Image source, Getty Images
- Author, Paul Seddon
- Role, BBC News
Labour’s planned new body to oversee training in England will open up opportunities for young people, Sir Keir Starmer says.
In a speech on Monday, the Prime Minister will argue that a new approach is needed to reduce the need for immigration in key areas.
During the election campaign, the party pledged to give businesses more flexibility in spending grants currently earmarked for creating apprenticeships.
Labour wants to create a new agency, Skills England, to decide what types of training should be eligible for funding.
But the Conservatives have warned that plans to redirect funding could reduce the number of apprenticeships on offer.
Labour argues that the existing apprenticeship levy, introduced by the Conservatives in 2016, has resulted in a fragmented system and low employer take-up.
The tax, paid by large businesses and generating around £3.5bn a year, is currently used to fund apprenticeships, paid jobs that allow recruits to gain workplace experience alongside training or study.
But Labour wants to allow eligible companies to use up to 50% of the money to fund other types of training, arguing that this will help upskill a wider range of people and help the UK economy respond to changing technologies.
Largely replacing an existing independent body, the Institute for Apprenticeship and Technical Education (IfATE), Skills England will be responsible for deciding which courses can be funded.
Although Labour has presented the change as part of its offer to young people, it has no plans to restrict the age of employees who will be eligible for the newly funded training schemes.
Currently, almost half of apprenticeships are taken by workers under 25, although the age profile tends to age over time.
“Disordered” skills
Sir Keir said England’s current skills system was “in disarray, which is why we are transforming our approach”.
He added that a new approach “would help fulfil our number one mission as a government, which is to revive economic growth by opening up new opportunities for young people.”
The government wants Skills England to work more closely with official migration advisers to develop training plans for sectors that currently rely on immigrants to fill jobs.
Before the election, Labor had pledged to make it harder for companies that refuse to comply with training plans to hire foreign workers, although detailed plans have not been published.
Skills England will initially be established within the Department for Education, with former Co-Operative Group boss Richard Pennycook as interim chair.
Establishing the new body on a permanent basis is expected to take 9 to 12 months, including the adoption of relevant legislation to create its new powers.
According to official figures, the number of adults taking further education courses has fallen by around 50% since 2010, and the number of people completing apprenticeships has also fallen in recent years.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank says the success of the new policy will depend on Skills England’s ability to identify courses to fund that businesses would not have funded themselves anyway.
A Conservative spokesman said Labour’s plans to allow up to 50% of the apprenticeship levy to be redirected could lead to apprenticeships being halved.
This could lead to “fewer opportunities for the next generation,” he added.
