Government launches ‘crucial’ new mission to plug England’s skills gaps for next decade

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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’.

‘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.

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.

“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.

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“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.”

Featured Image – 10 Downing Street (via X)