The Prime Minister and Education Secretary have announced the
launch of Skills England to bring together the fractured skills
landscape and create a shared national ambition to boost the
nation's skills.
[The Education Secretary has also today appointed Richard
Pennycook CBE, former chief executive of the Co-operative Group
and lead non-executive director at the DfE, as the interim
Chair.]
Skills are crucial to economic growth, with a third of
productivity improvement over the last two decades explained by
improvements to skills levels.
But between 2017 and 2022 skills shortages in this country
doubled to more than half a million, and now account for 36% of
job vacancies.
Skills England will bring together central and local government,
businesses, training providers and unions to meet the skills
needs of the next decade across all regions, providing strategic
oversight of the post-16 skills system aligned to the
Government's Industrial Strategy.
Supporting local areas to develop the skilled workforces they
need – in particular across construction and healthcare - is
fundamental to the Government's mission to raise growth
sustainably. By working with the Migration Advisory Committee,
Skills England will also help reduce reliance on overseas
workers.
Prime Minister , said:
“Our skills system is in a mess, which is why we are transforming
our approach to meet skills needs over the coming decades.
“They will help to deliver our number one mission as a
government, to kickstart economic growth, by opening up new
opportunities for young people and enabling British businesses to
recruit more home-grown talent.
“From construction to IT, healthcare to engineering, our success
as a country depends on delivering highly skilled workforces for
the long-term. Skills England will put in place the framework
needed to achieve that goal while reducing our reliance on
workers from overseas”.
Education Secretary
said:
“Our first mission in government is to grow the economy, and for
that we need to harness the talents of all our people to unlock
growth and break down the barriers to opportunity.
“The skills system we inherited is fragmented and broken.
Employers want to invest in their workers but for too long have
been held back from accessing the training they need.
“Skills England will jumpstart young people's careers and
galvanise local economies. It will bring businesses together with
trade unions, mayors, universities, colleges and training
providers to give us a complete picture of skills gaps
nationwide, boost growth in all corners of the country and give
people the opportunity to get on in life.”
The organisation will identify the training for which the Growth
and Skills Levy will be accessible – an important reform, giving
businesses more flexibility to spend levy funds on training for
the skills they need, which employers have long been calling
for.
Skills England will be established in phases over the next 9-12
months to create a responsive and collaborative skills
system.
The Skills England Bill announced this week will transfer
functions from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical
Education (IfATE) to Skills England.
This sits alongside work to simplify and devolve adult education
budgets to Mayoral Combined Authorities to ensure that they can
address their adult skills needs directly and support growth in
their areas.
Next steps for establishing Skills
England
- The first phase of Skills England's launch involves setting
up the organisation in shadow form within the DfE, and starting
work on an assessment of future skills needs while building
strong relationships with employers. A permanent board, Chair and
CEO will be appointed in due course.
- The route for employers to shape skills training is currently
offered by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical
Education (IfATE). IfATE's functions will transfer to Skills
England, as part of the new organisation's broader remit. IfATE
will continue its important work in the interim as the transition
of functions to Skills England is finalised.
- Skills England will hold responsibility for maintaining a
list of levy-eligible training to ensure value for money, and
that the mix of government-funded training available to learners
and employers aligns with the identified skills needs.
- The government will also bring forward a comprehensive
strategy for post-16 education to break down barriers to
opportunity, support the development of a skilled workforce, and
drive economic growth through our industrial strategy.
