The Sussex Learning and Skills Council (SLSC) has published a first-draft plan that aims to build a Sussex workforce with skills to match the best in the world.

A draft summary of the Sussex Workforce Development Strategy is out for consultation and Henry Ball, executive director of the SLSC, is urging employers to comment on it and get involved.

He said: "For the first time in the history of Sussex, we are able to plan and fund post-16 education to meet the skills needs of the Sussex economy.

"With our partner organisations, we aim to build an integrated approach to workforce development in Sussex, addressing the needs of the employers, communities and individuals.

"We are urging all these groups to work with us to help Sussex grow more top-class managers, IT professionals and craft technicians as well as a literate, numerate and more adaptable work-force to match today's economic needs.

"Learning brings major benefits to everyone in the community and has been proven to provide the basis for a successful economy.

"The Government has commissioned us to build a world-class workforce in Sussex and we can't do it alone - we need everyone to pull together and play a part if this is really going to work."

The strategy is being developed by a heavyweight steering group of representatives from the business, education and public sectors, which, earlier in the year, commissioned the biggest demand-and-supply survey ever embarked upon in the county - to establish the skills and qualifications employers need from staff to be at their most productive.

Three over-arching priorities have been identified, which are:

To dramatically increase the number of under 30-year-olds with vocational qualifications at Level Three, which is the equivalent to A-level.

To radically reduce the number of adults lacking basic skills in literacy and numeracy.

To introduce a step change in the skills of the workforce and the ways in which employers can access training.

The SLSC's immediate goal is to complete a detailed action plan by the end of August including specific programmes to develop skills and qualifications to support the key industry sectors identified in Sussex.

These are: Creative industries, construction, health and social care, the public sector, hospitality and tourism, engineering, business and financial services, pharmaceuticals, air travel and transport, new media, sports and recreation and retail.

The needs of the rural economy and generic skills shortages, for example, in IT disciplines at user-support and analyst level, have also been identified as priorities.

Detailed surveys into each of these sectors have just been completed and will contribute to the planning.

Opportunities for input from employers, employees, education providers, unions and others have been organised over the coming months, including a Better People, Better Business conference for employers on June 18, at the Copthorne Effingham Park Hotel, Gatwick.

Employers in the key industry sectors are also being invited to take part in developing their own sector programmes.

Employers can call the Sussex Learning and Skills Council's Workforce Hotline on 0845 000 0026 if they are interested in playing an active role.