Strategic Skills & Partnering Agreements

As well as developing a new UK-wide Skills Agreement with the Training and Development Agency for Schools, Paul was responsible for leading negotiations to secure a further series of new high-level UK-wide strategic skills & partnering arrangements on behalf of the Government backed Skills for Business Network (covering +91% of the UK workforce). The negotiations for these took place against a politically volatile and sensitive background and covered the whole of Local Government; the Voluntary and Community sector; Foundation Degree Forward and a statutory Training Board responsible for raising a levy for the Engineering and Construction Industries. The critical success of the new arrangements Paul brokered, was recognised in a Government Skills White Paper, as contributing directly to the success of Government training policy.

Higher Level Skills Strategy

Paul also brokered a new UK-wide Higher Level Skills Strategy for the employer-led Skills for Business Network, with the +170 Higher Education Institutes and funding bodies across the UK. Following the evaluation of the new arrangements one significant outcome was the influence these had on Government policy which changed as a result to enable funding to be directed in support of Universities to work more closely with employers to improve UK productivity and competitiveness.