Essential skills are the missing test of the skills white paper

The skills white paper set out the government’s plans for skills reform to deliver increased productivity and a skilled workforce. So what does it mean for people who could benefit most from the opportunity for a second chance in learning?

The white paper recognises that 8.5 million adults have low essential skills, like literacy and numeracy. It notes that 15 per cent of the working-age population don’t hold a level 2 qualification.  

There is much talk of ‘joining up’ the employment and skills system. There might even be a better chance of this actually happening. Bringing together high-quality teaching of essential skills, employment support and employer engagement could be a gamechanger for those looking for work.

The adult skills fund (ASF) supports most essential skills, including literacy, numeracy, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and digital skills. Essential skills provision is often funded on the basis of supporting people into work. But it doesn’t always include specific features of employment support, such as helping people understand the local labour market, or connections with local employers.

Adult skills is moving into the Department for Work and Pensions’ remit. The government wants the ASF better joined up with support provided through Jobcentre Plus (JCP), which can include use of the flexible support fund to access locally run training.

It makes sense to use touchpoints like engagement with the benefits system and employment support to identify people with low essential skills gaps. People with low essential skills are less likely to be in work. Support can then be offered, including referrals into learning provision where appropriate.

The trick will be to develop more effective ways of making it happen. Conflicting priorities between JCP and training providers have long been challenging to align. Flexibility in funding and provision, and strong relationships between JCP staff and providers, will be key.

The white paper promises that the government will review their offer on adult essential skills. There are few details on what this will mean, bar a specific and sensible commitment to update the essential digital skills standards to reflect the latest developments in everyday digital skills.

Skills minister Jacqui Smith has said that the statutory entitlements to fully funded English and maths qualifications up to Level 2 remain.  Although there is no commitment to additional investment to support delivery, this is still a welcome indicator of priority, helping ensure that essential skills provision is not consigned to a future of short-term programmes and projects.

While the white paper positions essential skills as primarily relevant to employment, there is strong evidence for good essential skills supporting social outcomes too, like better health and stronger communities. The white paper omits any mention of this wider role for adult learning, including ESOL and other essential skills, in college and community settings.

Beyond that, it’s not clear if this review – or the announcement of new level 1 English and maths qualification for use in 16-19 programmes – will mean a full-scale redevelopment of adult essential skills standards, curriculum and qualifications. Functional skills qualifications were last substantially revised in 2018, and ESOL skills for life in 2014. National standards and the adult literacy, numeracy and ESOL curriculum have been relatively untouched since the turn of the century.

Sorting all this out is a big job. But it is one that is also becoming more urgent, as the old infrastructure for essential skills provision is increasingly creaking and dated. It’s important that teachers have up-to-date and relevant curriculum content, materials and assessments to work with.

Ultimately, addressing the nation’s essential skills needs is going to take more than this, though. The central challenge of engaging more adults in essential skills learning won’t be helped by a new curriculum and qualifications alone. Adult participation in essential skills learning has declined by over 60 per cent over the past decade.

If we want at least nine in ten UK adults to have good essential skills by 2035, it requires an extra 3.5 million adults to gain them, as our Ambition Skills research has shown.

This means that the government and metro mayors need to choose to invest in essential skills, alongside employers. It requires a concerted effort across the state, employers and in communities to identify people who can benefit from improving essential skills – and to find new ways to support them.

A top football coach gives us lessons to learn – and avoid

On one of my commutes to work, I started thinking about the similarities between teaching and football. As I write this, Arsenal are still clinging to the top of the Premier League table. Much has been made of their success with set pieces this season, with numerous goals coming from corners and the beautiful head of Gabriel Magalhães in particular.

Manager Mikel Arteta is a friend of the Los Angeles Rams coach, and has perhaps learnt from the set play tactics commonly used in the US National Football League. Arsenal have evolved their game to include more dynamic set pieces, or what we might see as little creative fire-crackers. They are deeply controlled and rehearsed moments, which explode into light, confusion and movement. And above all, goals.

Learning as a flow of thoughts

 It’s not enough to plan the most brilliant set pieces, though. In teaching, we too can see learning as either set pieces or open play. I have always felt that only 50 per cent of teaching is planning. The other 50 per cent is responding.

