Skills England launched to address skills gap

Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and education secretary Bridget Phillipson have launched a new body intended to meet the skills needs of the next decade.

Skills England will create a shared national ambition to boost the nation’s skills, transform opportunities and drive growth.

Phillipson has appointed Richard Pennycook CBE, former chief executive of the Co-operative Group and lead non-executive director at the DfE, as the interim Chair.

According to statistics, between 2017 and 2022 skills shortages doubled to more than half a million, and now account for 36 per cent of job vacancies.

Skills England will bring together central and local government, businesses, training providers and unions and aims to bring strategic oversight of the post-16 skills system aligned to the Government’s Industrial Strategy.

The Skills England Bill will transfer functions from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) to Skills England.

Skills England will be established in phases over the next 9-12 months.

There is also ongoing 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.  

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson 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 first phase of the 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 are due to be appointed.

The government also intends to 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.

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.

"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."