NEWS RELEASE
Reference
Date
P/2014/180
7 July 2014
£52 MILLION BOOST FOR SKILLS AND TRAINING IN UK
SCIENCE SECTORS
Science Minister David Willetts will today (8 July) announce a £52 million
investment in new and emerging science talent, creating more than 7,800
education and skills opportunities over a two-year period.
Speaking at a Science Industrial Partnership (SIP) Board meeting – a new
consortium of around 100 leading science sector employers - the Minister
will formally announce the group’s success in bidding into the Government’s
Employer Ownership of Skills Pilot fund (EOP). The new Partnership, led by
GlaxoSmithKline, will design the vocational training and skills programmes
that the life sciences, chemicals and industrial science sectors need to
thrive and compete in the global economy.
The Partnership will deliver:

1,360 apprenticeships: Based on a new, simple employer-owned
system delivering work-ready apprentices

240 Traineeships: A new work experience programme for young
people pursuing a science- based careers

150 Industry Degrees: A radical new approach to graduate
development, focused on employer skills needs and graduate
employability

230 Modular Masters Modules: A new modular route to deliver high
tech post-graduate skills in the workplace

5,900 Workforce Development opportunities: Increasing technical
and management capability of the workforce

STEM Careers: A cross-sectoral proposal to attract young people
into STEM jobs
University and Science Minister David Willetts said:
“The science based industries are critical to our future prosperity – and
higher skills are the key driver of their competitiveness. Our investment will
help the industry to take the lead investing in the skills they need.”
The Government will be contributing £32.6 million, with £20 million from
employers, alongside £31 million in-kind contributions. This will fund a range
of ultimately self-sustaining activities expected to improve skills in these
sectors.
Welcoming the Government support for the SIP initiative, Malcolm Skingle,
Director, Academic Liaison, GSK and Chair of the SIP board said:
“The life sciences sector in the UK continues to evolve at a rapid rate and so
it is essential that the next generation of scientists have the skills that both
they and business require to be successful in the future. The SIP allows
employers to take a leading role in achieving this objective. Ultimately, this
initiative will help to preserve the UK’s reputation as a world leader in an
extremely competitive area.”
Cogent, the expert skills body for the science industries, which is facilitating
the SIP, has spent the last six months identifying employer demand for the
skills programmes. Cogent CEO, Joanna Woolf added:
“As the skills body for the Sector, Cogent is delighted to be supporting the
SIP, which is really focused on job creation, talent development and sector
growth. The SIP focuses on new career pathways into industrial science
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and medical technology careers as well as on the skills in innovation
needed right across the sector.”
“It’s a partnership in every sense of the word, and we’re delighted that so
many companies are stepping up to take part.”
ABPI Chief Executive Stephen Whitehead said,
“The ABPI warmly welcomes the establishment of the new Science Industry
Partnership. This partnership will ensure the UK maintains a highly skilled
workforce in order to have the capabilities to compete and succeed in the
global arena.
“The UK’s traditional strength in science has been eroding; science
graduates often lack skills useful to industrial research, particularly practical
skills, so the focus on high quality training through apprenticeships and
other programmes is welcomed. The Government has been a real champion
for science but if the UK economy, especially the research based
pharmaceutical industry, is going to flourish then we need to work more
intensively with government in partnerships such as this to equip the next
generation with the skills to succeed”.
Steve Elliott Chief Executive of the Chemical Industries Association said:
“The Science Industry Partnership is a unique opportunity for the industry to
address current and future skills challenges identified through the work of
the Chemistry Growth Partnership and elsewhere. I would like to thank the
government and the companies involved for their commitment to supporting
the growth of the UK science industry. By implementing the Science
Industry Partnership we will be able to deliver all of the exciting potential of
the UK science industries to benefit society as a whole and create a new
generation of science workers”.
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The employers, who have come together to form the new Science Industry
Partnership (SIP), are in the second round of winners to successfully bid
into the £340 million Employer Ownership Pilot (EOP). This is a competitive
fund that invited employers, over two rounds, to tell government how they
would better use public investment, alongside their own, to invest in the
skills of their current and future workforce in order to secure future growth
for the UK economy.
1. Current Science Industry Partnership Board members include:
 3M UK plc
 Amgen Limited
 Becton Dickinson UK Ltd
Eisai Europe Limited
 Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies UK Ltd
 GlaxoSmithKline
 Green Biologics Ltd
 Johnson & Johnson Ltd
 Lotte Chemical UK Ltd
 Medimmune
 NHS England
 Novartis
Pfizer UK
 PolyTherics Ltd
 Sera Laboratories International Ltd (SLI Ltd)
 Steel Bars
 Synergy Health
 Takeda Cambridge Ltd
 UCB Celltech
 Vectura Limited
 Victrex plc
2. The employers, who have come together to form the new Science Industry
Partnership (SIP), are in the second round of winners to successfully bid into
the EOP, following an intensely competitive bidding process.
3. The Employer Ownership Pilot (EOP) is a £340 million competitive fund that
invited employers, over two rounds, to tell government how they would better
use public investment, alongside their own, to invest in the skills of their current
and future workforce in order to grow our economy.
4. During the first two years, the Science Industry Partnership intends to:

