Regional minister highlights importance of a skilled workforce as merseyside authorities sign 'skills pledge'

The Minister was speaking at a ceremony where the six Merseyside City Region authorities - Liverpool, Wirral, St Helens, Sefton, Knowsley and Halton - signed the Skills Pledge.

The Skills Pledge is a public commitment made by employers to support and improve the skills of their workforce who have few or no qualifications.

Signing the pledge commits the authorities to supporting staff to develop English and maths skills and to gain the equivalent of up to five GCSEs or NVQ 2 qualifications.

The North West Local Authorities' Employers' Organisation (NWEO) is leading the push to sign up local authorities with 28 signed up so far.

The North West is making more progress than other regions and the Improvement and Development Agency (IdeA) for local government is now seeking to use the work in the North West as a pathfinder for other regions.

Improving skills and signing the Skills Pledge are also targets in the North West Regional Improvement and Efficiency Strategy (NWIEP) and the Merseyside sign up will make a significant contribution to the achievement of this target.

Minister for the North West Beverley Hughes said:

"I am delighted that all the Merseyside local authorities have now decided to sign up to the Skills Pledge together and make a public statement about investing in skills to improve the lives of the people on Merseyside. This is showing real leadership and demonstrating the important contribution the public sector can make - as employers - to the development of skills to our region.

"I am encouraged that the North West are making more progress than other regions and that the approach here may be used as a pathfinder for other regions.

"The benefits of the skills pledge to the development of the whole of the Merseyside city region are potentially enormous and by signing the pledge together Merseyside authorities are demonstrating their shared commitment to work together to build the local economy for the benefit of Merseyside.

A strong partnership has been developed between the NWEO, Learning and Skills Council, Northwest Regional Development Agency and the Trades Unions, who share a commitment to improving the skills in the region