A new marketing campaign to change the nation’s attitude to skills and learning was unveiled by the government today.
The campaign, entitled ‘Our future. It’s in our hands’, which encourages further investment in skills, was launched by secretary of state for innovation, universities and skills, John Denham, and Learning and Skills Council (LSC) chairman, Chris Banks.
In the ‘most ambitious marketing and communications campaign of its kind driven by the LSC and DIUS’, the government aims to initiate the cultural change needed to improve the attitudes of employers and individuals towards skills over a three to five year period.
Following on from the skills pledge, which seeks to help every eligible employee achieve a Level 2 qualification, the campaign is the government’s latest effort to tackle the UK’s skills crisis, as highlighted by the Leitch Review of Skills published in December last year.
Lord Leitch’s review warned that if measures are not taken to increase skills levels in the UK population, the country’s skills base will be inferior to many other nations.
The review identified a number of targets that must be achieved by 2020 if the UK is to sustain and improve its position in the global economy.
“The big message today is, don’t get left behind,” says Chris Banks, chairman of the LSC.
“We want it to be as easy as possible for people to access information and understand what help is available for them to get the skills needed to get on in life and business.”
The advertising campaign will appear across a wide range of national and regional television channels as well as a wide range of other media platforms, the government said.
Secretary of state for innovation, universities and skills, John Denham added: “This exciting new campaign is not just about improving skill levels, but creating a cultural change in the nation’s attitude to skills.
“The campaign encourages employers and individuals to invest more in learning and skills.”
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