Learning is not like a ladder you can steadily climb up, on a pre-ordained route to success. Once released, it is more like the sea – the students respond in different and surprising ways, and the current changes. The energy flies this way and that, and misconceptions emerge that you hadn’t thought of. Brilliant questions are asked which make you stop, stagger back and reflect.

Learning becomes a flow of thoughts, with students moving in different directions. Your job as teacher is to respond, adapt and change route. It’s to pass the learning around the classroom in the mould of a creative midfielder, to keep that momentum going, and keep everyone involved and thinking.

We have our dead ball moments

Yet we also have our set pieces. Our dead ball moments, so to speak, come at the starts of lessons and at transition points. These are strategies we prepare, practise and distribute through lessons knowing we have a formula we want to deploy.

There’s the Do Now, designed to get students thinking as soon as they enter the room. Starter activities which throw back (retrieval practice), or warm up (for new learning). Quizzes to assess, using tools like Kahoot. Polls to gauge, using Mentimeter. Project briefs for group work. Structures for asking questions like Pose, Pause, Pounce, Bounce. Exit tickets for plenaries.

In many ways these are the safe parts of the lesson – the stepping stones we jump to and hold onto, especially when we are early in our careers. There is a danger they can start to feel formulaic, though. So the goal (no pun intended) is to ensure that they remain dynamic, and that we shuffle our pack, remaining creative and purposeful. It’s that we use them to create light and movement, rather than predictable passes.

Open play: the part we learn on the ride

As for open play, this is the part of teaching we learn on the ride. It’s about listening and watching, feeling the vibe in the room, and being prepared to abandon the plan when needed. It’s about noticing the expressions on our learners’ faces, on asking the right questions to drill down, rather than assume. It takes confidence, flexibility, humility, and the willingness to allow students to direct the learning too.

It’s this bit that comes with experience, where we learn through feeling the surprises and the chaos how to help learners make meaning of it all. This is adaptive teaching in action. It’s something we have been working on at South Bank Colleges. As the American ventriloquist and educator Ignacio Estrada said: “If they can’t learn the way we teach, we need to teach the way they learn.” And the better we know our students, the more equipped we become to anticipate the challenges and misconceptions.

But there will always be surprises. As teachers, we don’t have the capacity to bring fresh legs off the bench through substitutions. We still need to be able to respond though to new currents, unexpected barriers, and faces which say, “we don’t get it”. Or, “we get it already – let’s move on”.

V Levels ambition will outrun reality unless we slow down

There is a sense of déjà vu over having yet another new set of proposed reforms and different post-16 qualifications at Level 3 and below to understand.

The government is looking through sector feedback around the planned design and implementation of new pathways announced in the skills white paper.

We know that previous proposals have often been fleeting, and at the mercy of changes in administration or party leadership (does anyone remember the Advanced British Standard?) But I’m more optimistic this time that the changes will be progressive and will actually happen.

The proposed landscape is an improvement on what was originally in the Review of Qualifications at Level 3 and below. There’s hope it will provide better pathways than those outlined previously. At Level 2 in particular there’s a more coherent qualifications offer for all learners. This is a vital change, especially given the challenges with the T Level foundation year.

V Levels: A seismic shift

The introduction of V Levels would be another seismic shift in the qualification landscape and is reflective of how the speed of change is increasing. A Levels were first introduced back in 1951, and we’re now due to see both T Levels and V Levels launched within a decade of each other.


However, the intended launch date for V Levels of September 2027 is overly ambitious. I’ve yet to meet anyone who thinks otherwise. There’s a risk to the successful implementation of this new qualification. It would make life incredibly difficult for both the learners planning to take them and the educators delivering them. Providers need time to understand the new qualifications, and to pivot to a different delivery model, where learners will take multiple V Levels simultaneously or alongside A Levels.

Introducing a year later in 2028 would allow more time to develop the new qualifications. It would allow more time to explain them to students, parents and employers, and for providers to get ready to deliver them. Allowing for greater preparation time with any qualification reform should lead to better outcomes for learners.

