Connecting The Dots After Keir Starmer Confirms That Skills England Is Now A Part Of DWP

Prime Minister Keir Starmer has made a statement that Skills England is now going to be a part of Department of Work and Pensions. This catalyst for the change was the cabinet reshuffle on the 5th September with Angela Rayner resigning as Deputy Prime Minister, the resulting Cabinet Reshuffle saw Pat McFadden appointed the new Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, but with a new brief that includes Skills. On the 8th September 2025, Jacqui Smith confirmed she was working across both DWP and DfE. Then yesterday the Prime Minister made a statement on the 16th September (11 days after the Cabinet Reshuffle) about Skills England.

The Prime Minister’s Statement was as follows:

Prime Minister’s Confirmation Statement on Skills England Moving From DfE to DWP

I am making this statement to bring to the House’s attention the following Machinery of Government change.

I am today confirming that responsibility for apprenticeships, adult further education, skills, training and careers, and Skills England, will move from the Department for Education to the Department for Work and Pensions.

Responsibility for higher education, and further education, skills, training and careers for those aged 19 years and under will remain with the Department for Education.

Baroness Smith of Malvern, the Minister for Skills, will serve jointly across the Department for Work and Pensions and the Department for Education.

This change is effective today, 16 September 2025.

Will there be more Skills Strategies and Support Announced from Skills England and DWP to Support NEETs?

Skills England was officially launched at the beginning of June 2025 and took over from IfATE after IfATE was disbanded and is responsible for Apprenticeships, Skills Strategy and looking at addressing skills gaps and highlighting Skills priority areas. On the day of the launch of Skills England, Bridget Phillipson (DfE’s Education Secretary) shared the priority areas for Skills England for 2025 – 2026 (which was then under DfE), so we will now see if these priorities will now change slightly under the new home in DWP. Especially as Skills England shared their Priority Skills Areas in June and in an interview with FE News, Phil Smith, Chair of Skills England highlighted how Skills England will be looking to address the NEET crisis and working more closely with DWP. Well Skills England is now a part of the Department for Work and Pensions, so will see if there will be more strategies in place to address the NEET challenge.

948,000 NEETs

The latest NEET figures were released on GCSE Level 1 and 2 results day. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) data revealed that there are now 948,000 NEETs.  The total of NEETs is currently estimated by ONS at 948,000, up from 923,000 in January to March 2025. This represents 12.8% of all 16–24-year-olds, an increase of 0.3 percentage points on the quarter. For slightly older NEETs (18–24-year-olds specifically), the NEET rate now stands at 15.0%, also up 0.3 percentage points compared with the previous quarter. So hopefully more Skills Strategies will be in place to address the NEET issue.

Half of All NEETs are 22-24 years old, are new support packages going to be introduced? Particularly with the current 22 and under support strategies in place

According to research from the Work Foundation, half of all NEETS are aged 22-24 years old. The current support structures for NEETs that are in place like Youth Guarantee, support young people up to 21 years old, there were also recent announcements about funding reforms for Apprenticeships, which again support up to 21 years old. The funding rule, often referred to in the Skills Sector as the 22 and under rule for funding on Apprenticeships, obviously isn’t great if you are a NEET aged 22 – 24 years old.

22 and Under

The ‘22 and under’ funding rule was announced in May 2025 and will come into effect in January 2026.

The announcement came along with a raft of other skills policy changes (moving away from the all age , all level Apprenticeship system), to announcing that the Apprenticeship budget will exceed £3 billion for the first time. As new foundation apprenticeships were announced, starting January 2026, funding will be redirected from Level 7 (masters-level) Apprenticeships, with continued support reserved for Apprentices aged 16-21 and those already enrolled on Apprenticeship programmes.

Is There Scope For A UK Wide Skills and Employability Approach With the Move To DWP?

What is interesting is that DWP has a UK-wide employability brief, Skills England is obviously focusing on just England (as does the Department for Education), so is there scope for a more joined-up UK-wide Skills approach under DWP and a wider scope for Skills England?

