Policy Updates August to October 2024
Skills England
Skills England is a new executive agency of the Department for Education (DfE) that aims to bring together a wide range of key partners to meet the skills needs of the next decade. Its policy remit will apply to England but its work in identifying skills needs will be UK-wide.
Skills England’s aims include producing a coherent national picture of skills gaps and how they can be addressed, working closely with the new Industrial Strategy Council, and with the Migration Advisory Committee, and bringing together Mayoral Combined Authorities, key local partners, large and small businesses, training providers and unions. Skills England will also be responsible for identifying the training that will be supported through a new Growth and Skills Levy, to replace the existing apprenticeship levy.
Powers that are currently with the Institute for Apprenticeships & Technical Education (IfATE) will transfer to Skills England. In October, Skills Minister Jacqui Smith introduced the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions) Bill to the House of Lords, and it is expected that Skills England will be operational by April 2025.
On apprenticeship standards, the Bill proposes to “remove the requirement for each standard to have been produced by an appropriate ‘group of persons’”. While the default approach will remain the same, the Bill currently proposes to allow for direct intervention by the Secretary of State (most likely via Skills England) to develop and approve standards and/or assessment plans, where appropriate. This is intended to make the process of amending or introducing standards and assessment plans quicker and more efficient overall.
Skills England published its first report in September, which can be found here, and which includes an initial analysis of current and future skills needs. Energy & Utility Skills’ statement can be found here.
Office for Clean Energy Jobs
The Office for Clean Energy Jobs (OCEJ) is being established as a part of the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). This will build on the work of the Green Jobs Delivery Group, using employer-validated data on jobs, including that researched and supplied by Energy & Utility Skills, to inform policy development.
The Office for Clean Energy Jobs provides the Secretary of State at DESNZ with leverage into Skills England over the workforce needs of priority sectors. OCEJ will provide the mechanism to coordinate existing groups such as the nuclear task force and the solar task force, and Energy & Utility Skills has secured membership of the expert group that will inform its work.
Curriculum and Assessment Review
Energy & Utility Skills has called for changes to the school curriculum to 16 in light of its lack of an up-to-date vocational offer and the insufficient preparedness of school leavers for apprenticeships and jobs, and we welcome the Government’s launch of a curriculum and assessment review, covering Key Stages 1 to 5.
The review has opened a call for evidence and Energy & Utility Skills will be submitting a response and is able to support members’ responses.
For further details of for any questions on policy issues please contact carl.jordan@euskills.co.uk or grace.storey@euskills.co.uk
If you have any questions or would like more information about our programme of NOS, Qualification and Apprenticeship Framework review, please contact us at standardsreview@euskills.co.uk.