The Government work through Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) to improve the level of skills and training. Skillset is the SSC with responsibility for journalists.
Publishing joined Skillset's sector coverage in April 2008 and work was undertaken in the year to research the skills needs of the industry. This included a survey of the supply of training and educational provision. Further work is in progress on the development of the national occupational standards. There will be consultation with the industry this year on how to support skill levels, and agreement on a training strategy.
Skillset provide information on the providers offering courses and the skills needed to work across a variety of media, such as newspapers, journals and online content. For local journalists who are directly employed by local newspapers there are options for their employer to access training through Train to Gain.