There have been some encouraging words from Skills Minister Jacqui Smith this week, which hint at delayed implementation in response to concerns she has heard.

What we don’t yet know on V Levels

There is still confusion over the purpose of V Levels, though. We know that they’re for students who haven’t made up their mind on which occupation they would like to pursue. There are additional calls for the qualification to help students progress either into employment, or further learning.

A Levels and T Levels have clear outcomes. While we know who V Levels are intended for, what will they enable learners to do? We hope to see more clarity about their purpose and expected progression routes, so that we, and other awarding organisations, can design them to be fit for purpose.

The expectation that V Levels will be delivered in 360 hours also signals a significant change in patterns of teaching and learning. More than 540 guided learning hours was the norm for more than half of Level 3 learners aged 16 to 19 last year, according to Individualised Learner Record data.

Sixth forms typically offer A Levels, which are 360 GLH qualifications, at scale. As such, they are well set up to deliver V Levels, as they will slot in neatly alongside A Levels. However, for many colleges, the proposed new landscape is significantly different from what’s currently in place.

Extra pressures on estates, staff and timetabling

Many colleges will not be used to combining multiple small qualifications as part of a study programme. They will need to prepare for a different delivery model, which will put pressure on estates, the demand for suitably experienced teachers, and timetabling. Teachers will also need time to understand and prepare to deliver the new qualifications. 

There’s clearly a demand at Level 3 for medium and large qualifications, so we must make sure we aren’t over-simplifying the landscape to the detriment of learners. Whilst simplicity is desirable, it shouldn’t come at the expense of ensuring qualifications work. There may be a good case to offer double-sized V Levels in some subjects, such as hair and beauty, to ensure students reach a level of occupational competence to secure a job.

We can reshape things for the better

We certainly support any changes that make life better for learners and educators. But as we enter this next phase of qualification reforms, there are still many improvements the government can make to its proposals.

With the right approach, these latest reforms do have the potential to reshape things for the better.

Poorer students miss out on a golden ticket. We can fix that

Imagine being offered a ‘golden ticket’ that pays you a salary, hands you a debt-free degree, and fast-tracks your career with a blue-chip employer. For students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, degree apprenticeships are exactly that: a transformative engine for social mobility. 

Yet not enough economically disadvantaged young people are signing on the dotted line.

Some 25.7 per cent of UK students are eligible for free school meals, but they make up a measly 5 per cent of degree apprentices, according to research by the Sutton Trust, a social mobility charity. This representation index of 0.19 should be a wake-up call.

So, why the gap? In my 20 years as an educational leader, much of it as head of year 13 or sixth form, I found that for many disadvantaged young people, the application process is confusing and intimidating.

Last July, I left my teaching post to set up the Degree Apprenticeship Project. It’s a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to improving access to degree apprenticeships for students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

Some 60 per cent of students who express an interest in degree apprenticeships don’t complete a single application, according to the Universities and College Admissions Service (UCAS). If they do apply,  it’s fiercely competitive too.

Less than 1 per cent of applicants are reported to have secured places at a bank a few years ago. Compare that to even the University of Oxford, where are 14 per cent of applicants secured places in 2024. For the University of Cambridge, it was around 16 per cent.

That’s not to say the odds are 100:1, though. Application and success rates will vary from company to company. Many candidates will apply for more than one degree apprenticeship. But it does gives you an idea of what students are up against.

To close this gap, we need to move beyond just telling students about these opportunities. We must help them become “degree apprenticeship-ready”. So how can we support students in navigating this complex landscape? We have to tackle the experience gap.

Many disadvantaged students don’t have the professional networks to land a week of work shadowing at, for example, an architecture firm or an investment bank. We should point them towards virtual work experience. Platforms such as Springpod offer unlimited-access simulations with world-class employers. It’s a low-barrier way to beef up a CV and demonstrate interest in a sector.

We need to teach our students about the power and importance of professional networking. Students from poorer backgrounds often lack the “insider knowledge” that more privileged peers obtain through family connections, as the same Sutton Trust research put it.

We should encourage students to treat LinkedIn as their “shop front”. They can use the platform to find current degree apprentices, and ask them for advice on the application process. These professionals possess insider knowledge that students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds can otherwise find hard to access.

