ERSA Members Sign the Skills Pledge
ERSA members took part in a mass sign up of the Skills Pledge at the House of Commons today. The event was attended by Stephen Timms, Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform.
ERSA is the representative body for welfare-to-work providers with 35 members from both the private and voluntary sectors. Members signed the pledge as part of ERSA’s ongoing commitment to sustainable welfare-to-work provision. As providers who help individuals overcome barriers to skills and employment and who work closely with employers, ERSA members are in a unique position to lead by example when in discussion with employers about opportunities for the out-of-work.
The Skills Pledge, launched in June 2007 by the Prime Minister Gordon Brown, is a voluntary commitment from an employer to commit to support all their employees to develop basic literacy and numeracy skills and work towards a full level 2 qualification equivalent to five GCSEs A* to C. ERSA believes that staying, and advancing, in work is as important as finding work and that the Skills Pledge is key to achieving this.
Frances Parry, ERSA Chair, said,
“This event highlights ERSA’s commitment to bringing together the employability and skills streams as for too long these have been viewed as distinct policy areas. It is essential that DIUS and DWP work together to make headway in reducing worklessness, raising skills and creating a workforce ready and able to meet the challenges outlined in Lord Leitch’s “Review of Skills”, if we are to be a world leader by 2020. We are very pleased that both Departments have shown their support for ERSA at this event. With policy beginning to be joined up at a strategic level the provider community has the appetite to support the initiative to join up services on the ground.”
David Lammy, Minister of State for Skills, said,
"We are pleased that ERSA members have signed the Skills Pledge. This public commitment shows that voluntary and private sector welfare-to-work providers are aspiring to the highest professional standards. The link between skills and employability is undeniable and we welcome ERSA's support for both agendas."
Stephen Timms, Minister of State for Employment and Welfare Reform commented,
“It is encouraging that we are seeing more businesses - and more individuals - accepting their responsibilities in bringing about a skills revolution. We think the evidence is clear that tackling skills is key to raising the employment rate further. So we want to build on the success of welfare-to-work with a highly integrated employment and skills system that can help people both get into work and also get on at work,”