The Association for Consultancy and Engineering attended the Labour Party Conference in Liverpool where the government gave an update on the skills agenda. Policy manager Andrew Gladstone-Heighton un-packs what the announcements mean for industry.
Direction of skills strategy
With the party conference now behind us, the government's initial direction for its skills strategy is starting to take shape.
Two key headlines emerged in the skills space – apprenticeships reform and the initial report from Skills England, the new body for further and higher education in England.
This is underpinned by Labour’s commitment to childcare and early years provision, although the thorny issue of financial reform for universities has stayed out of the spotlight for now.
Focus on apprenticeships
Apprenticeships appeared centre stage in Prime Minister, Keir Starmer’s keynote speech at the conference, in which he called for the “rebalance” of apprenticeships, by restricting public funding for Level 7 (Master’s Degree equivalent) apprenticeships and creating shorter apprenticeships - under a year in duration.
The PM and Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson had previously announced a new growth and skills levy which will replace the existing apprenticeship levy and used the conference to announce new foundation apprenticeships.
In a way, foundation apprenticeships already exist, badged under a range of programmes with brands such as pre-apprenticeships or traineeships.
The Department for Education will set out further details on the scope of the offer and how it will be accessed in due course.
Where these new foundation apprenticeships will fit into this regime is one of the many jobs for the new Skills England body.
Skills England Report
Skills England also published its initial report, Skills England report: driving growth and widening opportunities - setting out findings on the skills needs of the economy and how it will support the government’s missions for growth.
The major challenge here will be in co-ordinating the work already underway in Mayoral Combined Authority areas (and other regions) in identifying local skills issues, and in challenging the work of the Migration Advisory Committee.
Civil servants have made it very clear to me that the government is focusing on growing domestic skills, rather than relying on talent and skills from outside the UK. Although commendable, this initiative does not effectively address the skills gaps that are presently obstructing project delivery.
Addressing domestic skills needs and collaborations
The other key trends identified are the highlighted challenges of an ageing population, the growth of smart technology, artificial intelligence adoption and the rise in specialised construction and clean energy jobs.
Regarding this latter point, it is reassuring to note that the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero, along with the Office for Clean Energy, is playing a significant role in contributing to Skills England’s broader evaluation of skills requirements.
Involvement of ACE and future engagement
For ACE it is encouraging to see expansion within the construction sector workforce highlighted within the report.
The report says: “Government’s commitment to deliver 1.5m homes over this Parliament, as well as infrastructure investment in sectors such as water and energy represents a significant increase compared to current construction and housing output.
“This will require an expansion of the UK’s construction workforce, which simultaneously needs to upskill to improve competence, safety and productivity.”
ACE has been involved with the Skills England transition work, feeding into the early conversations with the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education to pass on our intelligence and expertise to the new body.
As Skills England continues its research and engagement throughout the remainder of the year, we’ll be sure to keep you posted on the latest developments.
