POLICY & PRACTICE: Briefing - Skills councils will affect youthwork

I hear that the formal training of the informal educators is up for grabs. Yes. Transforming the youth workers, you might say. Most major commercial and professional sectors, from IT to construction, are represented by a national training organisation whose job it is to set training standards and ensure as far as possible that supply matches demand in different skills categories.

But the Government is gradually replacing these national training organisations with new bodies called sector skills councils. That goes for the informal education sector as much as for any other.

So, basically, the existing bodies will just get renamed and get a few new board members and life will go on as before? No, because there is also a bit of consolidation going on at the same time. There were 72 national training organisations. There will only be 25 sector skills councils.