Prospect's work with sector skills councils (SSCs)

What are sector skills councils?

SSCs are UK-wide, employer-led organisations covering defined industrial sectors. Their role is to define the skills and productivity priorities for their sector, develop strategies to deal with them, and help deliver specific action such as apprenticeships, occupational standards and new approaches to skills and productivity problems.

Prospect works with the relevant SSCs to ensure that their work delivers practical benefits to our members.

There are eight SSCs covering Prospect's areas of membership:

• CC Skills - advertising, crafts, cultural heritage, design, music, the arts
  
• Cogent - chemical, nuclear, oil and gas exploration and extraction, petroleum and polymer industries
• Energy and Utility Skills - electricity, gas, waste management and water industries
• Government Skills - government departments, executive agencies, NDPBs, the armed forces
• Lantra - environment and land-based industries
  
• Lifelong Learning UK - further and higher education providers, work and community-based learning, libraries, archives, information services
• SEMTA - science, engineering and manufacturing technologies
• Skills for Justice - custodial care, community justice, court and prosecution services, policing and law enforcement

Prospect's involvement with SSCs

Prospect has representatives on CC Skills, Cogent, Energy and Utility Skills, Lantra, Semta and Skills for Justice. Some of them are involved at the top level, eg on the SSC board or council. Others are involved in specific advisory panels and groups, eg cultural heritage within CC Skills, forensic science within Skills for Justice.

The union is spearheading a number of SSC initiatives, including:

• an agreement with Lantra to help tackle the skills shortages facing members in environmental and land-based industries
• a project with Semta to raise skills and unlock the potential of women in the science, engineering and technological industries.

Sector skills councils: downloadable resources