Commons Sense

House of Commons · Westminster Hall

Skills England

09 October 2024 · 6 other contributors · 4,033 words

Opened by Antonia Bance Lab Tipton and Wednesbury

Responding minister: Janet Daby

EducationEconomyEmployment

Summarised by AI from the official record, so it can contain mistakes.

Read the full transcript on Parliament.uk

At a glance

Antonia Bance raised concerns about skills england in Westminster Hall. A government minister responded.

Key points

  • Labour MP raises concerns over decline in skills funding and training opportunities in England, citing third of job vacancies due to skills shortages.
  • MP highlights lack of basic skills among young people, noting 42% leave school without English and maths at grade 4 GCSE and only 16% have level 4 qualifications for required jobs.
  • MP asks government to establish Skills England to assess skills needs, oversee qualifications and courses, and coordinate sector players, and seeks specific actions for her constituency.

Key requests to Government

The Labour MP asks the government to establish a new body called Skills England, which would assess skills needs, oversee qualifications and courses, and coordinate all players in the sector. She seeks specific actions for her constituency including moving responsibility for commissioning local skills improvement plans to combined authorities, giving them more of a role in shaping the growth and skills levy, and ensuring representation at board level.

How the debate unfolded

MPs spoke in turn to share their views and ask questions. Here's what each person said.

Opened the debate

Antonia Bance Lab Tipton and Wednesbury

The Labour MP is concerned about the decline in skills funding and training opportunities in England, leading to a third of job vacancies being due to skills shortages. She highlighted issues such as the lack of basic skills among young people in her constituency, with 42% leaving school without English and maths at grade 4 GCSE and only 16% of applicants having level 4 qualifications for jobs requiring them. The MP also mentioned that manufacturing and construction sectors face significant skill gaps, impacting job creation and economic growth.

Other contributors (6)
  • Alex Ballinger Lab Halesowen

    Asked for an intervention but no further content provided.

  • Alison Griffiths Con Bognor Regis and Littlehampton

    Nearly 50% of UK businesses experienced a cyber-security breach in the past year, costing £27 billion annually. She asks if Skills England should prioritise cyber-security skills development.

  • Andrew Pakes Lab Co-op Peterborough

    In his intervention, Andrew Pakes highlighted that Skills England will be the fifth national quango established since 1973 and noted that the average tenure of a Skills Minister has been 15 months. He stressed that for Skills England to succeed, it must be linked to an industrial strategy with tripartite involvement from employers and unions. Congratulates Grace Gourlay for winning an advanced apprentice of the year award and highlights a 70% drop in young people taking up apprenticeships. He urges Skills England to reform the growth and skills levy to reverse this trend.

  • Helen Grant Con Maidstone and Malling

    MidKent College in her constituency highlights the constant changes in qualifications over the past decade, calling for more certainty to facilitate better long-term planning.

  • Jim Shannon DUP Strangford

    Northern Ireland supplies construction workers to London weekly. He suggests that contributions should be made to Northern Ireland's construction sector and colleges to continue producing skilled workers.

  • Noah Law Lab St Austell and Newquay

    Noah Law agreed with his hon. Friend's intervention and added that achieving the missions of Skills England requires levelling the playing field for further education, particularly in terms of wages, especially in challenging recruitment sectors such as critical minerals.

Government Response

Janet Daby

It is a real pleasure to speak in this debate on the importance of skills. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Tipton and Wednesbury (Antonia Bance) on securing a debate on this subject. The Minister for Skills, Baroness Smith, has recently laid a skills Bill before the other House, which aims to improve the coherence and accessibility of the skills system across all ages and backgrounds. The UK's performance at the WorldSkills event in Lyon last month highlights the commitment to excellence among young learners who won two silver and two bronze medals along with 12 medallions for achieving internationally recognised standards. The minister acknowledges that the current system is incoherent, leading to widespread skills shortages which hinder economic growth. She emphasises the need to create a clear, flexible, high-quality skills system that breaks down barriers to opportunity and drives economic growth while supporting the Government's five missions: economic growth, opportunity for all, a stronger NHS, safer streets, and clean energy. Skills England will provide an authoritative assessment of national and regional skills needs in the economy now and in the future, aligning with the upcoming industrial strategy. The minister also mentions local skills improvement plans (LSIPs) that engage thousands of local businesses to identify skills needs, supporting providers to respond collaboratively through a £165 million local skills improvement fund. An example is Dudley College of Technology receiving £2.1 million for an expansion in regional electrification and engineering technical training. Additionally, the minister encourages colleges like Truro and Penwith College to utilise their full adult skills fund allocations. The response concludes by reiterating the importance of Skills England in ensuring a highly trained workforce necessary for national, regional, and local skills needs of the next decade.

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