The Skills Value Chain

The Skills Value Chain (see below) is an approach that connects workforce development with the wider innovation ecosystem, leveraging the technological know-how of Centres of Innovation (like the HVM Catapult) to build an industrial skills base fit for the future. We found that Centres of Innovation can use their key positions at the interface between research and industry to play three leading roles:

1. Convening the partners, resources and expertise required to establish educational needs for the future workforce
2. Curating and creating curricula and content for modular courses, and helping to set up accompanying training standards
3. Delivering early-stage training and helping partners to scale-up their offering across the UK

Our Recommendations

The Manufacturing the Future Workforce report made five recommendations for the UK system, based on good practice around the world.

1. Develop and pilot the application of skills foresighting
2. Support the development of Higher Technical Qualifications and National Standards 
3. Develop modular training and resources to support future workforce skills development
4. Promote ‘Learning Factories’ as an education model to enable industrial digitalisation
5. Improve recognition and funding of modular and lifelong learning

As the UK recovers from the effects of the pandemic with a need to ‘Build Back Better’, these recommendations have become even more relevant.

We are pleased that these principles have received national recognition through our work on the Emerging Skills Project.

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