Catalogue description Records created or inherited by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills and related bodies

The UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) was established on 1 April 2008 following a key recommendation in Lord Leitch's 2006 review of skills. The UK Commission was originally created by the merger of two predecessor organisations, the Sector Skills Development Agency and the National Employment Panel. It is a UK-wide advisory non-departmental public body that provides advice on skills and employment policy to the UK Government and the Devolved Administrations. At its outset it reported to eight sponsors in total including DIUS, DWP, HMT, BERR, DCSF and the governments/administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Amongst its responsibilities, the UKCES funds and manages the performance of the Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) which are state-sponsored, employer-led organisations that cover specific economic sectors in the UK. In 2009 there were twenty-five SSCs:

• Asset Skills: for property, housing, cleaning services and facilities management.
• Cogent: for chemicals and pharmaceuticals, nuclear, oil and gas, petroleum and polymers.
• ConstructionSkills: for the construction sector and covers a wide range of sectors in the development and maintenance of the built environment.
• Creative and Cultural Skills: for those involved in arts, cultural heritage and craft and design.
• e-skills UK: for business and information technology.
• Energy & Utility Skills: for electricity and renewables, gas, waste management and water industries.
• Financial Services Skills Council: for financial services, accountancy and finance.
• GoSkills: for passenger transport:
• Government Skills: central government.
• Improve Ltd: for food and drink, which represents employers operating in all sectors of the food and drink manufacturing and processing sector
• Lantra: for the environmental and land-based sector.
• Lifelong Learning UK: for community learning and development, further education, higher education, libraries, archives and information services, work-based learning and development.
• People 1st: for the hospitality, leisure, travel and tourism sector.
• Proskills UK: for the process and manufacturing sector.
• SEMTA: for science, engineering and manufacturing technologies.
• Skillfast-UK: for fashion and textiles.
• Skills for Care and Development: for social care, children and young people.
• Skills for Health: for the UK health sector.
• Skills for Justice: for fire and rescue services, policing and law enforcement, youth justice, custodial care, community justice, courts service, prosecution service and forensic science.
• Skills for Logistics: for the logistics sector.
• SkillsActive: for active leisure and learning.
• Skillset: for the audio visual industries.
• Skillsmart Retail: for the retail sector.
• SummitSkills: for the building services engineering sector.
• The Institute of the Motor Industry (formerly Automotive Skills): for the retail motor industry.

The Sector Skills Development Agency (SSDA) was formerly responsible for funding, supporting and monitoring SSCs. From 1 April 2008, the SSDA was replaced by the UKCES and the Alliance of Sector Skills Councils.