Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has outlined plans for a new body to improve training skills in England, with the aim of encouraging young people to pursue apprenticeships. The proposed new entity, Skills England, is intended to expand apprenticeships beyond just training to help more people develop a wider range of skills and thereby boost the UK economy. The new agency will take over from IfATE, the government-sponsored Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education.
Some critics, notably the Conservative Party, have warned that diverting more funding and resources could result in a reduction of apprenticeships. Labour has countered that the existing apprenticeship funding scheme has been fragmented and not secured sufficient applications from employers. The government announced that it would like Skills England to work in closer collaboration with its official migration advisers, producing training plans for sectors widely dependent on migrants to avoid such businesses facing a skills deficit.
Changes to the apprenticeship levy, originally introduced in 2016 by the Conservatives, would enable companies that pay the tax to make use of up to 50% of the cash to fund other types of employee training, rather than exclusively apprenticeships. Although the policy is designed to benefit young people, there are no restrictions on the ages of the employees who will qualify for the new training programmes. Currently, around half of those taking apprenticeships are aged 25 or below.
Sir Keir Starmer expressed the hope that Skills England would help counter the decline in further education, which has declined by around 50% since 2010, as well as encouraging economic growth by creating more training programmes. Speaking during an online address, he explained that the current English skills system was a mess, and that the party was committed to transforming the way skills training is funded and encouraged in order to open up new opportunities for the next generation.
Revamping skills training is a crucial part of Labour’s strategy, which aims to minimize the need for migration in key sectors, particularly the care industry, where the skills deficit has become acute since Brexit. While some Conservatives are skeptical of diverting funds towards broader types of training schemes, the government is closely monitoring the situation, and the future impact of Skills England remains uncertain
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