Skills matter for our economy, they improve our productivity and thus our competitiveness, but skills also matter to individuals because they provide each of us with a sense of worth and purpose. Little makes more difference to our wellbeing than the empowerment we gain through education and training. And skills matter for our society. They help build social mobility, social justice and social cohesion.
It is no coincidence that many of the jobs in construction, manufacturing and engineering are in those areas of the country that the government is most keen to level-up. These sectors can offer lifelong, rewarding employment, helping to rebuild communities up and down the country.
But these sectors are also facing significant challenges. While net-zero is an opportunity, it will also put their industries under a lot of pressure. To achieve it, they will need a highly skilled, talented and motivated workforce. All sectors are facing similar skills shortages. The task at hand is to build the skills base, so that sectors do not end up simply poaching talent from others.
The Skills and Post-16 Education Act has the potential to have a big impact in this area. The Act’s commitment to Local Skills Improvement Plans and the importance of involving employers in developing those is welcome. Place-based solutions will be vital – and there is no better way than entrusting those to local people who will know best the challenges and solutions in their area.
The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Skills, Careers and Employment, which I chair, has discussed Local Skills Improvement Plans in depth. We heard from Angela Foulkes, principal and chief-executive of Sheffield College, who told us how valuable this close collaboration between employers and education providers is.
But this is not a new idea. Sheffield College already works with 2,500 employers. In my constituency, University Academy Holbeach is at the very top of the apprenticeship sector in the United Kingdom, starting with only nine apprentices when its doors opened in 2009. Now, more than 100 young people are finding their future through University Academy Holbeach apprenticeships.
However, not all colleges have these networks and the challenge for the Skills Act is to provide a framework to support them.
Another area where the Skills Act can have a huge impact is through its commitment to Lifelong Learning Entitlements [LLE]. Research from the Confederation of British Industry [CBI] shows that nine in 10 people working in manufacturing will need to reskill in the next decade to keep up with the pace of change in the industry. Skills provision must be nimble enough to help people jump up, down and across sectors.
The pity is that the Lifelong Learning Entitlement is a loan which means those people who want to improve their skills will have to do so themselves. If either industry or government, or perhaps both, were to pick up that bill, what a show of confidence that would be in the workforce.
The Act sets out plans to make sure that all pupils meet providers of technical education, so they understand the full range of career options available to them. As minister for further education, skills and lifelong learning, I established the National Careers Service because I understood the importance of young people getting the right advice. The provisions in the Act represent a further huge step in the right direction – to expose children and teachers to construction, manufacturing and engineering jobs at the earliest opportunities and show them a whole world of work that is waiting for them.
What we need to remember is that the Skills Act is about people. We talk a lot about productivity, skills and careers, but it’s people’s lives, personal development and opportunities we are really talking about. To build a socially mobile, cohesive and just Britain, we must invest in skills and re-establish the link between economic value and individual worth.
If we get that right, the skills puzzle and productivity will sort itself out.
Key Points:
• Skills provide all of us with a sense of self-worth and purpose.
• We need a skilled and motivated workforce if we are to achieve Net-Zero.
• Local Skills Improvement Plans outlined in the Act are sorely needed.
• FE colleges require help to deliver on the needs of employers.
• The Lifelong Learning Entitlement could be reviewed so the bill for upskilling doesn’t fall upon the learner.
This article originally appeared in The Leaders Council’s special report on ‘The Impact of the Skills & Post-16 Education Act on the Construction, Engineering & Manufacturing sectors’, published on July 4, 2022. Read the full special report here.
Image by Chris McAndrew on Wikimedia Commons
