What is Needed from the Devolution of Adult Skills 

The UK skills sector is set to undergo significant changes under the new Labour government. The Labour Party have already suggested a growing focus on devolution, replacing attention on ‘levelling up’ with ‘local government’. The Institute of Directors (IoD) Education Group recently hosted a webinar to discuss the new Labour government’s skills policy and its delivery, which highlighted the likelihood of further devolution of adults’ skills. 

Hosted by Gareth John, Director of accountancy apprenticeship provider First Intuition, the webinar saw contributions from a panel formed of policy experts from the IoD, Make UK, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP).  
 

This article looks at the views expressed by the speakers on devolution of skills policy and what frameworks are needed for it to be the most effective, including collaboration, balancing national consistency with local flexibility, and building on existing foundations. 

The Case for Devolution 

The consensus among the webinar speakers was clear that devolution of skills policy has the potential to be a positive force for employers. Local businesses have a better understanding of the skills needed in their area, and direct funding of these priorities can address these needs more effectively.  

Jane Gratton from BCC highlighted this point by stating “the devolution of skills is a really good move because local businesses and local partners know what’s needed in their area. They know best how to direct the funding for most impact… businesses generally think the more we can devolve, the better the skills funding and skills policy.” 

However, the speakers expressed how several elements are needed within devolution to ensure it is successful as possible, these included: 

Collaboration  

Speakers emphasised the importance of supporting higher-level skills in preparing businesses for the future. Investing in long-term skills needs is essential for sustained economic growth and competitiveness. This requires a collaborative approach where local skills improvement plans bring together colleges and training providers to assess changing skills trends, identify where and when skills are needed, and align careers information and funding accordingly. 

Gratton stated “central to all of this is the local improvement plan idea, bringing together employers, training providers, and other partners to understand where industry trends are taking businesses, how skills needs are evolving, and where opportunities are being created now and in the future.” 

“Skills need to sit central to all of those local economic plans.” Gratton adds that “evolving the funding and enabling authorities to pull together all the different pots of funding into a coherent, more flexible pot that can be used to target the skills interventions that are required” is what is needed to ensure that skills development is aligned with local economic plans and can be adapted to meet emerging demands. 

Collaboration should also include the involvement of different bodies, like the Department for Education and the newly emerging Skills England, working closely with businesses of all sizes to ensure training programmes meet real-world needs. Schools also need to have the information to educate students about the careers where there is a demand, and to ensure that young adults are encouraged to consider taking up relevant apprenticeships.

Moreover, employers need to be closely involved in the regular development and revision of apprenticeship standards to keep them relevant and effective in a dynamic skills environment. 

Balancing National Consistency and Local Flexibility  

Paul Wilson of FSB spoke about the need to set skills standards at the national level while allowing for flexibility at the local level. “The thing that you’ve got to avoid is setting too many constraints at a national level that results in it being too difficult or too complicated to actually spend the money effectively locally.” 

Alex Hall-Chen, lead on Skills Policy at the IoD, also stressed the need for a national framework with local flexibility. “We need both flexibility at the local level and a national picture.” Gratton also cautioned that devolution must be aligned to a robust national skills policy. “We do need this industrial strategy, and we need that underpinned by a national skills strategy through Skills England.” 

If not, there is a risk of a ‘wild west’ where each locality develops different priorities, funding approaches and eligibility requirements, leading to inconsistencies which could adversely affect employers and training providers who operate across several authorities.

Wilson emphasised

“There’s always tension when it comes to devolution between the need to set priorities at a national level and the need to give flexibility locally.” 

Alongside Wilson, Robert West of the CBI warned of the dangers of a ‘postcode lottery’ where access to resources and opportunities might vary significantly between regions. “The decisions need to be taken at the area where it happens, but the postcode lottery is a real issue.”

This point was also echoed by other speakers, who called for a straightforward and transparent framework. West highlighted that consistency is particularly important for larger employers and national organisations that operate across multiple regions. “They want consistency. They’re recruiting a cohort of trainees in different parts of the country and want the same approach for all of them.” 

Building on Existing Foundations 

The importance of continuity and building on existing initiatives was another key point raised by the speakers.

Wilson praised the progress made through Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs), urging the new government to maintain and build upon these: “Let’s not lose the progress because I know how much work and engagement have gone into these. They’re really good. They’re really important.”

Wilson goes onto say that sometimes when a new government comes in “you almost forget some of the good stuff that’s being done previously. [There is] a lot of knowledge to build on, a lot of relationships to build on.” 

The speakers agreed that starting from a strong foundation is crucial for future success. Hall-Chen noted the need for a comprehensive review of the current system to ensure that reforms are based on solid evidence and insight. “There needs to be a root and branch assessment of the system as a whole.”

“It is clear that devolution of adult skills needs to be handled carefully” host Gareth John concluded, adding “there will be a fine balance between empowering local stakeholders to target local priorities  whilst having a consistent national framework that allows large employers to engage most effectively with the skills system.” 

By Gareth John, Director of accountancy apprenticeship provider, First Intuition