The Briefing acknowledges that the UK is facing a crisis of productivity, closely linked to the national engineering skills shortage and compounded by the prevailing attitude that a university education trumps vocational training and apprenticeships.

With the UK falling behind its competitors across the world, the Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA) collaborated with WorldSkills UK and the Further Education Trust for Leadership (FETL) to produce a report which explores how the UK can learn from skills frameworks in other countries or cities in order to tackle its productivity problem and remain economically competitive.

The report, Adopting global skills innovation for the UK, includes four case studies which examine the skills policies and practices in Switzerland, Shanghai, Russia, and Singapore.

As a highly productive and competitive country, Switzerland has a thriving economy underpinned by a robust technical and vocational education system. Careers guidance is prioritised, apprenticeships are given deserved recognition, and there is a high degree of permeability between vocational and general education. Facilitating this is the University of Applied Sciences, which drives innovation and is supported by a social partnership structure that unites federal government with industry associations, unions and local government.

Once a centre for low-value manufacturing, Shanghai is now a high-powered hub for trade and professional services. Mass upskilling and retraining was key to this transformation, facilitated by China's active promotion of local experimentation as a tool for policy and systems development. Shanghai had enjoyed considerable autonomy to develop economic institutions that have made the best of local assets, refined through processes of testing, piloting and scaling.

Russia – the 2019 host for the WorldSkills international final in Kazan – has transformed its post-Soviet era economy through actively benchmarking itself against other countries and learning from the best global practices. It has used WorldSkills' global standards to transform its entire system – from end-point assessments and the training of educators, all the way through to the engagement of employers and the development of strategies for responding to the future needs of the economy.

Meanwhile, educational and economic powerhouse Singapore is home to a unique SkillsFuture movement promoting lifelong learning and skills development, emphasising career guidance, placements and skills competitions.

In fact, all four case studies show the implementation of skills competitions to build the status of technical and vocational training, increase employer engagement, develop talent and apply global best practice to learning.

A bright future

While there is much that the UK can learn from its economic competitors on the global stage, progress is already being made. WorldSkills UK is the driving force behind the championing of apprentice skills competitions in the UK, organising and holding contests across sectors including engineering, retail, hospitality, manufacturing and professional services.

SkillFRIDGE, the national RACHP skills contest, operates in partnership with WorldSkills UK to promote the RACHP sector, working to close the engineering skills gap and secure a bright economic future for the UK.

Save the date

The HVAC & Refrigeration Show LIVE – the only exhibition dedicated to the needs of the UK commercial and industrial HVACR market – has a new date for its 2020 edition.

A staple on the industry calendar, the revamped event will now be taking place on 20-22 April 2020, ahead of the inaugural Climate Action Week on 1-8 July.

In the lead up to Climate Action Week – during which many of London’s businesses and organisations will offer their expertise in finding solutions to cutting carbon emissions – the exhibition will put the spotlight on the HVACR solutions set to improve efficiency, reduce emissions and effect change.

A crucial player

Our industry will be a crucial player in the fight against climate change, and the HVAC & Refrigeration Show LIVE is designed to explore this potential, featuring the latest innovations and an array of conferences, seminars and CPDs all helping to steer the sector towards a cleaner, smarter, zero-impact future.