Business News
Sector Skills Councils partnership plan set to benefit small companies
Friday 03. October 2008 - PAC pilot sees 14 companies increase profitability by more than £1.3million -Skills shortages are costing £700 million per year in lost productivity in England alone-
Four Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) have announced they are joining forces to secure the future of the UK manufacturing and engineering sectors through the Productivity and Competitiveness (PAC) programme. The PAC Programme has been formed by leading engineers who have pooled their core techniques in lean process and manufacturing to create a new and different approach specifically designed to help smaller companies.
The alliance of SSCs, called the Manufacturing Skills Alliance (MSA), is made up of:
Proskills, the SSC for the Building Products, Coatings, Extractives, Furniture, Glass, Paper and Printing Manufacturing and Processing Industries
Cogent, the SSC for the Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals, Oil and Gas, Nuclear, Petroleum and Polymer Industries
Improve, the SSC for the Food and Drink Manufacturing Industry
Semta, the SSC for Science, Engineering and Manufacturing Technologies
A recent PAC/B-IT (Business Improvement Techniques) pilot programme in the West Midlands has anticipated a total increase in profitability of more than £1.3million. The pilot saw 14 companies go through the PAC programme with companies involved seeing an average of £93,000 increase in profitability. One company involved, HydroBolt, a manufacturer and supplier of bespoke fasteners from Wolverhampton, saw a continuous improvement and a £9,000 increase in output.
Through measurements of quality, cost and delivery, on site PAC analysts work to assess the performance of manufacturing and engineering companies and facilitate increased productivity and bottom line benefit through seven key measures. In order that skills and knowledge acquired are
sustainable, selected staff subsequently undertake Business Improvement Techniques (B-IT) NVQ qualifications.
Jonathan Ledger, Proskills Strategic Programme Manager, said. “This programme is a huge opportunity for training providers and industry specialists to access top quality professional development that will help their front line staff deliver the skills and business improvements that employers from our sector are looking for, whilst taking advantage of what is effectively a Government supported investment for staff and business development. We also need businesses that want real and sustainable bottom line improvements to come forward and be a part of the PAC programme.”