Sector Skills Agreement

The Sector Skills Agreement (SSA) for the lifelong learning sector is an agreement between employers, stakeholders, the government, partner organisations and Lifelong Learning UK to deliver an agreed action plan to meet the priority skills needs of the sector, now and in the future.

Why was the SSA developed?

Developed in consultation with employers and stakeholders, the SSA identifies priority skills requirements and how they should be provided, thereby ensuring that the sector develops the skilled workforce it needs to increase productivity and improve public service delivery.

The SSA process

The development of the SSA consisted of five stages. Due to unique composition of the lifelong learning sector, LLUK is also developing an Impact Review.

The intelligence phase - complete
Stage 1:  Assessment of current and future skill needs within the lifelong learning sector
Stage 2:  Understanding the current supply of skills provision

The agreement phase - complete
Stage 3:  Analysis of the gaps in provision and market testing
Stage 4:  Assessment of potential collaborative action by employers

The final agreement  - complete
Stage 5:  Development of an action plan with employers and stakeholders

The Impact Review - complete
Impact Review:  Assessing the impact of the other Sector Skills Councils' SSAs on the lifelong learning sector. 

Other information

Reports for all stages are available by clicking the links above. Additional information is available as follows: SSA leaflet, FAQs, December 2006 Update, May 2007 Update and September 2007 Update.

  • Impact Review

    LLUK's Impact Review reviews the SSAs of the other SSCs to understand their implications for the lifelong learning sector workforce

  • The final agreement

    Stage 5 of the LLUK SSA focuses on developing an action plan with employers and stakeholders, which addresses skills issues in the sector identified at other stages

  • The agreement phase

    The agreement phase of the LLUK SSA covers Stage 3 (gap analysis and market testing) and Stage 4 (assessment of potential collaborative action by employers)

  • The intelligence phase

    The intelligence phase of the LLUK SSA covers Stage 1 (the skills needs assessment) and Stage 2 (the assessment of current provision for the lifelong learning sector)