Closing the skills gap needs a National Skills Strategy

Closing the skills gap needs a National Skills StrategyFollowing the publication of AELP’s ‘ Skills Means Growth ‘ vision for a sustainable skills system, the organisation is publishing a series of articles expanding on each of the document’s five themes. In this article, AELP Chair, Nichola Hay MBE, outlines why the call for a national skills strategy is so important.In an era characterised by rapid advancements in artificial intelligence, the race to net zero, economic uncertainty and global competition, the need for a comprehensive national skills strategy has never been more pressing. Learners, providers and employers all need long-term clarity to have the confidence to help fill the UK’s skills gap and galvanise UK economic growth.There is widespread agreement across the political parties and the sector that the UK faces a significant skills gap challenge. For example, 30% of 18 year olds are not in education or training and this skills gap could cost the UK economy £120 billion by 2030. All this at a time when skills funding has halved in real terms over the last 12 years. We know firms are struggling to find workers with the right skills, and often having to look abroad to fill the gaps, while providers are having to cut back skills provision in key sectors just to stay afloat.AN INEFFECTIVE NATIONAL SKILLS STRATEGYHowever, despite these challenges, and the need for clarity, the current policy landscape is characterised by fragmentation and short-termism. Economic policy has cycled through the Northern Powerhouse, the UK Industrial Strategy and Levelling Up , and now we expect the Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, to relaunch the UK Industrial Strategy in his Autumn Statement. This chopping and changing in UK industrial policy is matched by a lack of a national skills strategy, which should complement and mirror industrial policy.We want to see an effective national skills strategy that would deliver a long-term vision, tied to the priorities of the economy. It should provide certainty, continuity, clarity and consistency to the sector, giving learners, employers and providers that crucial ingredient to long-term success – confidence. Rishi Sunak said he is building a ‘world class education system’, but how can the sector play its part if it doesn’t know which way is north?SUMMING UP THE CURRENT SITUATIONThe current situation is best summed up through two events this year. First, the apparent withdrawal of traineeships has left the country without a suitable pre-apprenticeship programme. It had been argued that T-Levels would eventually fill this gap, but they appear ready for the scrap heap before even getting going, and we all know that level 3 is not a suitable starting point for the thousands of young people who continue to leave school each year without a pass in maths and English. The T-Level transition year (or T-Level Foundation programme) was another route billed as bridging this gap, but evidence shows it has been the most ineffective part of the wider T-Level package.Secondly, the Adult Education Budget procurement round this summer was a familiar story of last-minute decision-making. Providers were notified of their success or otherwise with weeks to go before delivery, leaving them recklessly short notice to either scale up or downsize to meet their new obligations. Providers cannot survive when their funding is year to year, and the status of skills programmes is uncertain.IMPROVING THE CURRENT STRUCTURE OF SKILLS POLICY AND DELIVERYIf providers do not survive, then learners will have nowhere to go to gain the skills they need to succeed. Our Skills Means Growth vision calls for a national skills strategy, alongside a restructuring of roles and responsibilities across the post-16 technical education sector. It is clear that the current structure of skills policy and delivery is not working for learners.First, this means having a body that can oversee a national skills strategy – whether Labour’s Skills...