Baroness Taylor of Bolton writes to Skills Minister to provide greater direction to the skills system

Government needs to provide greater direction to the skills system, says Lords committee

Baroness Taylor of Bolton, Chair of the House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee said “Our inquiry has raised fundamental concerns that apprenticeships and training programmes are not meeting the UK’s future skills needs. We also found that the lack of opportunities for young people who do not go to university is of great concern.”

Baroness Taylor of Bolton, Chair of the House of Lords Industry and Regulators Committee, has written to the Government today (Wednesday 23 October) calling on it to ensure that apprenticeships and training programmes meet the UK economy’s future skills needs.

In a letter to the Minister for Skills, Baroness Smith of Malvern, Baroness Taylor warns that the current skills system is complex, short-term and lacks strategic direction. The letter also highlights widespread dissatisfaction with the Apprenticeship Levy, soon to become the Growth and Skills Levy, raising concerns that it is disadvantaging young people.

During its inquiry into the UK’s skills needs for the future, the Committee heard evidence from former Ministers and Government advisers, skills institutions, and representatives of businesses, Local Enterprise Partnerships, colleges, training providers, apprentices, and trade unions.

The Committee also found that:

• apprenticeships have increasingly become a means of training workers of all ages and funding the training of existing staff, reducing opportunities for younger people and those moving to new industries;

• some apprenticeships are overly academic for learners and bureaucratic for employers and providers;
• effective devolution adds value to the skills system through linking local employers and educators, but there is a need to avoid reinventing Whitehall locally through new processes and separate programmes;
• the UK is behind other countries in having a nationwide culture of employer led training with employers fearing investment in training due to the risk of losing staff to other employers;
• proposals for a youth guarantee of access to education, apprenticeships or training are ambitious. There is as yet, little detail on what they will involve or who will be responsible for delivering them.

It is therefore calling on the government to:

• develop a simpler skills system through its strategy for post-16 education, with greater long-term funding for a smaller number of priorities and programmes;
• ring-fence a substantial proportion of Growth and Skills Levy funding for young people, new starters, or lower levels of qualifications;
• review current apprenticeship content criteria, including functional skills requirements, which can be restrictive;

• use the establishment of Skills England to provide a greater focal point for the skills system;
• ensure local institutions have the resources to enable local work, health and skills plans to be a success;

• introduce financial incentives for employers to invest in training, for instance through a skills tax credit;
• ensure further education is funded sufficiently to deliver a youth guarantee, including considering a greater level of demand-led funding.

Baroness Taylor of Bolton said:

“Our inquiry has raised fundamental concerns that apprenticeships and training programmes are not meeting the UK’s future skills needs. We also found that the lack of opportunities for young people who do not go to university is of great concern.

We look forward to seeing the Government’s future policy plans in this area and invite them to take our findings and recommendations on board as they flesh out their initial proposals.”

Sector Reaction

David Hughes, Chief Executive, Association of Colleges, said: 

“Earlier this year, I submitted evidence to the House of Lords inquiry into skills for the future on apprenticeships and training, and it’s good to see the findings clearly summarised in this letter to the skills minister, Jacqui Smith.

“The overall message to the new government is the need to introduce a new system for post-16 skills that makes it simpler for employers, learners and colleges and other education providers to navigate and operate in. On top of that, it’s vital for changes to the apprenticeship system to attract more employer investment in skills that matter, in line with what the UK economy needs.

“The issues highlighted by the inquiry won’t come as a surprise to college leaders, as they reflect the reality of the barriers they face every single day. However, there are three in particular I urge the government to act on as a matter of urgency: for Skills England to have the powers it needs to help simplify a very complex system, for the new growth and skills levy to give more focus on young people and new labour market entrants, and for adult funding to be demand-led so we can meet the skills needs in areas such as construction, net zero and the NHS.”