Crown Prosecution Service and Customs & Excise lawyers, the judiciary and magistrates have come under the supervision of a new super-training organisation recently established to replace three existing organisations.

Skills for Justice, launched last month with an initial annual budget of £4.5 million, replaced Community Justice National Training, Custodial Care National Training and the Police Skills and Standards Organisation.


It aims to employ 50 staff across offices in London and Sheffield, with Northern Ireland and Wales offices to open shortly.


Skills for Justice will initially identify the current and future skills needs, gaps and shortages in the justice sector through a 'skills foresight programme', working with employers, learning providers and individuals to improve the skills of the workforce through the use of national occupational standards.


It will act as a lobbying force, engaging and influencing government, devolved administrations, funding providers and regulatory bodies to ensure policies support good quality learning programmes that meet the justice sector's needs.


Skills for Justice will also develop assessment and review tools to monitor the performance and development of those whose training it governs.


Richard Winterton, Skills for Justice's chief executive, said: 'We will focus on identifying the critical skills staff need to continue to work effectively in this changing environment. Working with learning providers we will make certain that training courses accurately reflect the skills needs and meet the requirements of all employees.'


He added: 'Our work will be informed by the needs of employers and should result in a workforce giving the highest levels of performance.'


A spokeswoman for Skills for Justice said that the organisation's biggest challenge would be its role assessing the competent training of the judiciary, as judges have never had a supervisor of this nature before.