We also need to help students “upskill” in their spare time. Free courses from, for example, FutureLearn and Open Learn can set a candidate apart. When a student from a non-selective state school shows up with a digital badge in cybersecurity or data analytics, for example it speaks volumes about their ability and desire to take the initiative.

The recruitment process itself usually involves a myriad of assessments. Almost all of these will be unfamiliar to students from less affluent backgrounds. They can include everything from gamified tests to AI-judged pre-recorded video interviews, from situational judgement tests to networking events. Many applicants fail to excel because they go into assessment days and interviews “cold”. Teachers and careers advisers need to better understand the hoops students need to jump through, and prepare them accordingly.

Finally, we should encourage the “degree apprenticeship champion” model. Every school has someone who oversees UCAS applications, so this is not a big ask. These champions can help students through every stage of the recruitment process, from filling out online applications to CV writing, and from networking to interview preparation.

Degree apprenticeships shouldn’t be the best-kept secret of the middle class. By providing direct, expert guidance, we can ensure our most talented students from every background get a seat at the table.

My son made me think differently on apprenticeship assessment

Bear with me. This piece is about reforms to apprenticeship assessment – currently one of the hottest topics in the sector. But I need to start somewhere else entirely.

We’re all encouraged not to take work home with us, but sometimes it’s unavoidable. As a dad to triplet teenagers (yes, the early years were tough), I always knew my limited IAG (information, advice and guidance) skills would eventually be put to the test. Last year was the pinnacle. After much debate, we hit the full FE house: one chose A-levels, one opted for a vocational programme, and one embarked on an apprenticeship. Bingo.

What I hadn’t fully appreciated was just how different each assessment experience would be. I’m no expert on A-levels or vocational qualifications, but I do know apprenticeships. And seeing the reality of a learning model that is effectively 100 per cent assessed – often through multiple and sometimes duplicative methods – hits differently when viewed through your own offspring’s eyes.

For my apprentice son, the scale and timing of assessment is daunting. At the end of his four-year programme, he’ll be expected to recall knowledge and demonstrate skills first learned almost four years earlier against an assessment plan stretching to 38 pages.

Add three separate assessment formats, and the challenge becomes obvious. For a young person or a busy employee, it’s a high-stakes experience that creates significant stress. For those who fall at the final hurdle, the personal and financial cost is huge.

There must be a better way. I welcomed the introduction of end-point assessment. For too long, some assessments had become tick-box exercises, and the meaning of a genuine pass was diluted. Rigour and employer ownership were rightly the buzzwords of the time.

Government has listened, and through the expert provider group, I’ve played a small part in shaping change. Our ability to influence reform feels stronger than ever.

Looking at the current proposals, rigour hasn’t been lost. If anything, the sector deserves credit for developing a refreshed approach that keeps the core principles while tackling unintended consequences. Stagnation was an option, but it wouldn’t have addressed the problems we face.

So, what exactly am I welcoming in this new era?

First, a more flexible and proportionate assessment design. This aligns apprenticeships more closely with other qualifications, reduces duplication and introduces milestone achievements that formally recognise progress. This alone will boost motivation and relieve some of the unnecessary pressure created by years of back-loaded assessment.

Second, deeper employer involvement. Our network of more than 950 employers invests heavily in apprentices, and wants to play a meaningful role in recognising their development. Readiness for assessment is already a major conversation within our organisation, and employers are well placed to judge it. Their message is clear: they want to contribute more, not less.

Third, simplified and more focused assessment plans. This isn’t about diluting quality; it’s about concentrating on what truly matters. Single assessment methods, with flexibility to expand when required, can create a more holistic and realistic picture of competence. Greater use of technology is also a clear win.

Quality sits at the heart of what we do here in Exeter, and we’re proud of our delivery and outcomes. We want to play a greater role in assessing our learners, and we want awarding bodies to remain deeply involved. That balance – provider expertise, employer insight and awarding-body oversight – will underpin high-quality results. If that means taking on additional regulatory responsibility, so be it. In most other areas of education, that’s already the norm.

