On 17 October last year, John Healey – minister of state at the Department for Education and Skills – made his long-awaited announcement defining the various changes the Government wished to make to the UK’s National Training Organisation (NTO) network. In short, the 75 NTOs were to be replaced by a significantly reduced number of all-new Sector Skills Councils (SSCs).
In real terms, this announcement underscored the Government’s commitment to strong, sector-based arrangements for training, with the promise of more money – a great deal more money – for the new SSCs, greater influence across Government and a far more prominent role for them within the UK’s educational infrastructure.
All well and good thus far, but the NTO network is supposed to have pruned itself by April 2002, establishing – through merger, partnership and growth – new Sector Skills Councils that reflect industry needs in the 21st Century. For many of us, Christmas was put on hold as a result!
From SITO’s perspective, the emergence of SSCs is a step in the right direction. As one of the strongest and most effective NTOs in the current framework, the organisation has built a reputation in Government circles for innovation, quality and ‘getting things done’ when it comes to training in the security sector.
While we have our critics, the fact is that SITO is one of the most visible NTOs in the UK, whereas most are relatively unknown in their particular sphere of influence. That’s a simple indication of the progress we’ve made.
Our problem has always been the weakness of the NTO network in general, and the failure of both Government and the security industry alike to invest in the NTO network. Inevitably, this has left us under-resourced in respect of what needs to be done. It’s also true to say that the NTO network has never really been central to Government thinking, which has not helped SITO’s cause in the slightest.
All change in the NTO network
While we were not fully aware of the Government’s proposals in respect of SSCs until the middle of last autumn – even now we still await the detailed prospectus precisely outlining and defining Government expectations – we did begin to form a broad view of the likely outcome of the NTO network review as early as last summer.
In essence, there would be far fewer sector-based bodies replacing NTOs, bodies that (as we’ve seen) would be better resourced and more influential. These new bodies would cover broader sectors of the economy.
Armed with this understanding, SITO made a judgement that the security industry is not large enough to warrant a new body in its own right, and that the sector was unlikely to be regarded as being strategically significant as far as the Department for Education and Skills is concerned. As a consequence, we began to look around for possible partners within the NTO network, at the same time ‘sounding out’ Department officials in respect of their views concerning the future of the security industry’s NTO.
In looking for a partner, we needed to find a sector(s) where there was an operational synergy with the security industry, and which would attract the broad support of that industry. In addition, we had to locate a sector grouping that would enjoy the backing of the Department for Education and Skills, with sectors who were willing to work with us.
Not only that, we also wanted to find partners whereby the progress that’s been made by SITO and the security industry in general would not be lost, nor the interests of the security industry submerged within a body where another sector would have the controlling interest.
Possibilities for partnership
We managed to identify three possible partners: working with the police and criminal justice sector, developing a Sector Skills Council for security and safety or setting up a Council dedicated to security, safety and facilities/outsourced services.
The first option was rejected when the police made it clear that they felt any arrangements for the SSC should be kept entirely separate. There were also concerns that the security and safety proposal might not ultimately attract the support of the Department for Education and Skills. With this in mind, we decided to choose the security, safety and facilities route – in the expectation of probable Department support, and because it reduced the risk of Government deciding to tackle issues surrounding safety in a different way.
If the new SSC gains the approval of the Department for Education and Skills, it will be one of the largest and strongest in the UK – affording the security industry unprecedented access to Government, improved resources for training and greater influence when it comes to Government policy-making decisions.
There is no doubt that it will meet Government requirements in respect of sector size and significance, and at the same time enjoy the capability and capacity to deliver a first-class service to Government and the security industry alike.
Organisational structure of the SSC
The proposal for the new SSC includes the maintenance of SITO as a separate company responding directly to the training and educational needs of the security sector.
SITO will continue to be the point of contact for the security industry and its customers when considering all issues relating to the industry. It will draw upon SSC group resources for issues relating to awarding activities, LSC funding, communications and training r&d.
The content of the training products produced will be determined by SITO and the security industry, the branding of the products will be SITO-oriented and the delivery of all products and services will be through SITO. SITO will also be responsible for all industry liaison, sales, training delivery and co-op activities, along with the management of links to other SSCs on behalf of the security sector.
Clearly, there is still much work to be done over the coming months, and our proposals are subject to change. The new organisation needs to be ‘brought to life’ – and it’s highly likely that SITO will now separate from the BSIA.
Work still needs to be done to ensure that the industry understands and supports the changes, and we need to convince the Department for Education and Skills of the value of our proposals. Oh, and there’s also the small matter of the Security Industry Authority to be borne in mind as well!
All things considered, though, the security industry has nothing to fear from the launch of the Sector Skills Councils.
