FE says it celebrates diversity, but where are the Black leaders?

When I was asked to give a Black History Month workshop at a college, it caught me off guard.

I’ve been teaching in FE for more than 15 years, but I’d never seen myself as someone who teaches Black history. I always thought my presence as a Black lecturer opened the door to honest conversation. In practice, it’s different.

I started teaching in my late 20s in Ipswich, where around 3.5 per cent of the population identifies as Black.

Growing up, Black History Month felt forced. In school it was a lecture about struggle, not culture or pride. Maybe that’s why I avoided it in my teaching.

Yet, as a media lecturer, I realised that I already teach elements of Black history through the stories, people and visuals I bring into lessons.

Walking into a classroom as the only Black teacher some students have ever met, I am representation. I face questions like “Do you rap?” or “You’ve smoked weed before, right?”

Those moments show how narrow some young people’s exposure to Black culture is.

So my first job is always to challenge stereotypes and open minds. But that isn’t enough. To understand a people, you have to respect their history.

That’s what I tried to do in my workshop at West Suffolk College in Bury St Edmunds where the Black population is even lower, at around 1.6 per cent.

I wanted students to feel invited in, not lectured to. I spoke about figures like Spike Lee, Naomi Campbell and Ashley Walters, icons who show creativity, resilience and influence across industries.

My approach came from my other role as a BBC radio producer, where I curate a three-hour show celebrating Afro-Caribbean stories and voices across the East of England.

The goal is always the same: to connect people through real, lived experiences rather than guilt or politics.

What surprised me most was how many students had never heard of these names or their achievements, and how engaged they became once they did.

Maybe it was my delivery, or maybe they had just never been told these stories in this way before. Either way, their curiosity reminded me that representation is not only about visibility; it’s about storytelling.

For me, Black history was not a lesson. It was a lifestyle. My parents filled our home with African art, books, and films like Mario Van Peebles’ Posse. They showed me that Black history lives through creativity and pride. That foundation shaped how I teach today, with honesty and context.

One key point I made in my workshop was about awareness. None of the students were visibly of African heritage.

I asked them to think about their future workplaces. Would they stay in Suffolk or move elsewhere? Would they understand the cultures of their colleagues and communities? If not, they may be at a disadvantage.

I learned British, German, French, and American history at school. I can work comfortably in diverse spaces because of that. Can they say the same?

After four engaging sessions, I left feeling both proud and reflective. I had spent years teaching without formally including Black history, assuming it was covered elsewhere. Now I know it must be part of everything we teach – not just in October, not just in diversity week.

In most FE colleges, Black History Month still sits as a one-off event in October, often led by well-meaning white staff relying on the same slavery heavy curriculum I endured. It is time to change that.

According to the Ethnic Equity in Education FE Report 2024, just 7.2 per cent of FE leaders are Black, compared with 30 per cent of students. As the report notes, “At no point in the FE workforce is there a reflection of the UK’s Black population”.

FE colleges need to bring in Black leaders and educators to write, teach, and reshape the narrative. Let’s make Black history a natural part of the curriculum every month of the year.

But what do I know? I’m just a rapper.

We need to stop leaving life skills to chance

Lack of workplace readiness amongst young people is becoming an epidemic. Recent research suggests that only 55 per cent think they can offer the skills employers want, while half believe they have the right work experience.

Starting their careers on the back foot affects not just young people, but the businesses they work for and the UK’s productivity.

One reason for this disconnect is inconsistency in education.

Our research shows that only 40 per cent of teachers are aware that financial education is already part of the curriculum. And without clear guidance or support on financial and enterprise education, schools are left to decide how, or if, they should deliver these crucial life skills.

As a result, many young people miss out, especially those already facing barriers to social mobility.

The government’s recently published curriculum and assessment review and skills white paper have started to address this challenge, recognising the need for stronger alignment between education and employability. However, both stop short of embedding financial and enterprise education across the post-16 phase.

Learning by doing

At Young Enterprise, we’ve seen how powerful hands-on learning can be.

Many students, especially those at risk of disengaging, are motivated thorugh ‘learning by doing’ – whether that’s earning while they learn, taking part in enterprise activities or getting real-world exposure.

These programmes not only teach knowledge, but build confidence, resilience and transferable skills.

