Manufacturers need bigger skills budget

News Article - 14 January 2011
Category: Business

Semta recently made calls for manufacturers to pay more attention to training plans in 2011. The Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies asked employers to pledge funding for industry skills development throughout the year.

The importance of individuals and employers in financing training plans has increased since the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review, which cut available training funding. Semta is concerned that businesses will not plug the gap; only a third of companies in Semta's target sectors started 2010 with a training plan or budget for skills.

Semta Chief Executive Philip Whiteman has urged businesses to plan ahead and ensure skills budgets are available in 2011: "We are calling upon the 130,000 employers we represent to make skills investment their New Year resolution as the route to success for their business, their sector, and ultimately the UK economy."

Any leftover Government funding is likely to go to apprenticeship programmes, which have become more popular due to rising university fees and an ageing workforce. Semta is advising firms to consider the benefits of apprenticeships, which are becoming an increasingly popular way for firms to take on and encourage highly skilled workers.

It is essential for companies to consider exactly how skills development will contribute to the bottom line, particularly as economic uncertainty is predicted for the first half of 2011. Yet many companies will struggle to find the budget for skills training as demand starts to fluctuate; improving the profitability of current operations is essential to freeing up resources that can be used to fund training programmes.

Access manufacturing and production software can help; the works order and production control module, for example, allows you to run profitability reports at any time and see where profit margins can be improved. Eliminating these inefficiencies can free up cash and other assets that can be used to fund skills development.

For more information on how Access software can directly benefit a company's bottom line, please contact us on0845 345 3300.

Article keywords: Semta, The Sector Skills Council for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies, industry skills development, Government’s Comprehensive Spending Review, Philip Whiteman, skills budgets, apprenticeship programmes, Access manufacturing and production software, works order and production control module, profitability reports

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