Skills England

Last updated

Skills England
Agency overview
Formed2024
Type Executive agency
JurisdictionEngland
Agency executive
Parent department Department for Education
Website https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/skills-england

Skills England is a planned executive agency that would be created by the Skills England Bill. The agency would replace the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. The main purpose of the agency is to increase flexibility within the skills training area, to properly cater for skills shortages within regional economies. It would also use the apprenticeships levy more effectively. The main reason cited for the creation of Skills England is that between 2017 and 2022 skills shortages in the UK doubled to more than half a million, and accounted for 36% of job vacancies. [1]

Contents

Creation

Skills England was first proposed in the 2024 Labour Party manifesto. On 22 July 2024, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the creation of the body at the Farnborough Airshow. The body would be rolled out over the next nine months. [2] [1]

Related Research Articles

The Conservative and Unionist Party, commonly the Conservative Party and colloquially known as the Tories, is one of the two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party. It has been the Official Opposition since losing the 2024 general election. The party sits on the right-wing to centre-right of the political spectrum. It encompasses various ideological factions including one-nation conservatives, Thatcherites, and traditionalist conservatives. There have been twenty Conservative prime ministers. The party traditionally holds the annual Conservative Party Conference during party conference season, at which senior Conservative figures promote party policy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apprenticeship</span> System for training new crafts-people

Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study. Apprenticeships may also enable practitioners to gain a license to practice in a regulated occupation. Most of their training is done while working for an employer who helps the apprentices learn their trade or profession, in exchange for their continued labor for an agreed period after they have achieved measurable competencies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Governance of England</span>

There has not been a government of England since 1707 when the Kingdom of England ceased to exist as a sovereign state, as it merged with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain. The Kingdom of Great Britain continued from 1707 until 1801 when it merged with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which itself became the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) in 1922 upon independence for most of the island of Ireland.

Further education in the United Kingdom and Ireland is additional education to that received at secondary school that is distinct from the higher education (HE) offered in universities and other academic institutions. It may be at any level in compulsory secondary education, from entry to higher level qualifications such as awards, certificates, diplomas and other vocational, competency-based qualifications through awarding organisations including City and Guilds, Edexcel (BTEC) and OCR. FE colleges may also offer HE qualifications such as HNC, HND, foundation degree or PGCE. The colleges are also a large service provider for apprenticeships where most of the training takes place at the apprentices' workplace, supplemented with day release into college.

The Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the UK Parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Education in England</span>

Education in England is overseen by the Department for Education. Local government authorities are responsible for implementing policy for public education and state-funded schools at a local level. State-funded schools may be selective grammar schools or non-selective comprehensive schools. All state schools are subject to assessment and inspection by the government department Ofsted. England also has private schools and home education; legally, parents may choose to educate their children by any suitable means.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of England</span>

Politics of England forms the major part of the wider politics of the United Kingdom, with England being more populous than all the other countries of the United Kingdom put together. As England is also by far the largest in terms of area and GDP, its relationship to the UK is somewhat different from that of Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. The English capital London is also the capital of the UK, and English is the dominant language of the UK. Dicey and Morris (p26) list the separate states in the British Islands. "England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, and Sark.... is a separate country in the sense of the conflict of laws, though not one of them is a State known to public international law." But this may be varied by statute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regional assembly (England)</span> Former regional bodies in England

The regional chambers of England were a group of indirectly elected regional bodies that were created by the provisions of the Regional Development Agencies Act 1998. There were eight regional chambers, one for each of the regions of England except Greater London, which had opted for an elected mayor and assembly in 1998. All eight regional chambers had adopted the title "regional assembly" or "assembly" as part of their name, though this was not an official status in law. The chambers were abolished over a two-year period between 31 March 2008 and 31 March 2010 and some of their functions were assumed by newly established local authority leaders' boards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Learning and Skills Council</span> UK non-departmental public body

The Learning and Skills Council (LSC) was a non-departmental public body jointly sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) in England. It closed on 31 March 2010 and was replaced by the Skills Funding Agency and the Young People's Learning Agency.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Devolved English parliament</span> Proposed institution in the UK

A devolved English parliament is a proposed institution that would give separate decision-making powers to representatives for voters in England, similar to the representation given by the Senedd, the Scottish Parliament and the Northern Ireland Assembly. A devolved English parliament is an issue in the politics of the United Kingdom.

Sector skills councils (SSCs) are employer-led organisations that cover specific industries in the United Kingdom. They were introduced by Adult Skills Minister, Rt Hon John Healey MP in 2002, while the architect of the policy was Tom Bewick, an education and skills adviser to the Labour Government, 1997-2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government</span> Ministerial department of the UK Government

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for housing, communities, and local government in England. It was established in May 2006 and is the successor to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, established in 2001. The department shares its headquarters building, at 2 Marsham Street in London, with the Home Office.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CITB</span> United Kingdom legislation

The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) is the industry training board for the UK construction industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bridget Phillipson</span> British politician (born 1983)

Bridget Maeve Phillipson is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, she has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Houghton and Sunderland South since 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Department for Education</span> Ministerial department of the UK Government

The Department for Education (DfE) is a ministerial department of the Government of the United Kingdom. It is responsible for child protection, child services, education, apprenticeships, and wider skills in England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mayor of Greater Manchester</span> Political official in Greater Manchester

The Mayor of Greater Manchester is the directly elected mayor of Greater Manchester, responsible for strategic governance in the region that includes health, transport, housing, strategic planning, waste management, policing, the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service and skills. The creation of the Mayor of Greater Manchester was agreed between the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, and Greater Manchester's 10 district council leaders. As well as having specific powers, the mayor chairs the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, also assuming the powers of the Greater Manchester Police and Crime Commissioner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Kyle</span> British politician (born 1970)

Peter John Kyle is a British politician who has served as Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology since July 2024. A member of the Labour Party, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hove and Portslade, formerly Hove, since 2015. Kyle previously served as Shadow Minister for Victims and Youth Justice, Shadow Minister for Schools, and Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary.

The Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) is an executive agency of the government of the United Kingdom, sponsored by the Department for Education.

The Proposed National Education Service is a 'unified National Education Service (NES) for England to move towards cradle-to-grave learning that is free at the point of use', proposed by the Labour Party in their manifesto for the 2017 general election. The National Education Service was again included in the Labour Party's manifesto for the 2019 General Election.

Apprenticeships have a long tradition in the United Kingdom, dating back to around the 12th century. They flourished in the 14th century and were expanded during the Industrial Revolution. In modern times, apprenticeships were formalised in 1964 by act of parliament and they continue to be in widespread use to this day.

References

  1. 1 2 "Skills England to transform opportunities and drive growth". gov.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  2. "2024 Manifesto" (PDF). labour.org.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2024.