CBI calls for 'skills passport' boost

Business leaders are backing the idea of a "skills passport" to boost the flagging skills revolution.

In a new report, Realising the Vision: A Skills Passport, the Confederation of British Industry calls for a skills passport which stresses lifetime learning and the acquisition of core skills.

The precise format has yet to be decided upon, and the CBI will now consult members. The National Record of Achievement supplemented by individual action plans looks the favoured model. The CBI want the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service to make records of achievement an entry requirement for higher education.

The passport would be part of a training framework where the three major stakeholders - the Government, employers and individuals - have contractual obligations. The CBI wants the Department for Education and Employment to establish a core skills task force which would develop and implement a strategy for core skills at every level. It also wants education lead bodies which will develop standards of competence for teachers, lecturers and managers.

Individuals will be expected to fund aspects of learning throughout life which are not employment related or part of foundation learning. But the CBI emphasises the role of employers, wanting them to become "a learning business", achieve Investors in People standard, and accept "full financial responsibility for training employees to meet basic business needs regardless of the contract status of the individual".