What is an SSC?
Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) are independent, employer-led
organisations responsible for tackling the skills and productivity
needs of their industry sectors UK-wide. SSCs aim to increase the
competitiveness of the sectors they represent, by:
- reduced skills gaps and shortages
- improved productivity, business and public service
performance
- increased opportunities to boost the skills and productivity of
everyone in the sector's workforce
- improved learning supply through National Occupational
Standards, apprenticeships, and further and higher education.
Sector Skills Councils are licensed by the Secretary of State
for Business Innovation, and Skills, in consultation with Ministers
in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The UK Commission for
Employment and Skills (UKCES) is responsible for funding and
monitoring the performance of SSCs.
Semta first received its Sector Skills Council licence in 2003,
and is currently the one of the largest SSCs, representing the
130,000 businesses and two million employees throughout the
science, engineering and manufacturing technologies sector.
Approximately 90 percent of the UK economy is currently
covered by an SSC. The UKCES has responsibility for providing cover
for those industries that fall outside the SSCs.
Further information on Sector Skills Councils is available on
the website of the UKCES.