A Skills Perspective: Labour’s First 100 Days and Beyond 

As Labour moves beyond its first 100 days in Government and the Chancellor’s first fiscal event in post, Nichola Hay MBE, Director of Apprenticeship Strategy and Policy at BPP reviews the developments in that time.  

Following the General Election earlier in the year, the Labour Party returned to Government at an exciting and prosperous time for the skills sector, with apprenticeship starts trending upwards and the level of satisfaction among businesses with apprenticeships remaining high, at 83%.  

However, as with anything, more can always be done to ensure skills policy is beneficial for both learners and businesses, because while there are positive signs on the horizon, there are also major challenges.  

The overall number of young people not in education, employment and training continues to increase, which only exacerbates the crisis of economic inactivity which is well reported in the wider economy. Challenges such as this and accurately addressing businesses’ skills needs must be tackled head on.  

The arrival of a new Government and parliament provides a platform for a different way of working, between industry and political stakeholders at a time when it is greatly needed across the skills sector. 

As the UK economy and political sphere continue to evolve, so should the skills system as the Government in collaboration with industry works together to navigate the skills gap, skills mismatch and skills shortage, we currently face.  

Much was promised in the Labour Party’s manifesto that could benefit learners and businesses but how much has been delivered already?  

Where are we now? 

As the Labour Party passes 100 days in Government, it is clear the skills agenda is a priority for policymakers and parliamentarians alike. The Labour Party’s manifesto featured strong commitments to addressing apprenticeship policy, especially when it comes to participation among learners, SMEs and reforming more controversial areas such as the apprenticeship levy.  

Since the July General Election, by far and away the most significant development within the skills ecosystem, is the establishment of a shadow Skills England. The formation of Skills England is important in both an emblematic and practical sense.  

Firstly, the Labour Party’s vision to grow the economy was central to its election platform and it is important to recognise that policymakers clearly view the role of apprenticeships and training as key to this mission, given Skill’s England’s first report seeks to understand the key skills challenges that are currently limiting growth and how they can be addressed.  

The Labour Party’s five missions for government which include “kickstarting economic growth” and “breaking down barriers to opportunity” will be inherently interlinked with the skills agenda.  To this extent, working with the sector to ensure a prosperous skills ecosystem will be vital for the Labour Government if it is to achieve these missions.  

Skills England’s first report recently made its first assessment of the skills needs within the economy. These included the need to align skills supply with demand, alongside encouraging employers to invest while streamlining the pathways in which learners can enter skilled careers with the abilities needed to succeed. As highlighted by the Skills England report, essential employment skills, including core literacy, numeracy and digital skills are often not possessed by individuals whilst demanded by employers, demonstrating a clear mismatch. 

The development and establishment of Skills England marks an important milestone in Labour’s first 100 days. With further engagement between Government, industry and other stakeholders anticipated, the skills needs of the economy, especially in individual sectors such as the key sectors identified in the Industrial Strategy, will be identified. However, we mustn’t forget that all sectors across the economy will benefit from the skills they need and will impact on growth for the wider economy and opportunity for both businesses and individuals.  

Partnerships will be key to unlocking these skills needs and by bringing together different bodies and sector representatives to develop policy, Skills England will play a vital role in shaping future proposals and governance. 

I believe the formation of Skills England will be viewed as a welcome step by apprenticeship and training providers across the country, but only time will tell its true effectiveness.  

To make a real impact Skills England must first seek to understand the skills gaps, skills shortages and mismatches across the UK. Bringing all partners together – including employers, training providers, various government departments and metro mayors – will be key to accessing the essential data and insight we need to understand our skills requirements. Only then, with a strong board and leaders, who are closely aligned with the industrial strategy, might we see the impact of Skills England.  

By creating Skills England the Labour Party has taken an important step forward in addressing some of the challenges our sector faces, but we must ask what more can be done? 

What needs to happen? 

Following the formation of Skills England, it is crucial that Labour builds on its first 100 days in Government and effectively addresses the needs of learners, the economy and businesses. The recently announced “Invest 2035: the UK’s modern industrial strategy” acknowledges the role that skills play in developing a high-performing economy. However, to fully unlock the UK’s skills ecosystem, the industrial strategy must be integrated with a National Skills framework, applying a regional and sectorial lens to how skills can contribute to the health of the economy.  

Alongside this, more attention can be placed on ensuring the skills ecosystem is fit for all stakeholders within it. Recent changes will ensure that the skills ecosystem is sector-led, as per the priorities within the “UK’s Modern Industrial Strategy”, however, it is crucial that within each sector the employers voice plays a key role in shaping skills needs and work alongside training providers of all types.  

The skills sector is experiencing significant reform across the board. With the election of a new Government, this was to be expected and in Labour’s first 100 days, it is welcomed that skills are being viewed as a key driver at the heart of the economy.  

Moving forward, it is vital that policy impacting the skills ecosystem focuses on ensuring that learners of all ages and levels are able to access the training required to support the needs of businesses and the economy. In order to do so, the first step as addressed by Skills England, will be to truly understand and identify where the skills gaps, shortages and mismatches are and use concrete evidence to inform future policy impacting the entire ecosystem. 

By Nichola Hay MBE, Director of Apprenticeship Strategy and Policy at BPP