10 October 2017
Jersey’s education providers and employers will be working closer together in future to ensure islanders have the right skills to match the jobs available.
More work will be taking place under the banner of Skills Jersey to create stronger links between schools, colleges, training organisations and businesses so that they are more closely aligned and can respond more quickly to the changing demands of the economy.
Education Minister, Deputy Rod Bryans, said “As an island, we are already successful at preparing young people for the workforce through schools and programmes such as Trackers, Trident, Careers Jersey and Back To Work – but we need to do more. Skills Jersey will take what we currently do and raise it to a higher level.
“We know that the key to a successful economy is a well-trained workforce so we are launching Skills Jersey to coordinate all the training we currently do and make sure it’s completely aligned with what businesses are looking for in their employees.
“We need to be better connected and we need ongoing training for employees of all ages. This is vital for the future prosperity of Islanders and will ultimately make Jersey a better place to live and work.”
A new Skills Strategy has been produced to underpin the work of Skills Jersey. This is the starting point for an action plan to be drawn up. Skills Jersey will have three teams working in the following sections
- learning through work
- connect with education
- careers guidance
Chief Operating Officer at the Education Department, Christine Walwyn, said “We commissioned the Skills Strategy to identify the gaps and created Skills Jersey to make sure those gaps are filled. Ultimately, these two innovations will lead to better careers for islanders and a better source of employees for our businesses.”
The launch of Skills Jersey starts a week of skill-themed events, which also includes the next phase of workshops with businesses other employers.
gov.je