Open letter to Supporters and Stakeholders
12 May 2009
Dear Supporters and Stakeholders,
The last couple of days have been a very busy time for us and we wanted to personally write to you about our relicensing status.
The Commission's recommendation to Ministers gives us some obvious challenges but we are determined to meet these, address the issues raised, and achieve our relicensing in the Autumn. We look forward to working with all the industry stakeholders in this process.
The financial services sector has a highly complex constituency of practitioners and stakeholders which makes the task of the FSSC perhaps the most difficult of any SSC. We operate with devolved governments in a sector which is populated by many professional bodies which have long established and highly developed training and accreditation programmes. We have tried to be sensitive to the needs of the regions and not usurp the many good quality operations which exist in the different professional bodies. We want to work closely with these bodies to draw on their expertise while retaining our overarching industry perspective across a number of financial sectors. The aim is to be recognised and accepted as the independent pan-industry body that sets standards to deliver both employer and employee needs.
The FSSC considers the National Audit Office (NAO) report to be a fair assessment of where it stands and was arrived at following extensive work with employers and strategic stakeholders. It indicates a strong direction of travel in the last year, particularly in the devolved administrations. The FSSC is confident that satisfactory outcomes will be delivered but it is early in the current process for tangible evidence to be clear in a rapidly evolving financial services market place.
Ministers and many employers have been sympathetic to our situation and we decided not to appeal against the Commission's recommendation but rather get on with the job. There is no better evidence of success than delivering successful outcomes against our shared goal of a competent, skilled workforce which will meet the needs of employers and stakeholders for the future. A committee of the board has been established to review the remit for the FSSC as requested by the UK Commission. Meanwhile it is important that current operations are not held back nor damaged and the FSSC has been assured that current funding will continue to allow all work to be maintained.
We want to encourage all interested parties to join in helping us to shape our role going forward to meet employers needs and our remit as a Skills Council.
Please communicate your views to your dedicated FSSC Relationship Manager or to the central executive here in London. We are very happy, along with our fellow Directors, to hear directly from employers and stakeholders.
Yours sincerely
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Roy Leighton |
Teresa Sayers |
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Chairman |
Chief Executive |
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