Skillsmart Retail, the Sector Skills Council for retail, and Sainsbury’s have been amongst the first in the retail sector to sign up to the employer Skills Pledge, which was launched this month. The Skills Pledge is a voluntary, public commitment by the leadership of a company or organisation to help all its employees to develop their basic skills to Level 2 standard, which is equivalent to five GCSES.
The Skills Pledge is open to employers of all sizes in the private, public and voluntary sectors. It is not a contractual commitment, and is not legally binding. It is simply a public commitment to enable staff to gain the basic competencies to support business needs and to ensure their own future employability, by obtaining relevant qualifications.
A company or organisation registering an interest in making a Skills Pledge will be able to access the support and advice of a skills broker. Across England there is a national network of skills brokers who will help to identify business priorities and skill needs and assist in creating a tailored training package.
“The purpose of this pledge is to ensure all staff are skilled, competent and able to make a full contribution to the success of a company or organization,” said Anne Seaman, chief operating officer of Skillsmart Retail.
“Skillsmart Retail is in full support of the scheme and welcomes Sainsbury’s support for the Pledge. We hope other retailers will follow suit and demonstrate their commitment to skills development by signing up to the Pledge.”
A spokesperson at Sainsbury’s said: “Sainsbury’s is delighted to be one of the first retailers to sign up to the pledge. At Sainsbury’s we are committed to staff training and development and are happy to demonstrate this commitment through the pledge.”
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