Over 9 million jobs excluded from Conservatives’ Lifetime Skills Guarantee

@UKLabour – Over 9 million jobs excluded from Conservatives’ skills ‘guarantee’ – comments from @TobyPerkinsMP 

Over 9.4 million jobs are in sectors excluded from Boris Johnson’s Lifetime Skills Guarantee, new House of Commons Library analysis for Labour shows, limiting opportunities for adults to retrain and gain new skills after the pandemic.

The Conservative Government’s failure to manage the impacts of the pandemic has seen the unemployment rate rise to five per cent, 1.7 million people, with sectors such as retail and hospitality, which have faced significant challenges over the past year, worst affected.

However, many of these sectors, from retail and hospitality to travel and tourism, are excluded from the Lifetime Skills Guarantee training offer, despite Conservative claims that the Guarantee would enable all adults to gain a level 3 qualification (equivalent to two A-levels). Across the country this means over a third of all current jobs will be excluded from the training programme, limiting opportunities for the sectors worst affected by the pandemic to rebuild. 

This follows revelations that over half of the qualifications on offer through the Guarantee do not meet the Department for Education’s own definition of a full level 3 qualification, with over a third lacking the required guided learning hours. Adults who already hold a level 3 qualification are also excluded from accessing new training under the scheme, despite Boris Johnson’s claim that he was giving adults the chance to “train and retrain”.

Toby Perkins MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Further Education and Skills, said:

“You would be forgiven for thinking the Conservatives’ Lifetime Skills Guarantee is an April Fool’s joke, rather than a plan to help reskill our country after this pandemic.

“The Conservatives’ mishandling of the Covid crisis has led the UK to experience the worst economic crisis of any major economy. Their limited plans will now leave millions unable to access the skills they need to play their part in our recovery.

“Minister should urgently widen eligibility for the Lifetime Skills Guarantee to ensure it reaches all adults who could benefit.”

Unemployment rate has risen to five per cent, 1.7 million people. Announcing the Lifetime Skills Guarantee in September the Prime Minister said: “today I want to set out how this government will offer a Lifetime Skills Guarantee to help people train and retrain”

Over 9.4 million jobs are excluded from the Lifetime Skills Guarantee across England, House of Commons Library: 

Research by the House of Commons Library shows the sectors that are excluded from the Lifetime Skills Guarantee, and the number of jobs in each sector.