Quality Skills, Quality Services

The Learning and Skills Task Group of the Public Services Forum (PSF) has published the executive summary of its final report - Quality Skills, Quality Services - including a number of key recommendations designed to improve workforce skills across public services. The executive summary and recommendations were launched at a major Public Sector Skills Conference on 1st December by Tom Watson (PSF Chair and Cabinet Office Parliamentary Secretary) and the Task Group Co-chairs, Frances O'Grady (TUC Deputy General Secretary) and David Amos (Director of Workforce, University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust).

The Task Group began its work in autumn 2006 and following the first year it published an interim report which recommended that the following four priority areas should be incorporated into a joint action plan to be taken forward by employers, trade unions and Government:

1. Build a joint commitment on delivering the Skills Pledge across public services.

2. Develop new skills pathways for young people entering public services employment, especially by expanding Apprenticeships.

3. Establish a skills investment strategy and Train to Gain service for public services that will support the planning and delivery of skills priorities and enable employer investment and publicly funded provision to align more effectively.

4. Identify good practice in leadership and management facilitating access to skills in public services.

It was also agreed that a case study of a particular sub-sector should be commissioned in order to 'reality-test' the effectiveness of the above approach.

The Task Group reported back to the PSF with a number of provisional recommendations in June 2008. Following this a case study was commissioned in the adult social care sector to assess the appropriateness and practicability of the draft recommendations for improving workforce skills in a single sector. In the light of the case study research, the Task Group has now finalised its findings and recommendations with the aim of instigating Government, employers and trade unions to take forward a public services skills campaign.

The Executive Summary of Quality Skills, Quality Services is available at: www.tuc.org.uk/extras/lstgreport.pdf

Learning and Skills in Adult Social Care is available at: www.tuc.org.uk/extras/socialcare.pdf

The Task Group's longer final report will incorporate the main findings from the case study research and will be published shortly

Briefing document (400 words) issued 3 Dec 2008