Will my son be any less qualified or competent because of these changes? No. Apprentices and employers deserve an assessment system that recognises progress, reduces unnecessary barriers and maintains the integrity of the qualification and the skills needed to thrive and be safe. These reforms move us closer to that goal.

I read with interest the concerns raised by employers and awarding bodies. There are solutions to the challenges of change, and collaboration will be key.  I hope Skills England matches the sector’s appetite by sharing more detail and setting out a clearer timeline for the reforms ahead.

Speaking as both a provider and a parent, change can’t come soon enough.

There’s an easy way to stop some small firms shunning apprentices

Amongst a flurry of government announcements at the end of last year, one stood out. The headline read: “50,000 more young people to benefit from apprenticeships as government unveils new skills reforms to get Britain working.”

It is an admirable goal, and something that very much aligns with the Edge Foundation’s mission to encourage more young people to take on apprenticeships. But is it achievable?

In short, no. Or at least, it’s not achievable without small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Putting aside the problematic nature of apprenticeship targets (apprenticeships are jobs, not just training places), we won’t get that kind of supply without engaging with SMEs, which account for 60 per cent of all employment in the UK.

SMEs’ engagement in apprenticeships has been flagging in recent years, however, and they now make up just 37 per cent of apprentice employers. Often it reflects a lack of time and resources.

The government has been seeking to address this, in two key ways. Firstly, we saw the Chancellor put SME apprenticeships in the national spotlight by announcing in the Autumn Budget that training for apprentices aged up to 25 in SMEs will now be fully funded. The usual 5 per cent co-investment cost is being removed for SMEs.

This is a welcome step, but it’s difficult to assess how much of an impact it will have. SMEs already have access to fully funded apprenticeships for under-22s. But this seems to have only had a modest impact since it was introduced in April 2024. In fact, since the 2023-24 academic year, we have actually seen a 5 per cent fall in under-19s starting apprenticeships.

The 19-24 cohort has risen, but only by 1 per cent. There is also no evidence that the additional under-22 funding is what increased starts among SMEs in particular.

Trends have been broadly similar between employers large enough to pay the apprenticeship levy, and those which aren’t. So while the expansion of funding is welcome, it is unclear what thinking lay behind this policy decision.

The government’s other approach has far more promise. It plans to work on a £140 million pilot scheme to help link young people up with local apprenticeship opportunities, in areas which have regional mayors. In other words, a brokerage service. Details were scarce when it was announced in December, but it marks a hugely exciting development for Edge, and particularly for our Apprenticeships Work campaign – which aims to encourage more SMEs to hire apprentices.

Brokerage services can have a significant impact on engagement, as we laid out in our Agents of Change report last year. They can help SMEs understand both their skills needs, and how these can be addressed through the local training offer.

More than two-thirds of companies we surveyed with the help of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation said that personalised advice would be a decisive or encouraging factor in whether they chose to hire an apprentice. There is already an evidence base for this in the National Apprenticeship Hub Network, a group of around 25 organisations providing free and impartial guidance to businesses. But this is not a national or a lasting solution – many of these services rely on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), which is due to expire at the end of March.

In our letter to the Work and Pensions Secretary last year, our Apprenticeships Work campaign called on the government to establish a centrally funded and coordinated, high-quality framework of local brokerage support so that all SMEs, regardless of postcode, can understand and reap the benefits of apprenticeships.

Despite the challenges, there are many excellent SMEs who go above and beyond to offer apprenticeship opportunities to young people in their communities, however. Because of their more manageable size, SMEs can offer progression opportunities at speeds unmatched by larger companies.

One SME who shared their story with our campaign has two directors under 30 who are both former apprentices. Close contact with other teams can also provide exposure to a broader range of disciplines that just isn’t available in the more siloed environment of large corporations. These opportunities, which only SMEs can offer,  could make all the difference to a young apprentice.

So, let’s use this National Apprenticeship Week as an opportunity to celebrate SMEs – and call on government to do more to support them.

Britain’s clean energy plans are racing ahead, its skills system is miles behind

The UK has entered a decisive decade for clean energy. Billions of pounds of investment are already flowing into offshore wind, hydrogen, nuclear, carbon capture systems and electrified transport. The Great British Energy Bill signals a renewed national commitment to energy security and decarbonisation. But where will the skilled workforce come from to deliver it?

