Deloitte, the business advisory firm, has expanded its public sector practice by recruiting seven education and skills consultants from KPMG and 11 other staff from school roles, the civil service and elsewhere in education. The newly expanded team will consult for a range public and private sector organisations including central government departments, local authorities, colleges and private sector companies on issues of policy, implementation and strategy.

Mike Turley, Head of Public Sector Consulting at Deloitte said ‘There are significant challenges presented by the evolving demands of the education and skills sector. Deloitte’s new, enlarged education and skills team will work with colleges, private training providers and other stakeholders in the public and private sectors to confront these challenges.  The team’s focus will be to assist these organisations deliver the targets set out in the Leitch report and the wider education agenda.”

Skills pledge
Deloitte recently signed the Government’s Skills Pledge. While Deloitte is the largest private sector graduate employer in the UK, recruiting 1400 graduates in 2007, with a highly skilled workforce, the Skills Pledge is a commitment that all staff, whatever their level and role, should develop basic literacy and numeracy skills. These skills will be obtained through National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) level two qualifications, equivalent to five GCSEs grade A to C.  In addition, Deloitte will fund training for NVQ level three or four qualifications (equivalent to A-level and degree respectively) if it contributes to staff career progression.

Deloitte is already recognised as a leader in employability skills programmes for young people and this latest commitment is a recognition of the wider role of skills across the firm.

Jo Munroe, HR manager at Deloitte responsible for implementing the training programme necessary to fulfil the Skills Pledge said “We already had a comprehensive training programme in place but this will take it a step further and significantly increase the level of support that we can offer our employees. It will be of great benefit to both the firm and the individuals involved.”

The Learning & Skills Council assists employers to find the right training to deliver the best skills for business through the Train to Gain programme. Train to Gain provides a free skills brokerage service to assess the training needs of an organisation, find relevant local training providers and advise on government funding available to relieve business’ staff training budgets.

David Hughes, LSC Regional Director for London said “If the UK is to remain competitive internationally we need to increase the skills levels of all employees.  Research shows that one of the keys to a productive, successful business is having a skilled and competent workforce.

Ends

Other Deloitte skills and education activities

Deloitte Foundation Employability programme
Over the last six years Deloitte has led a unique award-winning employability initiative which helps 16-19 year olds develop the skills, attitudes and behaviours they need to secure and sustain employment.  The programme was designed with support from HSBC, Vodafone, Morgan Stanley and News International and DfES.  It is delivered by a number of further education colleges in England.

In order to make this training more widely available The Deloitte Foundation has now committed £2m funding over a five-year period to train a new generation of FE teachers to deliver employability skills courses to college students.  Deloitte’s funding will train up to 800 new trainers who will teach employability skills to up to 80,000 young people alongside their vocational studies.

Deloitte education and skills team
Recognising the challenges posed by the need to raise skill levels in the UK’s public and private sectors Deloitte has recently expanded its education and skills team.  Several experienced education consultants have joined from a number of other firms including KPMG, the civil service and from school leadership roles. The team will work with the two government education and skills departments and the whole education delivery chain including colleges, private training providers and other stakeholders in the public and private sectors.

Deloitte is currently working with practitioners across Further Education (FE) to deliver the Support for Excellence Programme.  This will establish Peer Review and Development to support FE Providers improve their self assessment processes in preparation for the introduction of Framework for Excellence and the move towards self regulation across the FE system.

Deloitte Teach First Scheme
Deloitte has established a partnership with Teach First. University students apply to Deloitte and Teach First. They secure a graduate position with Deloitte, participate in the Teach First scheme for 2 years in schools, joining the business for summer vacation work supported by a mentor. On completing Teach First, graduates join Deloitte’s graduate scheme into Audit, Tax or Consulting.  Deloitte supports the Teach First organisation through joint on-campus marketing and representation. 

Notes

Learning and Skills Council
The LSC exists to make England better skilled and more competitive. It is responsible for ensuring the availability of high-quality education and training for everyone. It has a single goal: to improve the skills of England’s young people and adults to world class standards. Its vision is that young people and adults in England have knowledge and skills matching the best in the world and are part of a truly competitive workforce. It works nationally, regionally and locally to deliver this ambition on behalf of learners and employers.

Skills Pledge
Officially launched by the Government on 14 June 2007, the Skills Pledge is a public and voluntary commitment made by employers to support all their employees to develop basic skills. This includes literacy and numeracy, and work towards relevant, valuable qualifications to at least Level 2 (equivalent to five good GCSEs). The Skills Pledge is designed to stimulate demand for training services and support a new culture where gaining skills is taken as a matter of course.

Train to Gain
Train to Gain is a service from the Learning and Skills Council, helping businesses get the training they need to succeed. The cornerstone of Train to Gain is a Skills Brokerage service that offers free impartial advice, and helps find the best training to meet business needs.

Skills shortages continue to have a negative impact on UK productivity and competitiveness in the face of fast-growing economies. Train to Gain aims to encourage all businesses and individuals to value and realise the benefits that learning and skills can bring and to invest appropriately. It is expected that by the end of 2010, over 500,000 learners will have achieved a first full Level 2 qualification through Train to Gain.

Skills campaign
In July 2007, the LSC and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) launched the skills campaign. The campaign - Our future. It’s in our hands - urges people to take control of their future by investing in skills. It is the most ambitious marketing and communications campaign of its kind and over a three to five year period aims to bring about the cultural change needed to improve the attitudes and aspirations of employers and individuals to learning and skills across England.

Leitch Review of Skills
Published in December 2006, the Leitch Review warned that the UK must become a world leader in skills by 2020 if it is to sustain and improve its position in the global economy.

Teach First
Teach First is an independent charity established to increase aspirations and achievements of secondary school pupils in challenging circumstances.  Over 1,000 graduates have been placed in challenging London, North West and Midlands secondary schools.   Deloitte was the first company to offer a deferred-entry Teach First scheme in 2004.

About Deloitte
In this press release references to Deloitte are references to Deloitte & Touche LLP which is among the country's leading professional services firms, providing audit, tax, consulting and corporate finance services. Deloitte & Touche LLP is the United Kingdom member firm of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu ('DTT'), a Swiss Verein whose member firms are separate and independent legal entities.  Neither DTT nor any of its member firms has any liability for each other's omissions.  Services are provided by member firms or their subsidiaries and not by DTT.  Deloitte & Touche LLP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

Deloitte employs 11,000 staff in the UK of which 7,000 are in London.

The information contained in this press release is correct at the time of going to press.