Freeports are ready to support Skills England and lead the Green Skills revolution

This week the King’s Speech announced legislation that creates a pathway for the creation of Skills England and substantial reform of the much-maligned Apprenticeship Levy into a new reformed Growth and Skills Levy. Within this emerging brief for a new national skills body the connectivity to the national network of Freeports seems essential and a skills match that could help make the UK much greener.  

The Role of Freeports in Skills Development

Freeports, which have held a central part of the last government’s regional development policy over the last five years are ready to supercharge the alignment of national, regional and local skills interventions in growth sectors such as green advanced manufacturing, clean construction and net-zero logistics. 

Labour’s Pledge and Freeports’ Mission

Labour pledged in the run-up to the recent election to develop local growth plans aligned to national industrial strategy. Freeports hold a parallel mission, tasked with the creation of new international trade and inward investments, creating innovation, especially around net zero and developing new jobs and supporting skills infrastructure and curriculum. They hold tax incentives and the ability to utilise retained business rates to uniquely invest in infrastructure and skills, unconstrained by aspects of legacy skills policy.  They are anchored to their region in terms of business and social value generation but with a national and global outlook.

Skills England: Aligning Skills with Economic Growth

Number 10 has said that “Skills England will support economic growth by greater coherence to the assessment of skills needs and training landscape, ensuring training programmes are well designed and delivered to meet these needs and that regional and national skills systems are providing the skilled workforce needed to enable businesses to thrive and to contribute to the Industrial Strategy at the heart of our growth mission”.

Freeports as Testing Grounds for Skills Policy

Employers and providers alike over a long period of time have called for this alignment which may, for me as a former further education leader, have been the missing piece of the puzzle that should have arguably preceded interventions such as Local Skills Improvement Plans. Effective use of freeports has the huge potential to achieve two critical things government skills needs. Firstly, to provide an initial test ground for emerging policy and secondly, in time, a blueprint for systems leadership in skills and employment and regional development, especially when linked to net zero infrastructure investments. Testing could take the form of new funding flexibilities, or bespoke ring-fenced Adult Budget for infrastructure projects so that it doesn’t deplete local existing provisions, enhanced study programme funding to expose students to licenses to practice or speciality skills or special apprenticeship subsidies to help local people access jobs alongside more flexible visa arrangements.

Case Study: Thames Freeport

Economic Impact and Job Creation

As an illustration, Thames Freeport, comprising London Gateway, Port of Tilbury, and Ford Dagenham, is expected to generate significant economic benefits and according to our projections, we aim to create over 25,000 new jobs and add £5billion to the local economy. The job opportunities span various sectors, including logistics, manufacturing, and technology, and require diverse skill sets and often emergent technologies and green skills not currently available or funded within the skills system.

Skills Development Initiatives

Thames Freeport partners with local FE colleges, IoTs, Universities and training providers in a unique funding and convening space to offer the development or enhancement of programs tailored to the needs of businesses operating within the freeport. This ensures that residents will gain relevant skills for high-demand jobs and provide specialised training.  Thames Freeport is encouraging and convening businesses within the freeport to collaborate on the development of new, world class skills programs. This includes co-designing curriculum with educational institutions to ensure training is aligned with future not just current industry requirements.

Innovation and Technology-Driven Training

Our London inward investment pipeline guarantees Thames Freeport to be a hub for innovation, attracting technology-driven businesses that come with cutting-edge training opportunities (and massive challenges). This includes training in areas like automation, green technologies, and digital logistics at all levels.  The scale of some of these inward investments, in the region of multiple billions of pounds, requires skills and employment planning at a different stratum.   

Sector-Specific Skills Development

Clean Construction

Thames Freeport is likely to attract investment in green building technologies and sustainable construction practices. Training programs in eco-friendly construction methods, renewable energy integration in buildings, and sustainable materials are critical for the region. We’ll fund local colleges to collaborate with construction firms to create and offer specialized courses and new apprenticeships in clean construction. The UK Green Building Council estimates that retraining and ‘transitioning’ to sustainable construction practices could create 500,000 jobs by 2050. Thames Freeport can be a significant contributor to this growth. Research by the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) suggests that green construction projects can boost regional skills by providing upskilling opportunities to over 250,000 construction workers in the next decade.

Advanced Manufacturing

We will attract manufacturers focused on producing products using sustainable processes. Training in advanced manufacturing techniques, automation, energy transition, waste processing and robotics is crucial to support this sector. These must go beyond the current offer of qualifications. Collaborations with local institutions, however they are redesignated under emerging labour policy,  and industry leaders can ensure that training programs are relevant and world-leading. The Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC) projects that advanced manufacturing could add £455 billion to the UK economy by 2030, with substantial job creation in freeport regions. Data from Make UK, the manufacturers’ organisation, indicates that 81% of manufacturers are experiencing a skills shortage, emphasizing the need for targeted training in advanced manufacturing.

Logistics and Supply Chain Management

Thames Freeport, with its strategic London location, is well-positioned to enhance logistics and supply chain management but to succeed will need digital logistics, supply chain optimisation, and green logistics- all vital for this sector. The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport estimates that the logistics sector will need 1.2 million more workers by 2025. Research from Logistics UK suggests that investing in skills development in the logistics sector can boost productivity by 15-20%. The UK must be competitive in the skills arena as the competition is not regional but global. 

Conclusion: Freeports as Catalysts for Regional Skills Development

In a similar manner all freeports can support regional skills development across various sustainable sectors. By creating jobs, fostering innovation, and facilitating collaboration between businesses and educational institutions freeports align perfectly with the priorities outlined in the King’s Speech and Labour’s pre-election pledges. I’d encourage the new ministerial teams to use freeports for targeted training programs, business collaborations, trialling new skills policy in support of net zero ambitions in innovations in clean construction, energy transition, advanced clean manufacturing, and logistics as key drivers of regional economic regeneration and the green skills revolution.

By Stuart Rimmer MBE is a former FE CEO, skills strategy consultant and interim director of skills at Thames Freeport