The National Energy Skills Consortium, which represents colleges, universities, industry bodies and major inward investors, sees an urgent need for a different kind of conversation.

The UK does not simply need more training. It needs a coordinated national skills ecosystem, built on long-term planning, employer collaboration and a strategic role for the FE and skills sector. Without it, the UK’s transition risks delay, escalating costs, unmet net zero commitments and missing its most compelling opportunity to re-industrialise.

Whilst NESC members welcome the October 2025 publication of the clean energy jobs plan, retaining and retraining the existing energy workforce is one imperative, but the acute skills shortage makes attracting new talent a matter of urgency if we are to get out of the blocks.

The scale of the challenge is already clear. PwC analysis shows a green energy skills gap of around 400,000 workers, with only 200,000 transferable workers available from oil and gas as retirement accelerates. And ONS data shows rapid growth in green jobs, with numbers in 2022 8.4 per cent higher than estimates from the previous year, and 19.9 per cent higher than 2020 estimates.

Investments of £50 billion between 2021 and 2022 demonstrate what happens when policy ambition is matched by capital, but investment alone cannot build turbines, commission hydrogen plants, or run nuclear facilities. Only people can do that, and the UK does not yet have them at scale.

This is where the FE and skills sector becomes national infrastructure. NESC’s members, stretching from the South West to North East Scotland, see the same pattern: employers are ready to grow, the investment environment is improving and communities stand to benefit enormously. But specialist technical training capacity, capital equipment and the pipeline of trainers are not keeping pace with the needs of clean energy employers.

The UK needs a model that goes beyond individual providers or isolated partnerships. We need to build a national clean energy skills ecosystem, a coordinated network that connects colleges, universities, industry, specialist trainers and government through shared strategy and investment.

We know the regions with the potential to usher in the transformation, so it’s time to stop talking ‘hot spots’ and make this a reality.

This ecosystem demands:

1. A long-term, government-led skills for renewable energy strategy.
 Whilst a jobs plan is to be applauded, true workforce planning requires more; NESC strongly supports the creation of a national strategy, aligned with the Great British Energy Bill and developed jointly with Skills England, to plan the workforce needed for hydrogen, offshore wind, CCS, nuclear, electrified transport, clean heat and more. The current landscape is fragmented. A single, coherent plan with milestones, forecasting and accountability is essential to prevent bottlenecks and ensure inward investors have confidence in the UK’s talent pipeline.

2. Regional plans within a national framework.
 From Humberside and Teesside to East Anglia, Scotland and the South West, each area has distinctive strengths across wind, nuclear, hydrogen and CCS. NESC advocates for regionally tailored renewable energy zones supported by national investment in training, apprenticeships and upskilling, mirroring successful approaches in local skills improvement plans but with dedicated green-energy funding streams.

3. Colleges and universities can only scale provision if they have the right facilities and critically the right trainers. NESC is clear: without a funded plan to recruit and retain industry professionals into teaching, the UK will not secure the workforce needed for a net zero future. The gap between school, industry and FE pay rates makes recruitment difficult. Specialist technical areas such as nuclear, offshore wind and hydrogen already face acute shortages. If we are to scale to meet the demands the transformation requires, we need a national programme to attract, train and reward the vocational educators who will train the next generation.

These shifts matter for the UK’s wider ambitions: inward investment, productivity, regeneration of our former coastal industrial powerhouses and the creation of high-value careers accessible to people in every community. A strong skills ecosystem is itself a magnet for global investors. It signals readiness, reduces risk and accelerates deployment.

NESC’s college members already deliver world-class training in clean and renewable energy technologies, nuclear operations, offshore safety, hydrogen systems and more. But the message we send collectively is this: the UK can only meet its ambitions if national policy, regional planning and FE investment move forward together.

‘Jobs guarantee’ delivery partners paid up to £2,650 per placement

The government’s jobs guarantee programme will include grants of up to £2,650 per participant for organisations supporting unemployed young people into paid work placements.

