Apprentice training needs more than a spoonful of Sugar

LAST week saw the start of the first series of Junior Apprentice, where plucky 16- and 17-year-olds under the watchful eye of Sir Alan Sugar aim to outdo each other to become his new employee.

Out of the media glare of Sir Alan and his budding young entrepreneurs, however, the world of apprenticeships and the delivery of a skilled workforce rarely grace our TV screens – but these are issues which are more important than ever in today's economic environment.

Today I will be speaking at the Apprenticeships Summit 2010, highlighting the importance of investment in apprenticeships and a skilled workforce to our economy and to our economic recovery.

The Scottish economy witnessed modest economic growth of 0.2 per cent in the last quarter of 2009, but this is half that of the UK as a whole and the patient is still very much in recovery. While much has been done by the Scottish Government to deliver the nation from recession, including the refreshed Skills Strategy due to be published before summer, more needs to be done against a backdrop of impending swingeing cuts in public expenditure.

Skills development is vital to the productivity and sustainable economic growth of Scotland, and it is vital that we maintain investment to deliver a skilled workforce, maintaining economic recovery and boosting economic growth.

A CBI report this week reinforced the challenge ahead, with demand for highly-skilled people set to intensify during the recovery and yet half of employers fearing that they will not be able to fill jobs with suitably qualified candidates.

As the economy recovers, the key growth sectors will be in construction, energy and the services sector, and a skilled workforce is vital to meet the demands of both current and future economic growth, especially as new industries such as renewable energy are embraced. The Scottish Government has already identified seven "key sectors" in its Economic Strategy, including creative industries, energy and life sciences, with considerable skill requirements.

Close working with employers will ensure that we are able not only to fulfil the gaps in the market today, but forecast the skills gaps of the future. Simply increasing the supply of skills without the corresponding demand is not the answer, wasting time, money and effort.

In this context our colleges and universities face a challenge presented by the current fast- moving environment, to align provision with both the current and future skills requirements of the economy and updating courses to reflect future needs. We are working closely with employers, colleges, universities, the Scottish Government and the Funding Council to address these requirements, ensuring supply meets demand, vital now more than ever given the current budgetary constraints.

Joined up thinking, aligning our industrial and economic approaches with our skills and employment approaches, is vital to delivering sustainable economic growth, giving individuals the knowledge and skills to perform in a constantly changing world, securing the jobs yet to be invented and harnessing the knowledge yet to be discovered.

The transformative power of skills to deliver us out of the recessionary rut cannot be prized highly enough and we must continue to invest in a skilled workforce, giving our employers the opportunity to access the relevant skills at the right time and in the right place.

• Jacqui Hepburn is director of the Alliance of Sector Skills Councils, Scotland.