Making Sure Provision Isn’t Lost in the Gaps or Patchy Service Due to the Changes

Just last week MPs on the Commons Work and Pensions Committee in a report, when discussing the new jobs and career service, highlighted a “patchwork’ of services in England where responsibilities have too often fallen through the cracks between different Government departments and local government” when discussing the careers service provision and the plans to merge the National Careers Service with Jobcentres.

Now that we have Skills under DWP and as the PM said: “higher education, and further education, skills, training and careers for those aged 19 years and under will remain with the Department for Education”. What will happen to Lifelong learning, Skills Bootcamps, all age careers service etc? How do we ensure a joined up approach so provision and support does not fall through the cracks? How do we ensure that learners (particularly NEETs), employers and general support are not lost between the cracks of DWP and DfE, and local Government provision? Could an already confusing Skills system be now more confusing, or is this the opportunity to provide a joined up approach. Or is this a bigger response to the House of Lord’s who said the Skills System was confusing just last year (October 2024). When Baroness Taylor of Bolton wrote to Skills Minister to provide greater direction to the skills system and asked for further clarification on the Growth and Skills Levy, still almost a year on, we are yet to have the final details of the Growth and Skills Levy mechanics.

Sector Reaction To Skills England Being A Part of DWP

Ben Rowland, AELP CEO, said:

“Traditionally, DWP has focused on moving people into work from unemployment, but helping them progress from that first job into their next, better, job is also vital. When someone moves up, it’s life-changing for them and frees an entry-level role for someone else. Bringing Skills England under DWP creates a real opportunity to join up the support that gets people into work with the skills that help them move up through the labour market. The challenge is to avoid silos and make the system lift people, businesses and the economy together.”

Claire Green, Post-16 and Skills Specialist from ASCL said:

“The move to bring Skills England under the DWP umbrella offers a promising opportunity to better align skills policy with employment outcomes. A more joined-up approach between skills provision and labour market needs could help address persistent NEET rates and improve progression pathways for young people and adults alike.

“However, this shift comes at a time of considerable uncertainty in the qualifications landscape. The continued defunding of Applied General Qualifications (AGQs), including many BTECs, is deeply concerning, especially given the slow and limited uptake of both T-levels and AAQs. These newer qualifications are not yet widely embedded or familiar to learners, parents, or employers, and removing established pathways risks narrowing options before viable alternatives are fully in place.

“It’s also worth noting that many of the government’s priority skills areas (as outlined in the Industrial Strategy)  such as health, engineering, and digital, are currently well served by AGQs. Maintaining these qualifications would support a smoother transition and ensure that learners can access high-quality routes into key sectors while newer qualifications are still gaining traction.

“We urge the government to ensure that any reform is evidence-led and responsive to the needs of students and the sector. Stability and clarity are essential if we are to build a skills system that genuinely supports social mobility and economic growth, and prevents NEET figures rising to over 1 million.”

Dr Mandy Crawford Lee, Chief Executive at University Vocational Awards Council (UVAC) said:

“The move to DWP of the skills brief shouldn’t be an issue as long as the right advice is given to ministers; that skills policy should be focused on all ages and all levels of intervention. Apprenticeships and flexible skills provision must not become, as they once were, programmes just for NEET, the unemployed or those without the minimum levels for employability if growth and productivity of the UK economy remain key aims”

Dr Vikki Smith, Executive Director of Education & Standards, Education and Training Foundation said:

“As the professional body for the further education (FE) and skills sector, the Education and Training Foundation (ETF) both knows and understands the importance of aligning skills provision with employment policy and outcomes. Our focus will always be on championing the professionalism of the FE and skills workforce, ensuring that teachers, leaders, and trainers are equipped to deliver high-quality provision that meets the needs of learners and employers alike. We will continue to work collaboratively across government departments and the sector to ensure stability, coherence, and strong professional standards in the delivery of skills policy.”