It is disappointing that the UK Commission for Employment and Skills is recommending focusing public investment on basic and lower-level skills while leaving it to employers and individuals to fund the bulk of higher- level training (FE Focus, July 30)

We need to stop thinking of training in terms of higher and lower level and start thinking about an employer-led system, providing skill sets that have been developed with employers to meet industry demands.

Taking the power sector as an example; recent research we published has shown that in the next 15 years as many as 80 per cent of the power workforce will have retired and there are not nearly enough new entrants coming through to plug this gap.

We are looking at where the jobs are and where they will be in 10, 20 and 30 years and starting to upskill the talent pool to fill these - we need round pegs for round holes.

Tim Balcon, Chief executive, Energy amp; Utility Skills.