What is the Growth & Skills Levy Vacuum? | FE Soundbite Edition 758

Welcome to FE Soundbite Edition 758, August 10th, 2024: What is the Growth & Skills Levy Vacuum?

This is the weekly e-newsletter and e-journal by FE News: ISSN 2732-4095. We know life is busy, so here is a snapshot of the latest announcements and epic thought leadership articles, from sector influencers and cool thinkers across FE and Skills this week on FE News

Gavin’s Reflective Perspective

So... What is the Growth & Skills Levy Vacuum? No it isn't a new version of a Henry or Hetty Hoovers... but was a very good point made by AELP this week: that a lack of detail in government plans to introduce their new Growth and Skills Levy risks creating a vacuum resulting in a reduction in skills investment.

Simon Ashworth from AELP highlights: "We are now seeing employers choking off investment in skills in the belief that levy reform is imminent and will be wide ranging. This is leading to the belief that all sorts of training could soon be covered by the levy, leaving employers holding off on critical skills spending. Labour quite rightly didn’t commit to the 50% flexibility of the levy in their manifesto, as without additional investment this would have a catastrophic impact on the apprenticeship programme." Read more on this here.

Mind the Digital Skills Gap

So this week we had a bunch of reports highlighting the Digital Skills Gap.

The Prince’s Trust ‘Decoding The Digital Skills Gap’ report warns of digital skills crisis. with 37% young people across the UK are worried they do not have the digital skills to get a good job. The research warns of a “digital skills crisis” as estimates suggest that a ‘digital skills gap’ already costs the UK economy up to £63 billion a year.

The The New Riskonomy was released by Hogan Lovells, which was a recent study surveying 1,500 business leaders globally, identified the digital skills gap as a major concern for organisations, ranking third behind data management and cybersecurity and on par with the misuse of generative AI.

.. and we had John Pritchard from 1st for EPA write a cool article: How can Providers and Employers bridge the Digital Skills Gap?

Everyone knows there is a massive digital skills gap, and we are only at the start of the 4th industrial revolution. As AELP highlighted, more is no doubt to come on the flexi... and growth part of the Growth and Skills Levy. Will Digital Skills be covered... will it be the same as before? As not being funny, it isn't obviously working! Surely digital skills, data, AI skills are essential for the future of the UK economy?

By the way.. has the FE and Skills Collective come onto your radar as yet? We will be covering this and more!

Also congrats to Fabienne Bailey who has been announced as the new CEO of Gateway!

I hope you enjoy Soundbite this week.

Exclusive Thought Leadership

Our Top 3 Thought Leadership Articles This Week

Firstly Neuro-inclusivity in Higher Education By Sarah Aray, Public Relations and Communications Officer, Happy Autistic Lady, Sarah breaks down barriers in HE

Secondly, How can Providers and Employers bridge the Digital Skills Gap? By John Pritchard, Head of EPA, 1st for EPA, John Provides a comprehensive plan of how to hopefully fix the digital skills gap

Finally The Road to Redemption: How Rehabilitation and Employment Unlock Potential in Ex-Offenders By Neil Wolstenholme, Chairman of Kloodle, Neil talks about how we can help rehabilitate ex-offenders by giving them the correct skills to reduce reoffending rates