Labour’s skills strategy under fire for lack of ‘clout’ and urgency

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The government’s flagship plan to revolutionise skills and training across England is lacking ambition and risks delaying the uptake of apprenticeships, education, industry and business groups have warned.

Legislation to create a new overarching body, Skills England, to unify the patchwork of universities, colleges and private training providers has also attracted criticism for reducing the consultative role of business and over-centralising power in Whitehall.

The body will replace the existing Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) but unlike its predecessor will not have independent statutory powers to consult employers. It will be chaired by a relatively junior-level “director” within the Department for Education. 

Trade and education experts, including former Labour education secretary Lord David Blunkett, have questioned how such a low-level appointment fits with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer’s promise in July that the body would “transform” the national approach to skills.

“Skills England can play an important part in making that advocacy work, but not if it does not have the clout or reputation to ensure that it can be done,” Blunkett said in a House of Lords debate over legal powers underpinning the body.

Ben Rowland, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers, said there were concerns the body would end up in the “worst of all worlds”, lacking both heft in driving the skills agenda across Whitehall and the clarity of purpose to deliver what businesses wanted.

“To play a big convening role across government it needs to be both independent and have a big-hitting chief executive,” he said.

David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, which represents the UK’s further education sector, said the industry hoped the body would be powerful enough to “change the mindset” towards post-16 education and broaden the attraction of non-university education. 

“We need an influential, powerful and authoritative Skills England to help build a stronger, fairer, more inclusive and more productive economy” for communities that had been left behind, he said. 

Euan Blair, chief executive of Multiverse, a large apprenticeship provider, added that it was vital the decision to centralise power in the Department for Education did not reduce input from industry. “Bringing business to the table of skills reform in a clear, structured, and empowered way will be critical to getting the system working,” he added. 

John Cope, a former board member of IfATE and adviser to former Conservative education secretary Baroness Nicky Morgan, said Skills England had huge potential as an idea but this was in danger of being squandered.

“Skills England risks being a shadow of the body it replaces, lacking any independence to champion employers,” he said. “Ministers should have the confidence to keep employers at the heart of the system, not waste millions setting up something new, but with less clout.”

The government has promised to give business more flexibility over spending of the existing apprenticeship levy, into which companies with annual wage bills over £3mn pay equivalent to 0.5 per cent of salary costs in order to fund recognised apprenticeship courses.

However, some providers have raised concerns over how Labour’s replacement “growth and skills levy” will operate, after it indicated it intended to cut funding from masters-equivalent “Level 7” apprenticeships to focus resources on entry-level qualifications.

Jane Gratton, deputy director of public policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said the country’s higher level skills gaps required funding if the government wanted to deliver on its industrial strategy.

“Many of those currently taking Level 7s are under 25 and learning skills that are critical for business and the economy. There must continue to be an option for funded degree-level training,” she added.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Skills England will be at the heart of our missions to boost economic growth and break down barriers to opportunity, working closely with employers, providers and others to tackle skills gaps across the country. 

“IfATE has done fantastic work over the last seven years and employers will continue to play a critical role in the design and delivery of apprenticeships and technical education, ensuring their needs are reflected.”  

The CBI also warned that the slow progress of Skills England and the continued lack of clarity about its functions and remit was putting a brake on training.

“Our survey data shows that business investment in training and skills is on hold as firms await details on the new growth and skills levy. This urgency highlights the need for immediate skills reform, as delays mean paused investments,” said Robert West, CBI head of skills.