Without real teeth, Skills England risks drifting off course It has a capable chair and a credible start. But unless ministers give it teeth, funding and genuine employer ownership, Skills England risks becoming yet another cautionary tale in our long history of skills churn
For Skills England to succeed, the sector must lead Skills England is already on borrowed time, because no quango survives the churn of Westminster. If the sector wants stability, it must stop waiting for a political fix and build the solution itself
Skills England launches beta version of skills classification tool Skills classification tool to be fully rolled out next year
Skills England’s right about the shortages, but who will pay? Skills England’s latest report maps UK skills gaps but without funding and action, its recommendations risk gathering dust says Heather Akehurst
Phil Smith, chair, Skills England Phil Smith reveals he’s working all hours since becoming chair of Skills England but believes he has all the power necessary to simplify and improve the FE and skills landscape
Don’t believe the hype – Skills England isn’t doomed to failure Skills England has been dismissed as ‘stillborn’ but with collaboration between educators and employers it could be transformative
Clarity needed on Skills England reform, not rushed change Seven areas of improvement a system-level evolution could deliver as skills legislation progresses in Parliament
Unions could strike back with post-Tory learning fund revival Gavin Williamson blitzed it but government-backed union training could return under a new guise now Labour holds power. By the time Gavin Williamson scrapped the Union Learning Fund (ULF) in 2021, over two million people had used it to access training. Labour accused the then education secretary of ditching the £12 million a year scheme […]
AI skills: Building a workforce for the future As the government lays out its blueprint to turbocharge AI, skills minister Jacqui Smith sets out the steps being taken to futureproof the UK’s workforce