In FE settings, applied learning is already central to delivery. Embedding financial capability and enterprise thinking into existing programmes, through the likes of simulated businesses, employer partnerships and community initiatives, give learners real-world context and connect their studies to the decisions they’ll make in work and life.

Take students on our practical ‘Start Up’ programme, aimed at those aged 18 plus, in HE or FE.

Recent award winners have included a team that aimed to end water scarcity by combining atmospheric water generation with renewable solar power energy to improve access to water.

Another group of psychology students offered a digital bereavement service, designed to help individuals create lasting memories of their loved ones.

From enterprise education to real opportunity

Enterprise skills such as innovation, marketing, finance and project management shouldn’t be reserved for business studies students. They should be immersed throughout the curriculum, showing how classroom learning connects to real careers.

Employers play a huge role in bridging this gap. By offering inclusive entry points, such as pre-apprenticeship programmes, mentoring or work experience, they can help young people from all disciplines take that all-important first step.

For those without professional role models at home, exposure to the workplace and hearing from relatable ambassadors can be transformational.

Moment for change

However, this isn’t something schools and employers can do alone. The government has an important role to play.

Now that the curriculum review and white paper have been published, attention must turn to implementation – how to profit from the vast wealth of resources already created by charities, often in partnership with financial services institutions.

The curriculum and assessment review shows that both children and parents place huge value on skills like budgeting, finance, problem-solving and creative thinking.

But while the report calls for consistency and coherence, it stops short of making financial education statutory at post-16.

Similarly, the skills white paper provides another chance to close the gap.

With the government aiming for two thirds of young people to move into higher-level learning, it is vital that financial and enterprise education is offered at this stage too.

Yet today, there is no universal offer for post-16 students, despite this being the point where many are stepping into independence for the first time.

Turning ambition into action

Financial education has been on the curriculum in schools for a decade, but without clear prioritisation or guidance, it has reached too few pupils.

Only 47 per cent of young people recall receiving meaningful financial education in school, and that needs to change.

Schools and FE institutions should be the place where firm financial foundations are built, supported by employers and underpinned by a consistent national approach.

From integrating budgeting and entrepreneurship projects into core subjects, to partnering with local businesses, there are many ways to embed real-world learning into the classroom.

Recent policies have set out a strong direction for technical learning, but the next step must be to extend that vision to financial and enterprise capability. These are the skills that give young people confidence, independence and resilience to thrive in the future of work.

A youth guarantee isn’t enough without a green skills guarantee

There was an inevitability about the recent flurry of announcements from the government about tackling rising NEET (not in education, employment or training) numbers.

Once the number of young people not earning or learning nears the million mark, the pressure to act becomes overwhelming.

In quick succession we’ve had the announcement of £820 million for the youth guarantee, which includes the new jobs guarantee – providing a six-month, 100 per cent subsidised work placement for eligible 18 to 21-year-olds who have been on Universal Credit for 18 months – and an ‘independent investigation’ by Alan Milburn to add to the range of ‘trailblazers’ being piloted across the country.

For many this will all sound familiar and there will be legitimate questions about what more we need to learn.

We know a lot about what works in re-engaging young people, what motivates them to learn and how to build progression pathways with employers. What we lack are the resources, capacity and long-term contracts to do it as well as we would like. 

This is why I hope the latest round of reviews will not just restate the evidence base but help us understand better how to connect complementary – and crucial – parts of the system. 

This needs to start at the front end with a recognition that engaging young people who have drifted away from formal learning requires investment in youth and community work, in particular if we’re going to find those young people – up to half of all NEETs – who are not engaging with the system at all.

We then need to understand how the growth and skills levy might support training among young people for whom level 3 is a distant goal, and encourage more employers, especially SMEs, to invest in workforce development.

The third aspect is to ensure alignment with wider strategies for skills, growth and investment.

If we’re going to intervene in the labour market by creating subsidised jobs then we should do that with a clear purpose, rather than merely cutting wage costs for large employers.

And if we want to attract the attention and maintain the motivation of young people who may already feel let down by the system, then we need to open up learning pathways into economic sectors that are likely to grow.

The ‘green economy’ fits the bill on both fronts. It offers learning and work opportunities in areas as diverse as energy efficiency, land management and the circular economy. It has major skills shortages in a mixed economy of large contractors, SMEs, social enterprises and charities.

According to economists, global demand for green talent is growing twice as fast as supply, leading to a risk of one in five green jobs going unfilled by 2030.

