Process skills academy launches national conference

London - The National Skills Academy Process Industries in partnership with Cogent Sector Skills Council is staging the process industries’ first national skills conference on 30 April at York race course. The event for employers, training providers and skills brokers is being aimed particularly at companies involved in the pharmaceuticals, polymers and chemicals sectors.

The event is part of the skills academy's efforts to work with UK employers and providers to create a training and development framework that meets the skills needs of the process industries. This work is based on five regional spokes - in the East and West Midlands, the North East, the North West and Yorkshire and the Humber and the South East - and driven by a Regional Skills Board drawn from local employers.

The conference programme features a range of high profile speakers, case studies, masterclass and workshop sessions. These are all aimed encouraging stakeholders to become part of the drive to deliver practical solutions to the industries’ skills issues. Sponsors pledging support include gold level sponsor PTL, the international resource centre for the polymer industry, and silver level sponsor European innovation network Pera.

Delegates will hear from headline speakers Tom Crotty, CEO of INEOS Olefins and Polymers, who will present the employers’ view, and John Beacham, Chairman of Cogent Sector Skills Council. Also speaking is Lord Tony Young, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Skills and Apprenticeships. Six themed workshops are on offer, with topics spanning The Skills Pipeline, Shaping the Future of Skills, World Class Training Practices & Facilities, and Apprenticeships Add Value.

Phil Jones, CEO of the skills academy, said: “This conference is designed to provide a clear focus on solutions to the very real skills gaps and shortages that employers face. Maintaining the right skills balance is essential if the UK’s process industries employers are to compete at home and overseas. Employers know all too well that they need to recruit, retain and upskill their workforce if they are to drive sector growth and create a globally competitive workforce. Up until the skills academy’s formation there has been no central voice for their concerns, or a cohesive approach to the problems they face."