Establish a new Employer Partnership across the Science Industries (SIP)
providing employer ownership and leadership of skills needed for growth, in
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support of the Government’s Industrial Strategy. Once established, this will
be self-sustaining through employer funding. Specific deliverables include:
o
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Determination of the sector’s current and future skills needs through
production of a Skills Strategy
Establish an Employer Board and sub group structure leading the
SIP skills programmes and working with Stakeholders and Partners
An accredited provider network, including centres of excellence
delivering quality training into the sector
An employer owned structure for accrediting individual’s
achievement including assessment and recognition through
certification (including to the new SIP Trailblazer Apprenticeship
standards).
5. This will use £1,212,468 of EOP grant funding and an Employer Cash
Investment of £242,494 and an Employer In Kind Investment: £1,212,000.



SIP Traineeships – 240 young people on a SIP Traineeship tailored to
support entry into the science sector and providing progression into
Apprenticeships. This takes the form of a 6 month college / provider based
training scheme where young people will be supported by the employer and
provider through a mix of provider and work-based learning and experience.
Procured from delivery partners and managed by Cogent using £1,213,624
of EOP grant funding, £242,727 of Employer Cash Investment and
£645,720 of Employer In Kind investment.
Apprenticeships – 1010 (level 2 and 3) and 350 Higher Level fit-forpurpose Apprentices based on tailored employer designed training plans.
These SMART Apprenticeships are designed around the employer and the
job, rather than the qualification. This allows an employer, or a group of
employers, to develop the Apprenticeship to meet their business needs.
SMART Apprenticeships will also provide a pathway to Professional
Registration with the relevant professional body. This is an ambitious
programme introducing new routes into science jobs for young people
(securing entry into occupations not normally populated through the
Apprentice route). Employers across the science industries (large and
SME) will employ the apprentices and new Apprentice Standards
developed through the SIP Trailblazer group will be used. Delivery will be
procured from a combination of the science industries Apprenticeship
Training Agency, accredited training providers and employers,. The
programme will be managed and quality assured by Cogent and will use
£23,238,222 of EOP grant funding, £10,178,010 of Employer cash
investment and £28,131,447 of Employer in kind investment.
Industry Degrees and Modular Masters Training - The development of
an enhanced Industry Degree programme with a greater focus on workbased learning, designed in collaboration with employers and leading
university partners. These will provide employers with access to the next
generation of workers through a new vocational degree entry route. 150
individuals will be involved in the pilot of the new programme. Development
of a new Modular Masters degree programme in Formulation Science and
Technology to meet a gap in the marketplace for growing sector. This will
focus on developing skills in formulation which employers have identified as
being critical to driving innovation, productivity and growth. 230 modules will
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

be delivered by leading university partners. The development of the
programme will be procured from universities and other delivery partners
and will be managed by Cogent, and will use £836,205 of EOP grant
funding, £1,922,692 of Employer Cash Investment and £875,000 of
Employer in kind investment.
Workforce Development - 5,900 individuals taking accredited workforce
development courses specifically aimed at supporting growth and
increasing individual competency. Both are co-investment schemes
designed specifically for SMEs and Operators and Technicians, delivered
through an approved provider network and leading to Professional
Recognition. Funding offers a 50% Government grant. The programme will
be procured from accredited training providers, and programme managed
and quality assured by Cogent, using £5,550,812 of EOP grant funding and
£7,680,370 of Employer Cash Investment.
STEM Careers - The SIP will create Employer Ambassadors capable of
inspiring and informing young people about science careers developing
closer links with schools and colleges and encouraging young people to
enter science careers. This programme will reach across STEM through
strategic partnerships. The programme will be procured from delivery
partners and programme managed by Cogent, and will use £561,422 of
grant funding, £31,737 of Employer Cash Investment and £540,000 of
Employer in kind investment.
Department for Business, Innovation & Skills
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