30 January 2008

Skills focus critical to high wage economy

"Supporting workers to improve their skills in areas such as literacy and numeracy is critical to building the high wage, high skill economy that everyone wants," CTU secretary Carol Beaumont said today.

The Council of Trade Unions is a member of the Skill New Zealand forum with employers, government and industry training representatives, highlighted by the Prime Minister today.

"8 out of 10 workers of the workforce of 2017 are at work today and so a good place to invest in people is directly at the workplace," Carol Beaumont said.

"Increasing workers' skills is at the heart of economic transformation and is key to lifting New Zealand's productivity. A concerted effort to take a wider look at skills development beyond routine training issues is welcome."

"The wider social benefits of increased skills investment will be felt in many ways including workers having more access to employment opportunities, supporting their children's learning and being able to take part in a wider range of community activities."

The CTU looks forward to continuing the working relationship with government and employers on skills development, Carol Beaumont said.

ENDS

© Scoop Media