UK withdraws entries from WorldSkills after DfE grant cut

The Education and Training Foundation and the Careers and Enterprise Company have also been told to economise

The Education and Training Foundation and the Careers and Enterprise Company have also been told to economise

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WorldSkills UK will compete in fewer competitions at next year’s summit in Shanghai after falling victim to the Department for Education’s “drive for efficiency”. 

The organisation was among charities and quangos to suffer a DfE funding haircut – confirmed two months after the start of the new financial year following a Freedom of Information request from FE Week. 

Worldskills UK will receive £5.7 million for 2025-26 from the DfE, a 15 per cent fall on this year’s £6.7 million grant. 

Elsewhere, the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) will suffer a 20 per cent reduction from £17.5 million to £13.9 million. 

Funding for the Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC) also drops from £34 million to £30.5 million after the DfE withdrew funding for the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge (ASK) programme. 

The department shaved £500,000 of funding from the National Careers Service budget, to £51.3 million.

Meanwhile, the Teaching Regulation Agency, which will start regulating around 200,000 FE college teachers in 2026, will suffer a 3 per cent cut, falling from £15.1 million to £14.7 million. 

Rumours of funding reductions emerged earlier this year but neither the DfE nor the quangos would comment.

WorldSkills’ dark cloud 

WorldSkills UK told FE Week it had taken the “difficult decision” to reduce the number of competitions it competes in at WorldSkills Shanghai next year

Contests it has ditched include logistics and freight forwarding, software testing, and cloud computing. 

The UK skills competition body will also cancel its international skills summit, pause its equity, diversity and inclusion heroes awards, reduce its “international insights work” and scale back its careers resources. 

However, a spokesperson confirmed it still planned to enter the bricklaying competition next year, seven years after the UK last competed. 

Worldskills UK’s £5.7 million grant for 2025-26 compares to funding of £7.2 million it received in 2022-23

Ben Blackledge, CEO of WorldSkills UK, said: “We take pride in our ability to innovate, adapt, and deliver measurable value for money. 

“With the continued support of the DfE and our partners we will be participating at EuroSkills with the team we announced earlier this year. 

“We remain committed to driving efficiencies and promoting skills excellence across the UK, equipping young people with world-class skills and supporting employers with the talent they need to thrive.” 

He added that while the changes were “regrettable”, the body will continue to run a “comprehensive portfolio” of local and international competition programmes. 

ETF uncertainty 

Exactly how the £3.6 million cut to the Education and Training Foundation’s budget will impact its work is yet to be confirmed. 

When approached for comment, a spokesperson said more time was needed to validate the DfE’s figures. 

They added: “We are proud of our ongoing work with DfE and with other partners to deliver high-quality professional development for teachers, trainers, leaders and governors across the sector. 

“Across our contract work, we are maintaining a focused offer and retaining our high-profile programmes while supporting DfE’s drive for efficiency, ensuring the sector continues to benefit from opportunities for career development”. 

ETF is a charity set up in 2013 as an “expert body” for professional development and standards in FE. 

It provides training on topics and skills such as artificial intelligence, English for speakers of other languages, apprenticeship workforce development and leadership and governance. 

According to its 2023-24 financial year accounts, most of its £20 million income came from government contracts, with a smaller £2.3 million sum coming from membership and accreditation. 

The ETF’s DfE grant was £21 million in 2021-22. 

CEC… don’t ASK 

The careers quango has lost its Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge (ASK) programme, worth £1.27 million this year, and a primary school pilot. 

As part of the negotiations with the government, which resulted in a £30.5 million settlement, CEC agreed to two “new government priorities”: driving improvement in careers education through the Gatsby benchmarks and implementing Labour’s national work experience guarantee. 

FE Week understands CEC will continue to run its 44 careers hubs which connect schools and colleges with nearby businesses, share best practice in careers and offer targeted resources. 

John Yarham, CEO of the Careers & Enterprise Company, welcomed the funding confirmation which “brings certainty and confidence” for schools, colleges and local partners. 

He said: “Our focus will remain steadfast on helping young people from all backgrounds, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, to ensure they receive the support needed to take their next best step.”

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “Despite the challenging fiscal environment we have inherited we are providing £1.2 billion of additional investment in skills training per year by 2028-29, ensuring we develop and nurture the skills we need for the future.

“We are taking the tough but fair decisions needed to deliver our Plan for Change, improving the lives of working people by creating opportunities and driving growth.”

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