The new Prime Minister wants to fix the “fragmented and broken” skills system he says he inherited from the previous Government.
Keir Starmer claims England’s current skills training system is “in a mess”, and this is why he has announced this week that he is setting out, alongside new Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, to transform the country’s approach to meet skills needs over the coming decades.
The new Government believes skills are “crucial” to the country’s economic growth.
Recent statisicts show that a third of productivity improvement over the last two decades can be owed to improvements to skills levels, but despite this, between the years of 2017 and 2022, skills shortages in England doubled to more than half a million, and the Government says these unfortunately now account for 36% of job vacancies.
To address this, the Prime Minister and Education Secretary have this week announced the launch of ‘Skills England’.
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We’re announcing the launch of Skills England, a transformative new body to identify current and future skills gaps enabling people to make the most of opportunities.
— Department for Education (@educationgovuk) July 22, 2024
‘Skills England’ is a new body to “bring together the fractured skills landscape” and ultimately create a “shared national ambition to boost the nation’s skills”.
By joining together central and local Government, businesses, training providers, and unions, ‘Skills England’ is aiming to meet the skills needs of the next decade across all regions, and provide “strategic oversight” of the post-16 skills system aligned to the Government’s industrial strategy.
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It will also support local areas to develop the skilled workforces they need for their region – with construction and healthcare highlighted as two key areas.
Government launches ‘crucial’ new mission to plug England’s skills gaps for next decade / Credit: 10 Downing Street / Keir Starmer (via X)
This new body is said to be “fundamental” to the Government’s mission to “raise growth sustainably”.
“Our skills system is in a mess,” Prime Minister Keir Starmer commented, “which is why we are transforming our approach to meet skills needs over the coming decades.
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We’re announcing the launch of Skills England, a transformative new body to identify current and future skills gaps enabling people to make the most of opportunities.
— Department for Education (@educationgovuk) July 22, 2024
“They will help to deliver our number one mission as a Government, to kickstart economic growth, by opening up new opportunities for young people and enabling British businesses to recruit more home-grown talent.”
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said Skills England will “jumpstart young people’s careers” and “galvanise” local economies.
“The skills system we inherited is fragmented and broken,” she added. “Employers want to invest in their workers but for too long have been held back from accessing the training they need.”
Trailer released for new romcom Finding Emily set and filmed all across Manchester
Emily Sergeant
The first trailer for a new romcom that’s set and filmed all across Manchester has been released.
The film, titled Finding Emily, tells the story of a lovesick musician, played by Spike Fearn, who meets his dream girl on a night out, but ends up with the wrong phone number, and so teams up with a driven psychology student, played by Angourie Rice, in a bid to find her.
Together, the unlikely duo spark a hilarious campus-wide frenzy that tests their own hearts and ambitions along the way.
The film – which is directed by Alicia MacDonald, and based on a screenplay written by Rachel Hirons – is produced by Working Title Films, is set in the fictional Manchester City University, and is due to be distributed by Focus Features and Universal Pictures across the UK and internationally this spring.
The talented ensemble cast groups together big names like Minnie Driver with rising stars like Ella Maisy Purvis, Yali Topal Margalith, and Kat Ronney, as well as other established actors including Timothy Innes and Nadia Parkes.
Filming took place in Manchester between August and September 2024.
The two and a half-minute trailer has been shared with the world today, and when we say it’s a Manc film, we mean it… we quite literally lost count of how many of our city’s famous locations can be spotted in just the trailer alone.
The trailer has been released for new romcom Finding Emily set and filmed in Manchester / Credit: Universal Pictures & Focus Features (via YouTube)
There’s everything from Manchester Central Library and Piccadilly Records, to Canal Street and the Gay Village, the Northern Quarter, the Crown & Kettle pub in Ancoats, and even the Emmeline Pankhurst statue in St Peter’s Square featured for all to see, alongside what’ll, presumably, be dozens of other famous locations.
Oh, and not to mention, if you keep your eyes peeled when watching the trailer, you can even see a small clip of Stockport band Blossoms playing a gig in there too.
Finding Emily is set to be released in cinemas across the UK on 22 May, before it debuts in the US on 28 August.
Featured Image – Matt Squire / Focus Features
News
Man jailed following series of ‘violent’ knife attacks in Wigan town centre last summer
Emily Sergeant
A man has been sentenced this week following a series of ‘violent’ knife attacks in Wigan town centre last summer.
Charles McMurray, of Satchel Close in Wigan, appeared at Bolton Crown Court yesterday where he pleaded guilty to multiple counts of Section 18 wounding with intent, threatening a person with a bladed article, and threats to kill following a distressing incident in Wigan town centre last summer.
The court heard that McMurray arrived on Wallgate at around 6:33am on 9 August 2025 before entering a taxi office, where he stabbed two men without warning.
The victims fled, and McMurray pursued them towards the town centre.
McMurray then went on to threaten a passer‑by at Wigan bus station and held a knife to the man’s stomach. A short time later, he located the injured victims on Standishgate and assaulted one of them again. Following that assault, he chased after another member of the public with the knife shouting that he was going to kill him.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) officers arrived shortly after 6:50am and found McMurray in possession of the knife, before he was subsequently quickly arrested at the scene.
McMurray has now been sentenced to nine years and nine months behind bars, which police say is a ‘testament to the brave victims’ who gave their accounts.
Speaking following McMurray’s sentencing this week, Detective Constable Harris from Wigan CID, who led the investigation, said: “This was an entirely unprovoked attack which left multiple victims requiring hospital treatment. McMurray is a dangerous and violent offender who is now safely behind bars.
“Knives have no place on our streets, and we hope today’s sentence shows just how seriously we take knife crime. Our communities should feel safe where they live and work, and we are committed to tackling knife crime to ensure no family has to face their loved ones being harmed.
“It is a testament to the brave victims who not only endured this attack but had the courage to provide detailed accounts together with the impact this has had on them, that we have been able to ensure McMurray has been brought to justice.”
Emily Sergeant -
23rd July 2024 
