News
Skills Academy Unveils Action Plan for Delivering Sustainable Communities
11th May 2006
The Academy for Sustainable Communities (ASC) today announced a series of ground-breaking education and training initiatives for young people, professionals and communities.
The Leeds-based ASC, the first of its kind in Britain, is working with partners from all sectors to improve the skills, knowledge and behaviours needed to deliver and maintain sustainable communities across the country.
It will focus on a range of innovative projects to capture the interest of young people and encourage them into sustainable community careers; ensure that a co-ordinated programme of integrated learning and skills training is delivered to professionals; and increase the ability of communities to shape the future direction of where they live and work.
At a major introductory event in Leeds, the ASC set out its key priorities. These measures include:
Young People
* Developing curriculum content for pupils at secondary schools across the country
* Developing a cross-sector careers brand and launching national and regional marketing campaigns
Professionals
* Commissioning ground-breaking cross occupational learning and generic skills materials for a wide range of sustainable communities' professions
* Working with private sector developers, consultants and investors to identify and develop a plan to address skills and knowledge shortfalls between the public and private sectors
Communities
* Developing learning programmes for local communities to enable them to engage more effectively in the sustainable communities process
* Developing learning programmes for community leaders, local government leading members and officers and Local Strategic Partnerships
The ASC will also be at the forefront of a growing international focus on sustainable communities. On behalf of the Government, the ASC is taking forward the principles of the Bristol Accord and leading a Skills Symposium where experts from across Europe can promote good practice and share ideas. The ASC today announced that this conference will take place in Leeds from November 9th to 10th this year.
Baroness Kay Andrews, Minister at the Department for Communities and Local Government, said: "The ASC will be integral to developing the skills and knowledge needed to maintain and revitalise our communities. It has set out an exciting and challenging agenda today for bringing about the culture change needed in the delivery of skills. The ASC will work to break down barriers between occupations, encourage young people to enter the key occupations of community building, and empower local citizens with new place making skills to shape their neighbourhoods. But the goal of creating sustainable communities is not just confined to the UK, it is now a Europe-wide objective established in the Bristol Accord. The ASC will be leading the international effort to create thriving and prosperous communities across Europe at the Skills Symposium in November."
Peter Roberts, Chair of the ASC, said: "We face acute skills shortages in this country and there are not enough young people taking up the opportunities available. Many professions are still constrained by occupational and organisation silos and we continue to repeat past mistakes. We also need to empower local people, raising aspirations to achieve sustainable communities and equipping them to influence the development of their own areas. The ASC is committed to eliminating these barriers and to bridging knowledge and skills gaps to ensure we create prosperous, thriving communities for generations to come."
Gill Taylor, ASC Chief Executive, said: "The ASC's work will span the public, private, community and voluntary sectors as we aim to establish a co-ordinated approach to sustainable communities skills, knowledge and information exchange - one that only a national, cross-sector organisation such as the ASC can achieve. At the heart of our operations will be a highly collaborative approach. We have got to be smarter as a sector, finding ways of making links to complement what we all do and learning more from one another."