Despite the breakdown in political consensus around net-zero targets, the economy is changing rapidly and long-term plans for energy transition, home insulation and nature recovery are providing the confidence employers need to invest.

If this transition is going to be equitable, we need to ensure the ‘jobs of the future’ are accessible and attractive, creating entry-level roles in supportive workplace environments with access to training that is both tailored and transferable.

We’re pushing at an open door. Worldskills UK reports that 80 per cent of young people feel it’s important to work in an organisation tackling climate change but lack understanding of what roles are available, and what skills they require.

Compounding the issue is the narrow range of job roles available within the apprenticeship system. Few school leavers know the precise career path they want to follow, so roles with a broad skills base that provide a grounding in a core range of competences are likely to be more attractive.

Green jobs are not all about advanced skills in high-tech industries. We also need more people who can work safely outdoors, more plumbers, electricians and construction workers and more people able to embed the principles of environmental sustainability into everything from care and retail to logistics.

These are all things the skills sector knows how to deliver. We just need the government to confirm this is a priority and make it possible to align different parts of the system to achieve maximum speed and impact.

Troubled Burnley College appoints new principal

A scandal-ridden college has appointed a new permanent principal, months after its long-serving leader quit ahead of an Ofsted report that revealed inflated achievement rates.

Jason Faulkner will stand down from his deputy chief executive role at the Education Training Collective to take the helm and help mark the start of an “ambitious new chapter” for Burnley College.

Inspectors revealed in July that Burnley College, which boasted to be the “number one” in the country for achievement rates, “misled” students and parents by inflating their data.

The inspection report, which downgraded the college to a ‘requires improvement’ rating, came just a day after former principal Karen Buchanan officially resigned from her role.

She had mysteriously disappeared from the college in March. Buchanan was later suspended pending an investigation.

Faulkner is set to join the college on February 2, 2026.

Faulkner said: “Burnley College feels like a place where my skills and experience align, and I can add real value. This feels like the right fit.

“I am optimistic about the future and being able to share the skills I have developed with another college and the surrounding communities, and add value to their, and my, next chapter.”

He joins from the Education Training Collective, where he has spent over two decades teaching and working at Stockton Riverside College and Redcar and Cleveland College before their mergers with the college group.

The Education Training Collective (ETC), which comprises six colleges and training providers, was upgraded to ‘outstanding’ in May.

Faulkner said his biggest achievement was renewing Redcar and Cleveland College. He became principal of the college in 2018, after an FE commissioner visit was prompted over a breakdown in merger talks to save the college’s finances.

Redcar merged with Stockton Riverside in 2018 and then became part of the ETC a year later.

“That’s not just about the achievement data or student numbers,” Faulkner said.

“It is the work that has been carried out with supportive partners, the capital investments that have led to massive innovation at the college, and the relationships built with the local authority and employer partners.”

David Brown, chair of governors, said: “We are delighted to welcome Jason to Burnley College. His dynamic leadership and forward-thinking vision are exactly what we need to continue building an educational environment where every student and staff member can achieve their ambitions.

“We are confident that under his guidance, the college will reach new heights of excellence and further solidify its role as a cornerstone of the community.”

New recruits

The college is also advertising on its website for an FE governor to join its board.

It comes after Ofsted recommended it “strengthen” the governing board with people with FE experience.

The advert is looking for someone with experience in senior FE education or leadership, who can “use their understanding of learning outcomes, further educational policy and inclusion to support the college’s strategic development”.

NCFE shuts down systems after ‘cyber incident’

A “cyber security incident” has forced a major national awarding organisation to shut down its IT systems, triggering widespread cancellations to assessments and a halt to new learner registrations.

NCFE has locked down all of its online systems, including staff emails and its learner registration portal, while investigators determine the extent of the incident, which occurred late last week.

NCFE could not confirm at this stage whether any sensitive data was compromised

In a message to customers yesterday afternoon, seen by FE Week, NCFE said it had detected “suspicious activity” on its network late last week. It immediately shut down its systems “as a precautionary measure” but acknowledged that would create “significant disruption” across its services. 

Phone lines, live web chat and NCFE staff email accounts have all been temporarily shut down. The awarding body’s ‘Portal’ is also offline, meaning providers cannot currently register learners, upload evidence or claim certificates. NCFE has promised to let customers know when services will resume as soon as it is able to. 

