GoSkills: Skills Minister David Lammy joins employers aboard the Skills Pledge Bus

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Wednesday, 07, May 2008 12:00

Skills Minister David Lammy joined a number of employers including Arriva, First, Flybe, Stagecoach, and Transport for London as they climbed aboard a special Skills Pledge1 Bus during the recent 20/20 Vision for Passenger Transport Skills Conference – hosted by GoSkills, the Sector Skills Council (SSC) representing the Passenger Transport Sector.

The Skills Pledge Bus - a brand new Arriva London double-decker - arrived at the Sadler’s Wells Theatre in London as a celebratory symbol for employers and operators who have already signed, or committed to sign the Skills Pledge.

As part of his keynote address at the conference, Mr Lammy urged more passenger transport businesses to invest in skills development to help equip them for the economic challenges of the next decade. He said: “The sector overall is faced with a number of uniform challenges; challenges which cannot be met without investing in education and training. That’s what today is all about. I think it is very good indeed that the Skills Pledge Bus is conveying that message.”

Simon Witts, Flybe’s Director of Safety, Quality and Training, said: “Flybe was one of the first 150 companies to sign the Skills Pledge at the launch event in London on 14 June last year and we would encourage anyone who has not yet signed the Pledge to embark on this journey.”

The 20/20 Vision for Passenger Transport Skills conference examined the changes affecting the Passenger Transport Sector in light of recent Government reforms (endorsed by the Leitch Report on Skills) and explored the enhanced role of the SSCs, the impact of the Train to Gain initiative and the Skills Pledge itself.

*Speakers Slides and a Summary Report are available on the GoSkills website in the News section.

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Press enquiries please contact:

Richard Tibenham – Communications Manager - 0121 635 5530, email: richard.tibenham@goskills.org

or Fraser Tennant – Communications Executive – 0121 635 5531, email: fraser.tennant@goskills.org

For further information visit www.goskills.org

Notes to Editors:

1. The Skills Pledge is a voluntary agreement aimed at raising the overall level of skills in the UK, across all sectors. It is a Government initiative but relies on support from employers in the public, private and voluntary sectors. The initial focus is to be on literacy and numeracy and on raising the number of people reaching a Level 2 qualification relevant to the employers business. Advice and funding will be given through the Train to Gain service which is administered by the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and is available in England.