Features - Page 17

Dave Radley, owner and founder of DMR Training & Consultancy, analyses government plans for Local Skills Improvement Plans [LSIPs] and warns that a robust accountability framework will be vital for their enforcement.

In a letter leaked online by the News Agents podcast, culture secretary Michelle Donelan has advised prime minister Rishi Sunak against privatising Channel 4.

DPI UK co-founder Sandra Wiggins shares her view that the education sector still places too much value on academia over technical skills, emphasising that this approach must change if the UK's skills gap is to be closed.

Stoneleigh Timber Engineering boss Adrian Hall shares his view that the state education system is not 'one size fits all' in terms of skills provision and that there is room for other forms of 'education' to help plug the shortfall.

Kingsfleet managing director Colin Low highlights that successfully levelling up the regions of the UK will require a focus on improving education.

Janet Jack, the CEO of the Institute of Accountants and Bookkeepers, highlights that there will need to be sufficient political will and investment to deliver on the objectives of levelling up.

Paul Newsham, partner at RfM Accountants + More, shares his view that government failings have seen private investors take the lead on levelling up outside of London and ministers ought to take note of their example.

NOCN's Graham Hasting-Evans analyses the Skills & Post-16 Education Act, highlighting that there is little detail on how the government intends to deliver the green and digitised workforce required for the net-zero economy.

Dr. Sue Smith from the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals [CIPP] writes that levelling up offers a chance to help the payroll sector, but stresses that the thinking around the agenda and awareness of the opportunities it presents could be improved.

NHS Trust director Mashhuda Kazi critiques the scope of the Levelling Up White Paper and warns that further action will be needed if levelling up is to be achieved.

The WoWW! Business' Kevin M Thomson and Flexicare UK's Jeanette Phillips argue that the current crisis within the NHS is indicative of a wider wellbeing issue across the entire health and social care workforce.

Nuffield Trust fellow Rachel Hutchings emphasises that the Levelling Up agenda comes as an opportunity to address deeply-rooted inequalities in healthcare.

Tallulah Eyres, Policy and Public Affairs Officer for the North at the Chartered Institute of Building [CIOB], writes that government will need to invest in skills and raising educational standards to truly level up the UK.

Crowder Consulting managing director, George Crowder, warns that the Levelling Up agenda will not be delivered without investing in skills to grow the workforce.