Any late registration or late booking fees incurred by centres as a result of systems going offline will be waived.

The shutdown also means most planned assessments have been cancelled. NCFE has told centres that T Level assessments scheduled for this week will continue as planned, and on-demand functional skills assessments can still be booked. 

But paper-based assessments and all face-to-face and remote apprenticeship end point assessments planned from yesterday, December 1, have been cancelled and will be rearranged. 

Students’ T Level employer-set project evidence can also not be uploaded until systems are back online. 

External cyber security specialists are in the early stages of a forensic investigation to understand the cause and scope of the incident. NCFE was unable to confirm whether any sensitive data was accessed or compromised. 

NCFE said: “As our investigation is in its early stages, we are currently not in a position to confirm details or draw any conclusions on any specific data involved. These investigations take time, but please be assured that understanding this is a key focus of our investigation.”

David Gallagher, chief executive of NCFE, apologised for “any inconvenience or concern” and said staff were working “around the clock” the bring systems safely back online.

Cyber attacks against awarding organisations are rare. 

An Ofqual report last year said there was one attack on an organisation “affiliated to three awarding organisations” and one attack on an awarding organisation that delivers general qualifications in 2024. 

An Ofqual spokesperson said: “Ofqual is aware of a cyber incident affecting NCFE. We are in discussions with NCFE, who have engaged fully and appropriate steps are being taken to protect students’ interests. NCFE has confirmed that T Level assessments will continue as planned for the next two weeks.

“Ofqual will continue to assess closely NCFE’s actions.”

NCFE was approached for further comment. 

More information and FAQs for students and centres are now available on NCFE’s website.

Top Ofsted grades soar in final year of overall effectiveness system      

The proportion of FE and skills providers that hold Ofsted’s top two ratings boosted significantly in the final year of the watchdog’s ‘outstanding’ to ‘inadequate’ grading system – with independent providers scoring the most notable rise, figures show.

Chief inspector Sir Martyn Oliver published the inspectorate’s latest annual stocktake of education performance this morning.

It is the last report that includes the old-style grading system. Overall headline grades have now been removed and the watchdog will grade colleges in up to 16 individual areas on a five-point scale from ‘exceptional’, ‘strong standard’ and ‘expected standard’ to ‘needs attention’ and ‘urgent improvement’.

Here, FE Week analyses the final data set for the old-style system.

Quality rises across the whole sector

As of August 31, 2025, 1,663 FE and skills providers held an Ofsted grade and of those, 88 per cent (1,461) held either ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’.

This is a 6 percentage point rise compared to the same date in 2024, when 82 per cent of all providers across the sector was rated in the top two categories for overall effectiveness.

The overall number of providers to achieve ‘outstanding’ rose from 161 to 188 over the same period.

Marked improvement for ITPs and employers

The proportion of independent training providers to hold either ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ rose from 76 per cent in 2024 to 84 per cent in 2025.

Employer providers saw a similar rise, moving from 85 per cent with the top two grades to 92 per cent.

Apprenticeship quality is also continuing to rise.

Last year’s stats showed that of the 1,241 providers that had a judgment on their apprenticeship provision, 81 per cent were judged good or outstanding for apprenticeships at their most recent full inspection or were judged to be making at least reasonable progress at their new provider monitoring visit.

This proportion increased 7 percentage points to 88 per cent as of the end of August 2025.

Colleges also get an upgrade

Of England’s 152 general FE colleges, 86 per cent held either ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ as of August 31, 2025 – up from 84 per cent the year before. This was mostly driven by a rise in ‘outstanding’ judgments, which went up from 10 to 14 over the period.

One college – Furness College – ended 2025 holding Ofsted’ lowest rating of ‘inadequate’.

Meanwhile, the proportion of sixth form colleges with the top two judgments rose from 95 per cent to 97 per cent.

One sixth form college held ‘requires improvement’ – Cirencester College – and none held ‘inadequate’.

Other provider types

Independent specialist colleges saw a significant improvement boost.

Of the 118 with an Ofsted grade, 105 (89 per cent) held the top two grades, an increase of 9 percentage points. Just one independent specialist college – Langdon College – was judged ‘inadequate’.

Meanwhile, 143 adult community providers, which includes local authority services and the institutes of adult learning, held an Ofsted grade as of August 31, 2025.

Nearly all, 139, were graded ‘good’ or better. Overall, 97 per cent of adult community providers were ‘good or better’ – up from 96 per cent the previous year.

