The Government’s plans for a new body to tackle the UK’s damaging skills crisis and an overhaul of the Apprenticeship Levy – revealed in the King’s Speech – signal the Labour administration’s commitment to haul UK businesses out of the doldrums and into a bright future.
So says the National Centre for Universities & Business, an independent and not-for-profit membership organisation that promotes, develops and supports both academia and UK businesses.
The NCUB had already hailed the potential of the Labour Party’s manifesto to unleash UK innovation and address the nation’s severe skills gap.
And, following today’s announcement about the introduction of Skills England, NCUB chief executive Dr Joe Marshall said: “We warmly welcome the news that the Government will introduce Skills England, which will bring together business and training providers. We particularly celebrate that partnerships with employers will be at the heart of this new body.”
Marshall said his organisation also welcomes the news that the Government is taking the step to reform the Apprenticeship Levy, adding: “As always, the devil will lie in the detail, but the aim to have a more flexible Levy than in the past is very welcome.”
He continued: “The nation’s businesses are dealing with an acute and severe skills crisis. Skills gaps and vacancies have been persistently high at around 1 million, yet businesses face barriers to upskilling their staff and accessing new talent.
“We have long argued that it is vital companies are able to make full use of their Apprenticeship Levy funds for broader use, to increase the skills of their workforce. The Government is delivering on their promise of ‘change’ here. We hope that a more flexible Levy will meet business needs by expanding the variety of high-quality training available to young people and adults, and look forward to contributing to its design.”
Advertising Association director of policy and gvernment affairs Lisa Hayley-Jones said: “We welcome the establishment of Skills England and reform of the Apprenticeship Levy which we have long called for. We also welcome the new Council of the Nations and increased powers for metro mayors to collaborate together to drive growth. The advertising industry employs over 360,000 people across the UK and we look forward to working together with the Government and mayors on its mandate.”
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That was then, this is now…for the digital skills crisis