Guidance for the ‘jobs guarantee’ offer, published last week, revealed that delivery organisations that apply successfully will be offered up to £2,250 for wraparound support and training costs as well as up to £400 for administration costs.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) said applications, which are open until February 28, are welcome from any organisation with experience of employment, skills, youth or wraparound support services.

Phase one of the programme is due to start “from April 2026”, with six-month paid work placements available for up to 1,200 young people aged 18-21 years old, who have been on universal credit for 18 months, in six areas of the UK.

The government is promising to cover all of each young person’s employment costs for up to 25 hours a week, alongside wraparound support to help them succeed and “transition into sustained employment”. Up to £250 in “onboarding costs” will also be available to employers.

In a foreword to the grant guidance, skills minister Jacqui Smith said the scheme, which will provide 55,000 jobs nationally over the next three years, aims to address the “life-long scarring effect” that long-term unemployment has on a rising number of young people.

She added: “The jobs guarantee is a down payment on young people’s futures and the future of the country, creating real pathways into good jobs and providing work experience, skills training and guaranteed employment.”

The DWP confirmed to FE Week that job guarantee delivery partners can include, but are not limited to, specialist employment support organisations, charities and non-profits, local authorities and mayoral strategic authorities.

This could also include general further education colleges or independent training providers,  like was the case with Kickstart – a similar scheme rollout out during the pandemic by the previous government.

Phase one of the new jobs guarantee is expected to start in April, with job starts between May and October 2026, and the final six-month jobs finishing by April 30, 2027. National rollout is expected to start “later in 2026”.

The six areas, described as having the “highest need” are: Birmingham and Solihull, the East Midlands, Greater Manchester, Hertfordshire and Essex, Central and East Scotland and South West and South East Wales.

Young people living in those areas will be referred to successful delivery organisations by the DWP.

The guidance suggests some flexibility on eligible participants, such as accepting young people who have “minimal work history” over 18 months and 22- to 24-year olds if there is “spare capacity”.

Last week, work and pensions secretary Pat McFadden said over 60 employers have already expressed an interest, including EON, JD Sports, Tesco, and TUI.

The roles are expected to involve “meaningful work that provides them with a purpose and allows them to make a meaningful contribution”.

It must not involve “significant classroom or online training beyond that provided to regular employees” but should provide opportunities to learn, develop, gain new skills and experience that will help them into sustained employment.

The jobs guarantee is part a wider package of initiatives aimed at reducing the estimated one million young NEETs (not in education, employment, or training).

This includes 900,000 young people on Universal Credit being referred to “intensive support”, 300,000 training or workplace opportunities, and more than 360 “youth hubs”.

A government-commissioned investigation into young NEETs, led by former Labour minister and social mobility commissioner Alan Milburn, is due to issue an interim report this spring followed by a final report in the summer.

Regional mayors have also been running eight pilot “youth guarantee” programmes for young people since spring last year, which have also been testing out subsidised work placement programmes.

Aspects of the jobs guarantee scheme appear similar to Kickstart, a £1.1 billion government scheme that offered about 163,000 subsidised work placements for young people on universal credit from 2020 to 2022.

The predecessor

A similar scheme, Kickstart, was rolled out in 2020 but was initially criticised for being “chaotic” and of questionable value for money. Experts now, however, claim that such subsidised work experience schemes “add value” to government employment strategies.

Through Kickstart, employers who could offer at least 30 placements could apply directly, with smaller employers asked to apply through a “gateway” provider.

The government paid gateway providers £360 per placement to support administrative costs and £1,500 to employers to help with set-up costs.

Jewellery academy returns to old owner in cut-price deal with administrators

An overseas businessman whose adult education provider went bust last year has bought a subsidiary training company back from administrators for millions less than promised after his brother and financial backer was declared bankrupt.

British Academy of Jewellery (BAJ) was put up for sale after its parent company, London-based Free To Learn, went bust – leaving more than £7 million in unpaid debts.

In April, joint administrators appointed to manage the insolvent company’s affairs agreed to sell the specialist jewellery skills training provider back to its original owner, Argentina-based civil servant Damian Gherscovic, for £5 million, including a £1 million downpayment.

