The debate, hosted by Barbara Follett, Regional Minister for the East of England, and sponsored by BAA Stansted, was one of a series of regional events supported by the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and arranged by Business in the Community that looked at ways of unlocking the nation's talent and skills both inside and outside the workplace.
Against the backdrop of a fast changing world, Britain is also now facing unprecedented competition from the rising aspirations and skill levels of the major global economies. This is both an urgent challenge and a real opportunity for the UK to embrace.
Regional Ministers have been invited to launch the debate in each of their local areas, and will report back to the Prime Minister later in the year.
Stephen Howard, Chief Executive of Business in the Community said: "Talent is not the same as skills. Talent is about the inherent quality in people to be good at something. We are facing the biggest restructuring of the world economy since the rise of the USA. Britain needs to urgently address the gap between where the country is today and where we need to be to remain competitive.
"No one sector can tackle this alone. Unlocking the nation's talent is a mission for all of us, across education, business, community and government. However, it is also an opportunity. Yesterday's debate allowed an exchange of ideas and enabled the key stakeholders responsible for driving this agenda forward to learn from each other and begin to think about the actions needed to respond to the challenge it presents."
The Minister for the East of England, Barbara Follett said:
"The East of England has one of the best placed economies in the United Kingdom to survive the current difficult trading conditions. However, our skills - a long term concern of mine - remain relatively low compared to those of the rest of the country and, consequently, so does our productivity.
"If the East of England wants to compete effectively in the world economy we have to address this skills deficit - now. That is why I was so pleased to officially open the new Stansted Employment and Skills Academy. At present, there are about 66,000 people without jobs in the East of England and those without formal qualifications, or who have been out of work for a long time, often lack the confidence and current skills they need to even get short listed for one of today's high tech vacancies. This new centre will provide easy access to training and give people the basic skills they need in order to make the most of the opportunities available."
"I listened with great interest to the contributions made during the Talent Debate and will make sure that the results are fed back to the Prime Minister who has asked to be kept informed about progress on this issue."
Deborah Cadman, chief executive of the East of England Development Agency (EEDA), and one of the keynote speakers at the debate, said:
"Fostering new skills and unlocking talent is absolutely essential for increasing business productivity. But perhaps more importantly, and certainly in the context of the current global economic downturn, a skilled workforce is an adaptable workforce."
"Businesses may well need to re-orientate themselves to cope with the challenges they face, and EEDA is working with businesses in the region to make sure they are well equipped to do so. We will shortly be announcing details of a significant investment in skills training grants through our Beyond 2010 programme for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the East of England. "
