recent research from Semta has revealed that the UK is losing millions of pounds through allowing key skills shortages to obstruct potential productivity. As a region London alone has been shown to be missing out on nearly £6mn which could be utilised in balancing the national deficit and boosting the real economy.
While the increasingly positive profile of apprenticeships and advanced diplomas will go some way towards capturing this wasted potential in the future the strategic direction and prospective strength of British industry cannot be safeguarded by investing in entry level skills alone. Among those manufacturers who have realised this is Babcock Marine who have taken the decision to work with Semta on the development of senior management capability in the hope that honing skills at this level will help to deliver on and win more contracts like that for the Queen Elizabeth Class carrier project, due to begin in January 2012.
Managers at Babcock’s Devon based facility has engaged with Semta over several months to build management skills and to translate those skills into action. QEC project manager Nick Plaws SAYS: “The working relationship with Semta has been very good. They’ve identified processes we wouldn’t otherwise have used in our business planning.”
Appreciating that manufactures are facing skills issues on many different front Semta will soon be launching their new online service, Skill Connector, a simple diagnostic application which will help employers identify and prioritise which areas and levels their organisation needs to address most urgently in terms of skills and with relevance to their strategic direction. Semta are also piloting an agenda of skills surgeries across the UK at selected industrial parks.
For further information on Semta training opportunities and the locations of the skills surgeries contact Semta’s customer services at [email protected] or call 0845 643 9001.
In November Semta’s CEO, Philip Whiteman, will be contributing to a special feature in TM surveying the state of the manufacturing skills sector and the efficacy of skills delivery to manufacturing employers.
