Sir Digby Jones given ‘skills envoy’ role by chancellor Gordon Brown

Gordon Brown has appointed former CBI chief, Sir Digby Jones, as his new ‘skills envoy’.

The chancellor used his pre-budget report to make the announcement as part of new drive to improve skills and training.

Jones, 51, stood down as director-general of the CBI earlier this year after nearly seven years in the post. He said his new two-day-a-week position was unpaid and “independent” of government.

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“The job is to really push with the employers the need to skill their employees,” he told Guardian Unlimited. “We need to be more productive. Getting people skills is the greatest agent for social inclusion. I am very pleased I have been asked to do it.”

The move comes just a day after Lord Leitch published his report on the state of skills in the UK, which calls on employers to drive the promotion of skills to ensure that the UK remains economically competitive.