Ryan FowlerThe Prime Minister and Education Secretary have announced the launch of Skills England, a new body designed to address the UK’s skills shortages and drive economic growth. Skills England aims to bring together central and local government, businesses, training providers, and unions to meet the skills needs of the next decade across all regions.
Richard Pennycook CBE, former chief executive of the Co-operative Group, has been appointed as the interim chair. Skills are crucial to economic growth, contributing to a third of productivity improvements over the last two decades. However, skills shortages in the UK have doubled between 2017 and 2022, now accounting for 36% of job vacancies.
Skills England will provide strategic oversight of the post-16 skills system, aligned with the government’s Industrial Strategy. It will support local areas in developing skilled workforces, particularly in construction and healthcare, and work with the Migration Advisory Committee to reduce reliance on overseas workers.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer 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.”
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson added, “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. Skills England will jumpstart young people’s careers and galvanise local economies.”
Skills England will be established in phases over the next 9 to 12 months. It will identify the training for which the growth and skills levy will be accessible, giving businesses more flexibility to spend levy funds on training for the skills they need. The Skills England Bill will transfer functions from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) to Skills England.
Jane Gratton, deputy director of public policy at the BCC, said, “The UK economy has a pervasive skills and productivity problem that stretches back long before the pandemic and Brexit. Better planning for skills is crucial. We need a stable and coherent national skills strategy that ensures institutions are delivering the training the economy needs and that gives businesses the confidence to invest for the long term.”
The new government must work at pace to establish Skills England, reviewing and joining up skills initiatives across departments, aligning with immigration policy, and working closely with devolved administrations to drive impact for local communities. Skills England aims to ensure that employers and the economy’s skills needs remain at the heart of the system.
