Dear Editor,

I was born into a Britain very different to the one we see today. People would join a company and stay there for their entire career. That Britain no longer exists: it has changed radically since I was born and it will change even more by the time the next generation enters work.

To compete and thrive in today’s incredibly competitive, globalised world, with its flexible markets and open borders, our companies need a workforce that is highly skilled and productive

Globalisation is not fading away – it is getting stronger. We can hide our heads in the sand, and pretend we won’t be affected, but the consequences will be disastrous – a slow but inevitable economic  decline, social unrest and growing poverty.

Or we can choose a different future. Wellprepared, each company and each individual can take advantage of the unprecedented opportunities that the global market place presents.

Investing in your employees leads to greater staff loyalty, higher retention rates and lower recruitment costs. It means lower absenteeism, higher productivity and greater competitiveness. These are all things that will make a real difference to your bottom line and to your ability to compete with companies on the other side of the street or the other side of the world.

In my Tottenham constituency, I have witnessed the realities of life for people without the skills they need. The misery and isolation that poverty and unemployment can bring is all too apparent. But I have also seen the remarkable changes that can happen when people do embrace learning: the joy of achievement, of getting a job, of people and businesses lifting themselves up to heights they never previously thought possible.

The mission of the new Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills is to create a country recognised the world over as one that invests in its people, enables people of all backgrounds to succeed and helps our companies compete with the best in the world.

Last month, we published World Class Skills, our long-term plan to transform this country’s skills. We want all adults to be able to read, write and do numbers. And we want more than 90 per cent of adults to be qualified to at least Level 2 (the equivalent of five good GCSEs) and for that figure to get to 95 per cent as soon as possible. And we aim to have millions more qualified at an intermediate and higher level.

The jobs of tomorrow will come from industries that require high level, high valueadded skills. If we are to be a world leader in an economy based on knowledge and skills, ever more people must be qualified to graduate and postgraduate level. Our aim is for 40 per cent of adults to be qualified to at least Level 4 by the end of the next decade.

This is a crusade to transform Britain’s skills, backed to the hilt by the prime minister. But it is not something that government can do alone. Only a new partnership between government, employers and individuals can achieve it.

So, as you read this letter, ask yourself how you are going to play your part.

If you run a company, go to www.traintogain.gov.uk.  Train to Gain not only offers tailored advice on the best training for your company, it will find and arrange the best way of delivering that training to your staff. It will set out the full costs of that training and help source public funds that can meet some or all of that cost. It can help your business improve its productivity and competitiveness by ensuring that employees have the right skills to do the best job.

I ask you to make the Skills Pledge. This is a public, voluntary commitment to support your employees in achieving at least a full Level 2 qualification. Make sure that your company has the skills it needs to compete. If you don’t, your competitors will.

There has been a lot of discussion about what it means to be British. I want it to include being among the best in the world for skills, science, research and innovation. This will enable us to live in a more equal society and to lead happier, more fulfilling lives; to continue to be among the most successful economies in the world.

David Lammy MP, minister for skills

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