King's Speech 2024 - Skills England Bill

Skills England Bill 

“My Government will establish Skills England which will have a new partnership with employers at its heart, and my Ministers will reform the apprenticeship levy”

• The aim of Skills England will be to bring together businesses, providers, unions, Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) and national government to ensure we have the highly trained workforce that England needs. 

• The Skills England Bill delivers on our manifesto commitment to simplify and improve the skills system, ensuring the supply of skills needed for the economy and breaking down barriers to opportunity. 

• It will pave the way for the establishment of Skills England by transferring functions from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE).

What does the Bill do? 

• The Bill will transfer functions from IfATE to Skills England, which will sit at the heart of a system that provides  learners with the skills required to thrive in life, businesses with the trained workforce they need to succeed,  and local areas with access to the right skills to spur economic growth. Skills provision ranges from the essential skills people need to participate in the labour market, to the highly technical skills required to drive productivity and economic growth. 

• Skills England will support economic growth by greater coherence to the assessment of skills needs and training landscape; ensuring training programmes are well designed and delivered to meet these needs; and that regional and national skills systems are providing the skilled workforce needed to enable businesses to thrive and to contribute to the Industrial Strategy at the heart of our growth mission. 

• Skills England will convene employers, unions, education and training providers, and experts with national government to:

• To deliver this role, it is expected that Skills England will need to take on several of the functions the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. 

Territorial extent and application 

• The Bill will extend to England and Wales and apply in England.

Key facts

• The volume of skills shortage vacancies in England more than doubled between 2017 and 2022, from 226,500 to 531,200. Skills England will build the evidence base needed to address these gaps and will be responsible for sharing this insight with actors at a national and regional level, supporting the development of provision that addresses this need.

• 1.7 million 16-18 year olds and 3.8 million 19+ year olds are served by the English skills system every year. Skills England will be tasked with recommending which training will be eligible for the Growth and Skills levy, giving businesses more flexibility, supporting the take-up of provision that the economy needs and providing learners with access to opportunities that will improve their lives. 

• MCAs and the Greater London Authority will be responsible for 62 per cent of the Adult Skills Fund budget in academic year 2024/25 and further devolution is planned. 

• Across all industries, the number of work visas granted has increased by 78 per cent from March 2022 to March 2024. This growth is mainly driven by a 206 per cent increase in visas granted for health and social care, with other sectors also seeing significant growth. By creating a formal link between migration data and skills policy we will ensure that training in England accounts for the overall needs of the labour market.