The new data showed that 102 higher education institutions had an overall Ofsted grade by the end of August 2025. Of those, 97 (95 per cent) were judged ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’, an increase of 2 percentage points compared with August 31, 2024.

Prison woes continue

Ofsted’s report also noted “too many” prison leaders had failed to improve the quality of education in the secure estate.

Over one fifth (22 per cent) of the 35 prisons it inspected this year had received a lower overall grade, and over half (51 per cent) remained the same. Only nine prisons had an improved rating but not a single prison or young offender’s institute was judged ‘outstanding’.

Ofsted also warned that neurodiverse prisoners in work or studying vocational education did not access the same level of support as other prisoners with learning difficulties.

And the watchdog slammed prison leaders’ inappropriate allocation of space as it limited prisoners’ access to a full, “purposeful” day of work or education. 

“This severely limited their chances to prepare well for employment on release,” it said.

Inspectors saw AI’s ‘negative impact’…

Today’s Ofsted annual report included a section on artificial intelligence for the first time.

“Very few” inspectors who had seen the use of AI during inspection felt “the way providers were using it was improving outcomes”, a July survey found.

Ofsted said it was “concerning” some said AI was having “a negative impact” and but only a “small minority” of inspectors have seen safeguarding concerns relating to the technology.

The watchdog said the survey of inspectors confirms “there is a gap in research around the impact of AI on outcomes”.

Inspectors’ biggest concerns about AI are around governance and impact.

…and leaders have their concerns too

Some school and college leaders “have concerns about maintaining educational integrity” with the rapid pace of AI development and the number of tools being developed.

Ofsted said there was an “abundance of tools that can promise solutions to the challenges they and their staff face” but leaders told them in some cases products are “over-sold and under-developed”.

AI is mainly used to reduce teachers’ workload. Some settings have developed their own AI chatbots, which respond to questions children may have.

Several school and college leaders said teachers use AI to adapt or summarise suitable texts to match children’s reading levels, rather than spending time searching the internet for relevant source material at an appropriate level.

But many leaders said using AI directly with pupils was still in “its infancy”.

Ofsted warned leaders need “robust governance to manage” the ethical risks of AI and to “keep users safe”.

OfS to reduce dual-regulation burden on colleges

The Office for Students is consulting on plans to remove an “overlap” of regulation on FE colleges that provide higher education courses.

The higher education regulator is proposing to disapply five initial conditions of registration and four general ongoing conditions for colleges “where the Department for Education (DfE) already has robust oversight in place”.

These include requirements to prove financial viability and sustainability, a five-year business plan, fraud and inappropriate use of public funds arrangements and proof that key individuals at the college have sufficient knowledge and are fit and proper persons.

The consultation follows a strategy, announced in the post-16 white paper, that aims to increase higher education uptake and making the OfS the “single primary regulator” for all providers teaching level 4 and above courses.

OfS director of regulation, Philippa Pickford, said the consultation is in response to college sector concerns that the “complex regulatory landscape” is a barrier to offering higher education courses.

She added: “We also anticipate that the sector will expand when the government launches the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (LLE).

“In disapplying requirements where DfE already has robust oversight, we hope to make the registration process as smooth as possible for these institutions and ensure our regulation remains proportionate and risk-based.”

The consultation was published today and runs until February 10, 2026.

It comes ahead of the expected rollout of the LLE loan system in September 2026, which the government hopes will make level 4 and 5 higher education courses more easily available.

Several initial and ongoing conditions of registration will remain in place for colleges, such as the need for an access and participation plan, providing a high-quality academic experience, and proof of positive outcomes for students.

According to the report, colleges are already subject to a range of “robust” DfE measures to ensure effective financial governance, including the power to intervene or take “targeted action” to protect learners and public funds.

This includes a new level of intervention the DfE is consulting on separately, expected to allow officials to monitor higher risk colleges and mandate action through a ‘letter to improve’.

The OfS said this level of support is “sufficient to justify reducing the regulatory burden” for FE colleges. 

But the proposals will only apply to colleges that do not have and are not seeking degree awarding powers.

A “fuller” set of conditions will remain for colleges with degree awarding powers because they “operate autonomously”, without the oversight of an OfS-registered validating partner, so have a higher level of risk of closure or financial difficulties.

