THE north west is lagging behind the rest of Britain on the skills ladder.

Often it is the basic or multidisciplinary skills which are lacking such as communication or IT skills but, according to research by the North West Development Agency, the north west is also behind at the higher end of the skills ladder.

Forums at the Manchester Skills Conference were aimed at a range of skills, including discussions from basic and elementary skills to those needed at craft and technician level.

Chairman of Greater Manchester’s Learning and Skills Council Anthony Goldstone said: ‘‘We must get companies to recognise that there is a failure to understand what skills they particularly need. If you want to grow the business you have to have a better skilled workforce.

‘‘We are beginning to have the real dialogue now between the training providers, businesses, and the further education colleges. By raising the debate we will raise the quality of training in the region and make this a great region.’’

Manchester’s Arndale Centre is one north west location already tackling the skills shortage head on through its own training scheme.

As the region’s first retail training scheme, the initiative is aimed at providing young people with the skills needed to get into work and also to put them in touch with potential employers.

‘‘The idea is to provide a link between the retailers and the unemployed persons to give them opportunities,’’ said Bob Greenhalgh deputy general manager at the centre.

New Deal

Part of the government’s New Deal programme, the Arndale Training and Employment Link was set up in January by Arndale Centre owners Prudential together with Standguide training providers and is aimed at 18 to 24 year-olds.

After three successful runs of the course to date, the next group of eight to 12 recruits will begin three-weeks of training later this month.

Interview techniques, time management tips and basic hygiene are some of the skills covered and recruits have the chance to put the theory into practice on the shop floor and continue to receive Jobseeker’s Allowance.

In the future, employers will receive a subsidy of £60 per week for candidates, plus £750 towards training. According to Bob, before the scheme was set up employers were reluctant to take young people on because of the time and costs involved in training.

‘‘For retailers A-Tel is ideal because a they can take a young person on board who has been trained to a reasonable standard who can walk into their business having had some retail experience.

‘‘Also the money is quite a benefit for some retailers,’’ he said.

Retail is one of the region’s largest and fastest-growing industries and has seen a boom in Manchester with the completion of several new shopping developments, but Bob says at present there simply aren’t enough trained people to fill the jobs.

‘‘The service industry has moved forward leaps and bounds but employers cannot fill those vacancies.’’

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