Response from Dr Elaine Monkhouse, Chair of Skills Guernsey and interim Chief Executive of the GTA University Centre.
Without doubt, Guernsey’s best advantage is its people. At the GTA we work with organisations and individuals from all areas of the community and we are constantly impressed with their commitment to training and development in order to improve their skills and increase their value to the organisation they work for and the island. My role as Chair of Skills Guernsey has also brought me into contact with grass roots organisations like the Dandelion Project, Start Up Guernsey, Digital Guernsey and Creative Industries Guernsey which are all great examples of local people coming together to make Guernsey a better skilled and happier place to live. These, and similar initiatives should be encouraged and the GTA is proud to be involved in supporting Guernsey by delivering the training our industries need and bringing fresh ideas to the island through the use of high profile lectures.
My work with Skills Guernsey has given me first hand access to the concerns and frustrations of local businesses. In a recent exercise to ascertain current and potential skills gaps in different sectors of the Guernsey economy we identified a number of potential barriers that are preventing the local economy from flourishing. In some ways Guernsey is a victim of its own success as near full employment means organisations are struggling to fill important vacancies locally. This issue is becoming increasingly pertinent given the lack of movement within the middle and senior management levels of many local organisations, and when vacancies do arise, housing licence restrictions and the high cost of property makes it harder to attract people to the island. It is clear that future skills requirements will include higher order management and leadership as well as creativity, digital and customer service skills.
In 2015 I would like to see greater investment and resources being put into improving the skills of local employees. The States can take a lead here but it really is the responsibility of employers, professional bodies and individuals to also step up to this challenge. My personal view is that tangible benefits could be realised by making funding available to subsidise training for smaller businesses, within specific sectors and for specific skillsets. Adopting an island-wide standard for good practice in management and leadership, such as Investors in People, would help raise standards. There are a number of companies in Guernsey who have already benefited from going through this process and support for organisations (again, particularly smaller businesses) wishing to work toward the standard with both funds and advice would yield positive results for the whole island. Clearly, in order to attract to the island skilled and experienced people who have the skill sets that the island lacks, there are budgetary issues and matters of population policy to consider but I do hope such matters will be given due consideration to help raise standards and stimulate economic growth.