Arti Saraswat, senior policy manager, higher education at the Association of Colleges, said: “Colleges are longstanding providers of higher education and play a crucial role in providing opportunities for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, so it is good to see that the OfS is acting to make it easier for them to offer higher education.

“This move recognises that dual regulation is unnecessary as well as being burdensome on colleges. A streamlined approach to regulation from OfS is extremely welcome, and is something we have been campaigning on for years.  

“These proposals would mean that colleges can use their resources more efficiently, which would be extremely helpful as they prepare for the rollout of modular and flexible delivery under the Lifelong Learning Entitlement and as colleges play their vital part in delivering the new target for participation in higher education, and particularly at level 4 and 5.”

WorldSkills UK national finals 2025

Welcome to this special souvenir supplement bringing you the full results and insights from the 2025 WorldSkills UK national finals in South Wales.

From 47 high-pressure competitions hosted across five colleges and universities, to compelling stories of determination, inclusion and world-class teaching, this year’s supplement captures the scale and spirit of the 2025 national finals.

As Ben Blackledge, WorldSkills UK chief executive, writes in his foreword, this was a national finals that both inspires and drives improvement – a week where over 400 finalists demonstrated the precision, creativity and professionalism that employers value and young people deserve.

Alongside the full results from each competition, the supplement is packed with exclusive features and interviews spotlighting competitor journeys, behind-the-scenes insights from training managers, ministerial perspectives on the future of skills, and the grassroots innovations in colleges that are transforming teaching, learning and learner confidence across the UK.

Click the link above to download your copy

Skills England launches beta version of skills classification tool

Skills England has launched a beta version of a long-awaited skills classification tool in a bid to map and provide common language for the skills system in the UK.

Last week, the Department for Work and Pensions’ executive agency published the UK Standard Skills Classification (SSC), a four-level hierarchy that reflects over 3,000 occupational skills and aims to support “more effective decision-making” in recruitment, training, career development, and labour market analysis.

Once fully rolled out FE colleges and providers will be able to analyse local job vacancy data to identify skill demands, and design or modify courses to address specific skill gaps identified in the tool.

The government proposed a skills classification tool over two years ago to help training providers to be “more efficient”.

In a research report published on Thursday, Skills England said the lack of a “unified” system for classifying skills made it “difficult” to communicate and analyse skill-related information across education and employment.

“The SSC seeks to address this gap by providing a coherent structure that accurately reflects the skills and knowledge required in the UK workforce,” the research report said.

The SSC has broken down the system into four levels, comprising 22 broad skill domains, such as making decisions, manufacturing and caring, split further into 106 skill areas, hundreds of skill groups and finally 3,343 occupational skills.

The components of the SSC skill domain are then linked to relevant qualifications, tens of thousands of tasks, nearly 5,000 knowledge concepts, and 13 transferrable “core skills”.

The framework directly maps to apprenticeship standards (via Skills England’s occupational standards), course subject codes (under HECoS), Ofqual-registered qualifications and standard occupational classification codes.

Illustrated above, the serving and caring skill domain offers several linked skill areas including providing personal care and support services. The tool (see below) will then showcase the most important transferrable skills (rated out of 100), a list of core skills proficiencies (rated out of 5) and related industrial sectors and qualifications available.

What’s next?

Skills England plans to update the tool next year “based on user feedback” and then revise every five years.

Officials will monitor and change the SSC to remain fit-for-purpose in three areas: emerging and evolving job occupations, new curriculum changes relating to skills development and tweaks to terminology.

They will also keep an eye on job vacancies data, employer forums and associations, public forums such as Stack Exchange and Discord, and patent filings to identify any possible changes to the SSC.

The classification tool was developed using AI text embedding and large language models, drawing together multiple datasets from the former Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, the National Careers Service and also international frameworks such as O*NET, a free US tool developed to help people develop their careers.

However, Skills England warned that the AI tools are “not entirely reliable” after struggling with data tagging and inconsistent grammar.

The agency’s officials initially sought to validate the classification took against a large CV library, but it proved “prohibitively complex and expensive”.

Instead, the Department for Work and Pensions has initiated a pilot to evaluate the use of the SSC to generate standardised skills profiles from a sample of service user CVs.

“Data was requested from LinkedIn to supplement other inputs (especially for the knowledge concept library) but, unfortunately, they were unable to provide access to the level of data required,” the report added.

The beta interactive tool can be found here.