Skills training

Secretary of State for Innovation, John Denham, has welcomed a skills pledge by Toyota to provide training opportunities for 4,700 employees at its UK manufacturing plants.

Approximately 1,500 production line workers across sites in Derbyshire and North Wales will be given the opportunity to achieve NVQ level 2 in Business Improvement Techniques. The qualification is supported by sector skills council, Semta’s Compact, and is part of Toyota’s ongoing initiative to develop the skills of all production line staff.

In support of the pledge, the government is investing in a flexible training platform that companies such as Toyota can access to improve skills within their workforce. By 2010/11, the government expects to spend around £5bn on skills annually.

Clive Bridge, corporate affairs director of Toyota Manufacturing UK, said: ‘By signing the skills pledge we demonstrate our commitment to world class development together with providing our employees with the opportunity to gain a nationally recognised qualification. This has been positively received by our workforce; for many this will be their highest qualification.’

Toyota currently operates an £11m European Production Training Centre at its Burnaston Plant in Derbyshire. The training centre provides skills training for supervisors from Toyota’s manufacturing facilities in France, Turkey, Poland, Czech Republic and Russia.