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National Skills 'Free For All'
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Unionlearn, sponsors of ?Skills & Business Expo 09? call on organisations to invest in skills now.
June will see the launch of the Skills & Business Expo, a new exhibition and seminar event that will give existing businesses and organisations the inside track on the skills and support they need to succeed and even grow during the current downturn.
Liz Smith, unionlearn Director said: ?Unionlearn, the TUC?s learning and skills organisation, works with both the private and public sectors to enhance and optimise employees? learning opportunities. Unionlearn and trade unions, through a network of over 20,000 union learning reps (ULRs), are working in partnership with a wide range of employers to ensure that individuals can improve their skills in the workplace. This benefits the employee, the organisation and the economy, and organisations which are investing in skills now, will be in a better position when the recession ends.?
The free to attend event - which is all happening on the 23rd and 24th of June at the ExCel Centre in London's Docklands - brings together for the first time the UK?s leading skills training and business solutions providers to offer visitors practical advice, support and guidance when it comes to skills, tax, business funding and employment law.
WorldSkills UK National Finals
The five shortlisted competitors for WorldSkills UK Mechanical Engineering CADD will compete live to become WorldSkills UK national gold medal winner for this year. Skills & Business Expo 09 also hosts the live, national finals of the competition.
In addition to the competition finale UK Skills will be hosting seminars on their competitions, so the Expo will be a chance to see competitions live and discuss how you can get involved. Whether you are a tutor with an exceptional student, an employer that has trained exceptional talent, or someone who feels able to compete at the highest level ? this is your chance to get involved!
WorldSkills UK Competitions is a set of dynamic skills competitions for both young people and adults, designed by industry experts. They run every year in over 70 skills areas from Aeronautical Engineering to Floristry, both regionally and nationally. Some WorldSkills UK competitions can lead to WorldSkills, where there is an opportunity to compete at an international level. A full listing of the competitions can be found at: www.worldskillsuk.org/competitions.
 Current Climate
Event director, Steve Mallinson, commented: ?The current economic climate is a real challenge. Support for start ups is everywhere, but for existing businesses it?s much more difficult to find...The Skills & Business Expo '09 has brought all the best sources for this support together under one roof, making it easier for existing businesses to access the knowledge and skills that will help them to improve profitability, efficiency and strengthen their offer ? which has never been more important than now.?
The event?s exhibition and seminar programme is separated into two key areas; Skills and Business Support. Skills Expo focuses on providing information on improving skills, such as what the available options are, what support is available and how to access it. Business Support looks at additional ways of helping businesses become more efficient, such as how to access business loans and funding, manage restructuring effectively, and get the best out of tax planning.
This new Expo aims to educate and inform UK businesses of the many training options available to them to improve the skills of employees. The event will do this by bringing under one roof a host of business support solution providers, covering all areas of business from tax advice to procurement to recruitment and employment law. Routes to funding including grants and loans will be clearly explained, including schemes such as the Small Firms Loans Guarantee.
Partnerships
The event - which is completely free to all visitors - is set to include a series of seminars being run on both days, hosted by organisations including the Department for Innovation, Universities & Skills (DIUS), the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB),Jobcentre Plus, BT and BPP Professional Education.
The latest organisations to become involved in this event include:
Financial Services Skills Council
Energy & Utility Skills
Derby College
University for Industry
Birkbeck College, University of London
National Open College Network
Skills2Learn
The Training Gateway
Apprentice Training Ltd
Open University
UK Border Agency
Management Standards Centre
UK Skills
Jobcentreplus
KPMG
Foundation Degree Forward
The Skills & Business Expo 09 is in association with DIUS, the Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR), the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the Trades Union Congress organisation unionlearn, and the FSB.
For more information, call Charis Rosen at Public Service Information on 0161 217 2500 or visit the event website at: Skills & Business Expo.
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