City Council Get On

On Wednesday 19 December Leader of the Council Mike Mitchelson, Cllr Peter Farmer portfolio holder for Learning and Development, Chief Executive of the City Council Maggie Mooney with nine members of staff attended the headquarters of the North-western Local Authorities Employers Organisation (NWEO) in Salford for an awards ceremony where the City Council collected the Get On Award. The Go Award is in recognition of our achieving exacting standards in the way we have addressed the Skills for Life needs of our employees. The City Council was the first council in the North West to achieve this award. At the same ceremony the Chief Executive Maggie Mooney alongside representatives from ten other North West councils signed up to the Skills Pledge.

This is a voluntary, public commitment by the leadership of a company or organisation to support all its employees to develop their basic skills, including literacy and numeracy, and work towards relevant, valuable qualifications to at least Level 2 (equivalent to 5 good GCSEs). The purpose is to ensure that all staff are skilled, competent and able to make a full contribution to the success of the company/organisation.

The Skills Pledge is open to all employers of all sizes in the private, public and voluntary sectors. It is a corporate commitment covering the whole company/organisation. The Skills Pledge is a corporate commitment, which ensures that all staff across the City Council gain Level 2 qualifications. The Government will provide funding. The Government will provide funding to help them gain basic literacy and numeracy skills as well as their first full Level 2 qualification.

Carlisle City Council Chief Executive Maggie Mooney said:

By signing the Skills Pledge we are making a public commitment to enable our staff to gain the basic skills and competencies that are valuable in supporting the Council’s business needs and their future employability, and to achieve relevant qualifications to recognise those skills.

Cllr Peter Farmer portfolio holder for Learning and Development said:

We see improving the Skills for Life of our workforce as a key part of our drive for continuous improvement. Skills for Life is often seen as a side issue but we are positioning it as part of our service improvement and developing talent agenda by signing the pledge we are showing a commitment to the development of our staff.

Cllr Mike Mitchelson Leader of Carlisle City Council said:

Signing up to the Skills Pledge shows that we are serious about developing our staff in line with the needs of individuals, teams and the organisation. A public demonstration that we recognise that to succeed as an organisation, we must continue to invest in the knowledge and skills of our workforce.