THE economic and social well-being of Jersey’s community could be at risk unless some of the recommendations published in a Skills Strategy for Jersey this week are adopted.

That is the view of the Economic Development and Education, Sport and Culture Committees, whose five-year strategy has gone out to public consultation.

It concludes that there should be more appropriately skilled and qualified people resident in Jersey and a reduction in the demand for migrant labour.

The departments say that the strategy supports the States Strategic Plan and brings proposals to raise skill levels among the population in order to support the goals of the Economic Growth Plan, which expects the Island’s working population to grow by up to one per cent a year to 2010.

Committee member Senator Len Norman said that skills and manpower resources were at the heart of productivity growth and could clearly be influenced by the Island’s education and training policies.