SMEs hope their needs are considered with Skills England launch

The government has announced the launch of Skills England to transform opportunities and drive growth.

The plan is for the new body to bring together central and local government, businesses, training providers and unions to meet the skills needs of the next decade across all regions.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said, “Our skills system is in a mess, 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.

“From construction to IT, healthcare to engineering, our success as a country depends on delivering highly skilled workforces for the long-term. Skills England will put in place the framework needed to achieve that goal while reducing our reliance on workers from overseas.”

The UK’s SMEs are hoping that they won’t be forgotten when it comes to Skills England, and that their needs will be kept in mind.

Commenting on this, Tina McKenzie, Policy Chair, Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), said, “More co-ordination is welcome, but delivery is what counts. Small firms will want to see real safeguards put in place so the new body is not ‘captured’ by large employers.

“The Government’s policy on a new skills levy has significant risks for overall apprenticeship numbers and training opportunities in small firms.

“Labour’s commitment in Opposition to continue current levels of co-investment in apprenticeships must now be formally adopted by Ministers so further decline in numbers can be avoided. Skills England should be tasked with increasing the number of small business apprenticeships year on year.

“Small businesses were enthusiastic early adopters when it comes to apprentices – we want to see this new body overcome the real flaws in curriculum design which have been such a significant factor in apprenticeship decline.

“The skills system needs to be adaptable and nimble, as there’s great potential for improvements to growth and productivity if the entire workforce can be equipped with the right skills. Skills England must keep small businesses’ needs and particular strengths central to its way of thinking, and must commit to making the skills system as straightforward as possible for them to navigate.”

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