Our future. It's in our hands.

“Our future. It’s in our hands”, just what does this mean?

Our world is changing. We all need more skills than ever before.

Thousands of employers - of all sizes - admit that their staff don’t have the right skills needed for the future.

For individuals, two out of three jobs in the future will require a higher level of skills and better qualifications. In fact, in less than ten years there will be very few unskilled jobs.

Don’t get left behind: take control of the future with better skills

Your staff need better skills than ever before for your business to succeed. The world economy is changing with growing competition from developing countries such as China. For the UK to remain competitive there is even greater need for companies such as yours to now start investing in training employees. However, with the many services available through the Learning and Skills Council and strong government support there’s never been a better time to start.

You have a part to play, the answer’s in your hands.

Why are we advertising Train to Gain at the moment?

The Learning and Skills Council with government backing and in collaboration with organisations such as Business Link and Investors in People have come together across England to promote awareness of the need to train our workforce to a higher level.

Through the Train to Gain service we are promoting the business benefits as part of a much larger campaign to raise awareness of the need to improve our skills and those of our employees.

No doubt, you have heard on news reports of the competition our businesses face from emerging countries. There are many reports such as the Leitch Review of Skills highlighting the importance of raising the skills levels of our staff in order for businesses in England to remain competitive in the world economy and the dangers of not doing so. The government and all political parties recognise the potential risks and have committed themselves to highlight the important role you and your business play. When you train your staff, not only does your company gain the benefits of a more competent employee, but the economy is strengthened by your ability to compete effectively in the world market.

Organisations such as the Learning and skills Council exist to help you in accessing the best possible training for your individual needs and by highlighting any possible funding and grants available.

We recognise that your business needs are such that you cannot always release people to go to a college for training, in such cases we can help you find training providers who can come to your premises, and fit into your schedule. We have contracted skills brokers to provide you with this expertise, they have the business skills to work with you to individualise the training packages to the particular needs of your business.

Whether you have five, fifty or five hundred employees, Skills brokers can work with you to analyse your needs.

To contact a skills broker in your area you can call the national helpline 0800 015 55 45

Or alternatively, you can get a skills broker to contact you.

I’m not an employer, how can I access training and learning?

There’s never been a better time to get better skills and a good place to start would be the Skills website; here you will find information and links to relevant websites. The answer’s in your hands.

In our hands - the creative thinking behind the campaign

The Skills Campaign’s eye-catching new advertisements are designed to encourage people to invest time and effort in learning new skills. The distinctive and thought-provoking strap line will be seen all over the country - on TV, on billboards, on campaign literature and in the press.

“Our future. It’s in our hands.” the idea of putting hands at the very heart of the advertising campaign.

The campaign uses hands literally to communicate this message - painting and shaping them like a 3-dimensional canvas to create amazing images.

Research groups who have seen the advertisements have given them the firm thumbs-up and say they are “memorable, clever and distinctive.”

The TV advert was directed by Carl Erik Rinsch at RSA Films and the print adverts were shot by photographer Tif Hunter - both award-winning artists. Renowned body painters, Phyllis Cohen and Sarah Bee transformed human hands into mountains, tulips, swans and many other images. Scenes were animated and enriched by Digital Domain, the same animation company who created Lord of The Rings.