The government has today announced the launch of national skills academies covering five new sectors: rail engineering, logistics, green building services, biotechnology and composites. The academies are funded by £12m of public investment matched by the private sector.

The National Skills Academy for Power is already open and will receive a further £2.9m of government funding. The academies aim to attract more than 300,000 learners to training programmes over the next four years.

In the nuclear sector, the government is to co-fund delivery of up to 1,000 apprentices per year, subject to employer demand for places and availability of training.

The new academies bring the total of National Skills Academies in the UK to 18 and benefit from combined employer investment of more than £130m.

• The NSA for Power, led by Sector Skills Council Energy & Utility Skills, is supported by employers including E-ON, EDF Energy and National Grid and benefits from a planned £2.9m public investment alongside £3.9m from employers
• The rail engineering sector NSA receives nearly £3m of government investment through the Skills Funding Agency and is supported by organisations including Network Rail, Transport for London, Rail Freight Group, the Rail Industry Association and the Association of Train Operating Companies.
• Employers including Unipart, Denby Transport and Port of Tilbury are supporting the logistics sector NSA, which receives over £4m public funding
• The NSA in the green building services sector coordinates skills training in design, installation and maintenance of solar panel technology, heat and power, and wind and micro-generation and receives nearly £3m government investment through the Skills Funding Agency
• The NSA for Process Industries creates two new hubs for Biotechnology and Composites, receiving over £2m public investment and will work in partnership with employers and other organisations.
  
  

The government has also launched a £50m joint investment programme, which matches employer investment in priority sectors, while the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) has published its first National Strategic Skills Audit today.

EDF Energy says it expects to recruit thousands of highly-skilled people in the coming years and plans to expand its apprentice and graduate programmes to develop skills required.

Eva Eisenschimmel, chief officer - people, organisation & brand performance at EDF Energy, says: “The UK needs the right workforce to build a low-carbon economy. Energy and related services are going to be a huge growth area for jobs and can help drive the country through the recession.

“Business, government, skills bodies and education and training providers must all be part of a co-ordinated plan for the future. This report by UKCES is an important step in understanding the UK’s needs, what opportunities that will create and what skills we need to develop. We need an infrastructure in place that can deliver the right people for the job.”

Business secretary Lord Mandelson says: “We are investing in the industries where employers’ need is greatest – tens of thousands of people working in these industries, the consumers they serve and the UK as a whole will see the benefit.”