Ed Balls and Phil Hope launch new National Skills Academy for Financial Services

10 May 2007: Pilot-year students, training providers and leading financial services employers joined together to demonstrate their support at the launch of the National Skills Academy for Financial Services, hosted by Economic Secretary Ed Balls and Skills Minister Phil Hope.

At the launch, held at HM Treasury on 10 May 2007 and attended by banks, building societies and insurers, as well as students from the first academy sites, Economic Secretary Ed Balls stressed the importance of skills to the future success of the UK financial services industry. He said: “Skills tops the list of factors that makes the UK and London a leading global financial centre. As the Chancellor said when he announced the establishment of an International Centre of Financial Regulation yesterday, skills needs must be addressed by working in partnership across the sector. The National Skills Academy for Financial Services represents a real opportunity for educationalists and employers to work together to widen the pool of talented people and ensure the future competitiveness of the sector.”

Skills Minister Phil Hope said: ”The Skills Academy for Financial Services will play a pivotal role in ensuring that people across this vitally important sector of the economy have the skills they need to maintain the UK’s leading position in the field of financial services. The Government is supporting the development of similar employer-led academies across the key sectors. National Skills Academies are designed to meet the needs of individual employers and provide a national reach aimed at closing skills gaps and boosting productivity.”

This is the pilot year of the National Skills Academy for Financial Services, and there are currently four operational centres in Tower Hamlets in London, Manchester, Leeds, and Norwich, working to meet the training needs in the sector, from basic financial literacy to the development of work-based learning and executive-level skills. It is one of the first of a new network of skills academies, led and sponsored by employers, and designed to set new standards for excellence in training and skills education.

The skills academy is designed to help to plug the predicted future skills gaps in the financial services sector. The Financial Services Skills Council (FSSC) research report, “The Skills Bill: Analysis of skills needs in UK financial services”, estimates that an additional 500,000 people will be needed by the industry before 2014 if the industry continues to expand as predicted. FSSC chief executive Teresa Sayers said: “Skills will prove increasingly important for the global competitiveness of UK financial services. The National Skills Academy for Financial Services can make a difference - to the potential choices for school leavers, to the future profitability of your business, and to the competitive position of UK plc.”

The skills academy links providers in a national network of the best training from entry level to continuing professional development, guaranteeing employers a consistently high standard of training across the country. Employers who have already expressed an interest in supporting the initiative include: Merrill Lynch, Nationwide Building Society, Norwich Union, Cattles plc, Moneyfacts, Targetfollow Ltd and yfm group.

Bob Wigley, chairman of Merrill Lynch in Europe, Middle East and Africa - one of the industry employers sponsoring the skills academy - said of their decision to be involved: “Providing students with financial services skills is vital for the continued development of London and the UK as a centre of excellence within the European financial market.”

National director for the National Skills Academy for Financial Services, Sylvia Perrins, said: “We are thrilled that the launch of this important initiative has been supported by so many leading industry employers. Their participation is key to achieving our ambition to become the leading body for the development and delivery of skills education and training in this vital sector.”

By the end of 2007, the National Skills Academy for Financial Services is expected to open in three more regions: South West, South East, and West Midlands. In addition, refurbishment of buildings in Tower Hamlets and Norwich will accommodate an additional 1400 learners. Altogether, fifteen thousand learners are expected to go through the Skills Academy by the end of the academic year 2008-09.

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Press Contacts

National Skills Academy for Financial Services press enquiries:

Zoe Hussain: Marketing & PR Officer, FSSC
T - 020 7216 7510
Email: zoe.hussain@fssc.org.uk

Sue Martin: Head of PR, FSSC
T - 020 7216 7381
Email: sue.martin@fssc.org.uk

HMT press enquiries:

Richard King
T - 020 7270 4420

DfES press enquiries:

Philip Treloar, DfES Press Office
T - 020 7925 5102

Notes to Editors

1. For more about the National Skills Academy for Financial Services see: www.nsafs.co.uk or email: skillsacademy@fssc.org.uk
2. Employers wanting to find out more about how to get involved in the National Skills Academy for Financial Services should contact Sylvia Perrins, National Director on 020 7216 7566 or sylvia.perrins@nsafs.co.uk
3. The Financial Services Skills Council (FSSC) is an independent, employer-led organisation, established in 2004 to provide strategic leadership for education, training and skills development for the financial services industry across the UK. It aims to improve productivity and business performance by ensuring that the industry is equipped with the range and level of skills that it needs. The financial services sector is central to the UK economy, generating over 5% of UK GDP and with a turnover of more than £46bn a year. It employs more than a million people in more than 35,000 companies, and affects every single person in the UK. The FSSC sets performance standards for the entire sector, including banking, building societies, insurance companies and brokers, independent financial advisers, investment administration and pensions. See: www.fssc.org.uk
4. The National Skills Academy network will be the new gold standard for industry training, aiming to improve productivity and tackle skills shortages across England. Each National Skills Academy put employers at the heart of skills training for their sector: they influence the curriculum to ensure it reflects employers’ needs; get involved in the Academy’s management; set standards and influence strategic direction. National Skills Academies aim to:
   • deliver high quality training for a specific sector
   • provide first-class teaching in a modern learning environment
   • be centres of innovation and creativity in skills development for their sector
   • be flexible, sustaining the closest possible relationships with employers of all sizes
   • build specialist networks with a range of other learning providers, so that new thinking, new methods and higher standards are shared to the benefit of learners and employers.
   The National Skills Academy network was initiated by the Government to address the need for a world class workforce with better skills than ever before. It is managed by the Learning and Skills Council working in partnership with the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), the Sector Skills Development Agency and the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI). For more information see: www.nationalskillsacademy.co.uk
5. At yesterday’s meeting of the Chancellor’s High Level Group on City Competitiveness, the Government and industry discussed detailed plans for an International Centre for Financial Regulation (ICFR). The Centre will carry out research and offer training on international regulation with a view to influencing global regulatory developments. The prospectus, published yesterday, was drawn up by a joint Government and industry working group, chaired by Lord Currie. The proposal has attracted significant financial support from industry and the City, in addition £2.5 million to be provided by the Government over the next 3 years. The City of London Corporation have also pledged their financial support. At the request of the Chancellor, Mervyn Davies, Chairman of Standard Chartered, has agreed to chair the interim executive committee, representing donor interests, that will now prepare the Centre for launch.
   
   Three potential areas have been identified for its remit:
   • providing an academic perspective on best practice through research
   • providing an insight into comparative regulatory approaches
   • providing direct and meaningful engagement from industry.
   The ICFR will be targeted at those people who have been working in the in the financial services industry for 2-3 years, at the executive end of the market. It will also have a strong international focus with a view to establishing best practice in regulation and help set international standards.