Skills England
Skills England is a new arms-length body that will bring together key partners to meet the skills needs of the next decade.
Skills England will play a critical part in the government’s mission to drive growth across the country, supporting people to get better jobs and improve their standard of living.
Setting up
Skills England is currently set up in shadow form within the Department for Education with plans to be fully established next year.
The Education Secretary has appointed Richard Pennycook CBE, former chief executive of the Co-operative Group and lead non-executive director at DfE, as the interim Chair.
Aims of Skills England
Skills England will:
- work to form a coherent national picture of where skills gaps exist and how they can be addressed, working closely with the Industrial Strategy Council and the Migration Advisory Committee
- unify the skills landscape to ensure that the workforce is equipped with the skills needed to power economic growth, by bringing together Mayoral Combined Authorities and other key local partners, large and small businesses, training providers and unions
- shape technical education to respond to skills needs, including identifying the training accessible via the Growth and Skills Levy
- advise on the highly trained workforce needed to deliver a clear, long-term plan for the future economy
Skills England autumn engagement and the Growth and Skills Levy
In its first report, Skills England outlined its intention to consult employers and other key organisations to provide DfE with initial views on what priority training should be accessible through the Growth and Skills Levy.
The initial engagement exercise will take place in November and December 2024 and feed into DfE’s consideration of the priorities for the Growth and Skills offer. Skills England will prioritise 10 sectors in this initial engagement:
- the 8 growth-driving sectors identified in the Industrial Strategy
- construction and health and social care which are essential to the government’s missions
Skills England is planning to publish its findings from this engagement process in early 2025. This publication will:
- develop the skills needs assessments set out in the first Skills England report with skill needs assessments for each of the 10 priority sectors
- feed into the ongoing Industrial Strategy planning process
Stakeholders can email evidence to DfE at: level7.APPRENTICESHIPS@education.gov.uk.
This evidence will be considered as part of the decision making process.
Contact us
Email us at skills.england@education.gov.uk.
Reports
Skills England’s first report includes:
- the role of Skills England
- skills challenges limiting economic growth and barriers to opportunity
- an initial analysis of current and future skills needs, including which occupations are high in demand
Occupations in demand
Skills England has developed a new metric to rank the demand for each occupation across the UK labour market.
Unit for Future Skills
The Unit for Future Skills is now part of Skills England.
Background to the organisation
Information about the set up of Skills England.
Updates to this page
Last updated 19 November 2024 + show all updates
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Added information about Skills England's intention to consult employers and other key organisations on what priority training should be accessible through the Growth and Skills Levy.
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First published.