Government announces relicensing success for Skills for Justice

Wednesday, 14 October 2009 12:00 AM

Secretary of State for Business, Innovation & Skills Lord Mandelson today (14 Oct) announces that Skills for Justice has been rated as one of the top performingsector skills councils, scoring a 'good' rating across all 4 key areas of its work, following the recent relicensing assessment carried out by the National Audit Office, on behalf of the UK Commission for Employment & Skills.

All 25 sector skills councils (SSCs) have been rigorously assessed, and Skills for Justice, the sector skills council for Justice and community safety, has now been rated as one of the top-performers so far, scoring 'good' in all 4 of the assessment categories.

In his letter of confirmation, Lord Mandelson stated that "the decision has unanimous support of Ministerial colleagues," and went on to say "I would like to warmly congratulate the SSC. on this positive outcome, which I know reflects a lot of hard work and commitment."

Singled out for specific praise in our assessment report were our work in engaging with employers in the sector, highly regarded and widely used National Occupational Standards, positive relationships with stakeholders, and a clear strategic direction driven by the employer organisations we work with, such as the UK's Police Forces, Prison Service, the Courts Service, Fire & Rescue, Forensic Science and many voluntary and community organisations.

The assessment has recognised the strong progress we have made, and feedback from our employer organisations was consistently positive. Key areas of strength in our overall performance were our work around:

Devolution - our work developing skills in the UK nations
Leadership
Integrating National Occupational Standards

Of the decision, Alan Woods OBE, Chief Executive of Skills for Justice said "I am thrilled by this excellent result. It proves that our work with justice and community safety organisations to help them become more effective and efficient through high quality learning and development has real value and impact.

"We are a truly employer-led organisation, and to have this recognised by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills following a rigorous assessment by the National Audit Office is excellent to see. It would certainly not have been possible without the dedication and commitment of our hard-working teams across the UK."

"We look forward to being able to continue our good work, and being able to further help our employers develop the skills of their people, in order to create safer communities across the UK."

A copy of our National Audit Office assessment report and UKCES recommendations will be available at http:///www.ukces.org.uk

Notes to editors

Skills for Justice is employer-led and works in partnership to ensure that organisations in the Justice sector have the necessary skills and staff to be productive, efficient and effective. We provides additional benefits and value through a coordinated approach to skills issues, better use of resources, increased ability to attract development funding into the sector and increased ability to meet the needs of the individual countries in the UK.

We provide this support through 3 main work programmes

·Engaging with and influencing employers, government departments, devolved administrations and all key partners.

·Understanding and articulating clearly the current and future skills needs of those working in the Justice sector

·Developing tools and services and implementing practical solutions to improve the skills of the workforce, working with employers, learning providers and individuals.

Our vision is to be a leading recognised Sector Skills Council, delivering a world-class skills agenda to the Justice Sector.

We operate across the UK, with offices in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, working with a variety of employers in Community Justice, Courts, Custodial Care, Police and Law Enforcement, Prosecution, Forensic Science, Fire and Rescue Services and the Children's Workforce.

Employer organisations can benefit from our expert knowledge of workforce development by becoming a subscribing organisation.

To find out more, visit www.skillsforjustice.com/mediacentre

For more information please contact

Ally Mogg

Marketing & Communications Manager

Skills for Justice | Centre Court | Atlas Way | Sheffield | S4 7QQ

T: 0114 231 7387 | M: 07795 960707

www.skillsforjustice.com

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