Skills England

Last updated

Skills England
Agency overview
Formed2025
Type Executive agency
JurisdictionEngland
Agency executives
  • Phil Smith CBE [1] , Chair of Skills England
  • Sir David Bell [2] , Vice Chair of Skills England
Parent department Department for Education
Website https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/skills-england

Skills England is an executive agency of the Department for Education formally established on 2 June 2025 [3] . The agency has assumed the functions transferred to the Secretary of State from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education. [4]

Contents

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 stated ambitions are to build world class skills, enabling growth and opportunity, understand the nation’s skills needs and improve the skills offer, simplify access to skills to boost economic growth and to mobilise employers and other partners, co-creating solutions to meet national, regional and local skills needs. [5]  

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. [6]

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. [7] [6]

References

  1. ↑ "Phil Smith". GOV.UK. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
  2. ↑ "Sir David Bell". GOV.UK. Retrieved 13 March 2025.
  3. ↑ "Written statements - Written questions, answers and statements - UK Parliament". questions-statements.parliament.uk. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  4. ↑ "Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (Transfer of Functions etc) Bill [HL] - Parliamentary Bills - UK Parliament". bills.parliament.uk. Retrieved 12 March 2025.
  5. ↑ "Skills England priorities 2025 to 2026". GOV.UK. Retrieved 3 June 2025.
  6. 1 2 "Skills England to transform opportunities and drive growth". gov.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
  7. ↑ "2024 Manifesto" (PDF). labour.org.uk. Retrieved 22 July 2024.
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