Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Latest NewsEconomics, government & businessLearning & developmentSector Skills CouncilsUK Commission for Employment & Skills

Fashion skills council to meet with minister to decide its fate

by Louisa Peacock 4 Sep 2009
by Louisa Peacock 4 Sep 2009

The fate of fashion and textiles skills council Skillfast will be decided next week when its senior management team meets higher education minister Kevin Brennan to thrash out the body’s purpose.


The sector skills council (SSC) was threatened with closure earlier this year after the latest round of re-licensing reviews decided not to recommend the body for automatic renewal next spring.


The UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES), conducting the reviews, said the body did not meet the standards required for a new license, meaning it could be closed down or merged with other SSCs.


All 25 SSCs will have had their licences reviewed by the end of this year to check they are fully meeting employers’ demands.


A UKCES spokeswoman told Personnel Today: “Skillfast appealed against our recommendation that they should not be relicensed; this appeal was rejected. They are now awaiting a meeting with Kevin Brennan, which is happening next week, to discuss a way forward.”


The spokeswoman pointed out that the minister could overturn UKCES’ decision not to relicense Skillfast.


However, she added: “Their current licence expires at the end of March next year, and if they are not relicensed they will lose their SSC status and funding at this time – but that’s not to say that all their staff will necessarily be out of a job and all their projects will be terminated.”


Skillfast, which employs 31 staff, was “incensed” when it discovered it was not to be automatically relicensed, claiming that the review findings were “flawed”, and the UKCES was pressing ahead with plans to close the body before waiting for the minister’s final decision.


“We discovered the commission has been talking to other SSCs about which part they’d like to cherry pick from us. We have to wait for the minister’s final decision but the commission is already keenly pursuing arrangements for our wind-up,” a spokeswoman said.


Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

The UKCES said the accusations were “unfair”.


So far, 10 SSCs have gone through the re-licensing process. The next five will learn of their fate next week, when the UKCES sends its recommendations to the government. These are: Skills for Health (health), SkillsActive (sport and recreation), Improve (food and drink manufacturing), Skills for Care and Development (social care), and Skills for Justice (policing and law enforcement).

Louisa Peacock

previous post
HR to bypass Agency Workers Directive with internal temps
next post
Facebook ban at Portsmouth City Council defended by HR chief

You may also like

Employees voting with feet as return-to-office pressure increases...

15 Jul 2025

Postmasters could take ownership of Post Office

14 Jul 2025

Ethnicity and disability pay gaps: Ready to report?...

14 Jul 2025

Manager dismissed after covert recording with HR wins...

14 Jul 2025

Food sector warned it is facing a workforce...

14 Jul 2025

Gregg Wallace investigation: 45 allegations upheld

14 Jul 2025

Black TV professionals’ experiences of racism are rife,...

14 Jul 2025

Steep reduction in recruitment in June

14 Jul 2025

Two-thirds drink to cope with work stress and...

14 Jul 2025

Why online training won’t help reduce sexual harassment

14 Jul 2025

  • Empower and engage for the future: A revolution in talent development (webinar) WEBINAR | As organisations strive...Read more
  • Empowering working parents and productivity during the summer holidays SPONSORED | Businesses play a...Read more
  • AI is here. Your workforce should be ready. SPONSORED | From content creation...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+