Within Northern Ireland, the nationally consistent topics such as risk assessment, customer service skills and management & leadership are joined by additional specific concerns.

• Secured funding for Essential Skills project
  
• Establishing Management & Leadership skills programmes for the Housing Sector in Northern Ireland
  
• Established Asset Skills employer board for Northern Ireland

The role of technology in the economy has meant basic IT and project management skills are now sought after throughout the sectors.

Team working, building partnerships and negotiation skills are high on the list of priorities as many organisations seek to modernise their services and secure lucrative public and private sector contracts.

There has been a significant increase in the number of immigrant workers. The management and integration of this workforce is a key issue across the sectors. International recruitment issues, language training and essential skills gaps all define the requirement for a greater understanding of multicultural diversity. This workforce is also changing as a result of legislation.

The Housing Order 2003 and the Disability Codes of Practice have already begun to change the nature of certain services. In addition, strategies such as Decent Homes, the Efficiency Agenda and Supporting People have created many challenges for the sector.

Against this dynamic background we have made significant progress. We have secured funding from the Department of Education and Learning for an essential skills project, highlighting 12 companies throughout the region as ‘leading lights’ in developing literacy and numeracy, using the Asset Skills Ambassadors strategy.

We have also established the Asset Skills Board in Northern Ireland which has enabled us to define the footprint for our engagement with the needs of employers. Looking to the future, we will develop senior level skills programmes, specifically looking at management & leadership within the housing sector. We will take full advantage of the dynamic resources of the Management & Leadership Network.

We will seek to promote new standards of quality and efficiency using the forthcoming cleaning ‘Pathway Card’ as a tool. We will seek to develop partnerships to address shared problems and skills deficiencies in the cleaning and facilities management sectors, continuing to build relationships with existing employer networks and groups.

Our future development must be grounded in an awareness of the needs of employers, and the often sensitive nature of those needs. This will add value to our expertise as we address the skills requirements of other sectors at various levels, from cleaners to chief executives.