But according to an update report on Free To Learn’s insolvency published last week, joint administrators Mark Reynolds and Daniel Leigh settled for a heavily discounted price of £1.5 million in October.

BAJ is one of England’s few training providers specialising in jewellery skills and delivers level 3 qualifications to around 120 students in London and Birmingham. It is listed on the government’s official register of apprenticeship providers.

Its parent company’s financial difficulties briefly led to a suspension of new starts last summer.

The administrators, who secured a 20 per cent cut of BAJ’s reduced price worth £300,000 as part of their fee agreement, did not receive any of the 36 expected £111,111 monthly payments from the company and its owner.

Reynolds and Leigh appear to have agreed the lower price after realising bankruptcy proceedings against Damian’s brother Gabriel Gherscovic, CEO of the companies and guarantor to the BAJ purchase, had a “severely detrimental impact” on their chances of being paid the full price.

The administrators’ report wrote: “Whilst an agreement was entered into, the terms of repayment were not adhered to.

“Following negotiations, and on advice, taking into account the financial position of BAJ, that settlement agreement provided for a revised consideration of £1,500,000.

“£500,000 was subsequently received during the period. No further funds are to be received in this regard.”

A spokesperson for the administrators told FE Week: “Due to a change of circumstances, the initial consideration proved unachievable. The joint administrators investigated potential avenues of recovery and have negotiated a settlement that reflects the strongest commercial position available.”

FE Week understands that while Damian Gherscovic is listed as the only person with significant control of BAJ, and Free To Learn until its insolvency, he does not have operational control over them.

When approached for comment, he confirmed that he is a civil servant in the Argentinian government’s National Institute of Industrial Technology, where he dedicates his “full professional attention” to his role as an expert in wood preservation.

His brother Gabriel Gherscovic (pictured) and sister-in-law Gabriele Gherscovic, who was also a former BAJ director, were both declared bankrupt on September 9 over a £12.9 million debt to lender GB Bank.

Gabriel has long been the CEO and public face of both BAJ and Free To Learn, while his wife Gabriele was listed as ultimate owner until their transfer to Damian in 2020.

Before Free To Learn’s bankruptcy in late 2024, Gabriel Gherscovic had built up a property portfolio that included the London headquarters of BAJ, which he rented back to the company for a £360,000 annual rent, an eight-bedroom mansion in Highgate’s ‘Billionaire’s Row’ valued at £12 million, and a former Jewish Museum in Camden valued at up to £13 million.

Records show that the properties, which were owned via holding companies, are now controlled by insolvency practitioners.

Training provider’s collapse

Free To Learn Ltd had held several national and local adult education contracts worth more than £10 million per year.

It was graded ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted in August 2024 and entered administration four months later, following a winding-up petition from lender Yad Solutions Limited which was owed £20,880.

Insolvency statements show Free To Learn owed more than £7 million to HMRC, former employees and other companies.

CEO Gabriel Gherscovic told administrators shortly after Free To Learn’s insolvency that the company first faced financial difficulties following an HMRC investigation over debts dating back to 2016. The Covid pandemic and energy crisis weakened it further.

The administrators’ most recent update said: “We would advise that investigations remain ongoing in relation to the potential breaches of The Insolvency Act 1986.

“It would not be appropriate to provide further details at this time, as doing so may prejudice any potential further litigation.”

BAJ ‘sanctioned’ by DfE

BAJ’s awarding body, the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), suspended new starts at the provider until November last year over concerns about its financial stability, FE Week understands.

SQA and BAJ principal Matthew Williamson said this was due to a Department for Education sanction, although the department disputed this account when approached by FE Week for comment.

Williamson added: “The DfE wouldn’t allow students access to the funds book until we were able to assure them that we were under new management. Obviously they have to protect public funds.

“The hold has been removed and we have new students in place. We are currently recruiting for diplomas for future cohorts. As far as the SQA qualifications are concerned, we’re now business as usual.”

An SQA spokesperson said: “Following discussions with the centre, and confirmation that the Department for Education has lifted any sanctions against the British Academy of Jewellery, SQA removed the suspension on entries on November 18, 2025.”