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WorldSkills Competition

Answer

The preparation work for the bid is already well advanced, and is being shared between the UK Government and skills partners in the business, voluntary and public sectors. This will help to build an enduring social partnership which will promote a higher level of skills investment across the UK as an important legacy effect. A national coalition of skills partners, including the Learning and Skills Council (LSC), Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA), Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Investors in People UK (IiP UK), the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the devolved Administrations, is working hard to secure the funding we need.We have put in place a Project Board and a UK-wide steering group chaired by myself to manage the bid process. At its first meeting on 7 December, the steering group endorsed the partnership approach as the best way forward and approved the plans for the Pre-Qualification Visit in January.In January a team from the WorldSkills Executive Board will visit us to validate our Expression of Interest against their essential criteria for hosting the event. If these criteria are met, we will be invited to submit a full bid. Our task will be to showcase the best that London can offer and convince the WorldSkills assessors that we mean business. We will then work with the LSC, the SSDA, IiP UK, UK Skills and the devolved Administrations to submit a full bid by 31 March 2006.Our bid will eventually be presented to the WorldSkills Council in Melbourne in May, where we will find ourselves competing against France, Sweden and Australia. If successful, we will then build the national organisation and funding model we need to deliver the event.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

39310; 440 c2745W

Session

2005-06

Subjects

WorldSkills

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk