From Opportunity to Employment: Building Skills Pathways that Work for Learners and Employers

Andy Burnham’s first speech as Prime Minister included a commitment to help more young people into work by changing the education system and providing greater support, including mental health support.
It is a welcome ambition at a time when many employers continue to face skills shortages while too many young people still struggle to find a clear route into employment.

That ambition is an important reminder that education should not simply prepare people for learning, but for work. The real measure of success is whether learners are able to progress into meaningful employment, continue developing their skills throughout their careers and contribute to a productive workforce.

The challenge now is turning that ambition into action.

There is no single solution to improving employment outcomes. Apprenticeships will continue to play a vital role, but they cannot be the only answer. The economy needs a skills system that offers multiple routes into employment and supports people to continue learning as industries, technologies and careers evolve.

Turning that ambition into reality will require collaboration between government, employers, training providers and awarding organisations. Skills policy should be shaped by the needs of employers while ensuring learners have clear, flexible pathways that allow them to progress throughout their working lives.

For many learners, that means vocational qualifications, short courses, workplace learning and opportunities to build new skills alongside employment. Different people need different pathways into skilled work, and employers need confidence that whichever route someone has taken, they have the knowledge, skills and competence to do the job.

That means focusing on outcomes rather than processes. Success should not simply be measured by how many people start a course, but by how many progress into work, build successful careers and continue developing their skills throughout their lives.

The Prime Minister also spoke about building “a more preventative state, investing in people’s success, rather than paying for failure”. The same principle applies to skills. Investing earlier in education, workforce development and lifelong learning helps people build sustainable careers while supporting employers to address skills shortages before they become barriers to growth.

Delivering the Government’s wider ambitions, including re-industrialising Britain and supporting economic growth, will depend on a workforce with the right skills, competence and opportunities to continue developing throughout their careers. A modern economy requires a skills system that is responsive, flexible and built around long-term workforce capability.

Technology also has an important role to play. As people move between education, employment and further learning throughout their careers, learners need a simple way to demonstrate what they know and what they can do. Employers need trusted evidence of qualifications, workplace learning and competence, rather than information being spread across multiple systems.

Creating clearer pathways into employment is not just about supporting learners. It is about helping employers recruit with confidence, addressing skills shortages and building a workforce that can respond to changing industry needs.

The new Government has an opportunity to strengthen the UK’s skills system through a collaborative approach that recognises different routes into employment, values lifelong learning and gives employers confidence in workforce competence. If those ambitions are realised, the benefits will be felt not only by learners and employers, but across the wider economy.

At NOCN Group, we believe the UK’s skills system should be built on five enduring principles: employer-led planning, strong governance, stable funding, trusted assessment of competence and clear accountability for measured outcomes. Local Skills Improvement Plans have an important role to play in aligning provision with employer demand, but they must be supported by effective collaboration, consistent investment and a long-term commitment to delivering measurable outcomes.

If these principles shape future reform, we will create a modular skills system that gives learners clear pathways into employment, gives employers confidence in workforce competence and supports sustainable economic growth.

By Graham Hasting-Evans, Chief Executive of NOCN and President of BACH