Manufacturers Will Support The PM’s Skills Commitments, But Don’t Ignore Crucial Entry Routes Into Industry

Labour’s new investment in technical skills and apprenticeships signals real ambition for high-value training — but lower-level routes must not be left behind

The headline announcements made by Sir Keir Starmer at the Labour Party’s annual conference have much to encourage employers who want more support for technical skills and apprenticeships. Additional investment of £800 million for further education and a new participation target of two-thirds of young people in university, higher technical education or ‘gold-standard’ apprenticeships show serious intent to support more high-value training and rightly puts technical routes on a par with academic options.

Manufacturers see increasing demand for technical skills between levels 4 and 6

Manufacturers see increasing demand for technical skills between levels 4 and 6, where the focus of additional resources is largest, and will welcome the Government’s broader efforts on supporting upskilling and retraining at these levels.

Post-16 Skills White Paper

The need for more and better options above level 3 and below graduate-level when it comes to upskilling and retraining is a constant theme among businesses working to develop and progress their workforce, and it will be important that the Government’s forthcoming post-16 skills white paper addresses this. The existing commitments made on levy-funded short courses and rollout of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement from 2027 will also be integral to making the new target work.

However, there will also be concern about whether the Government is offering enough support for vital skills training at lower levels, where many young people usually find their route into skilled work in sectors like manufacturing. Apprenticeship routes at all levels are critical to manufacturing – employers will want reassurance that, alongside essential support for levels 4 and 5, high-quality standards at levels 2 and 3 which lead to progression are also valued by the Government.

Businesses Will Not Want To See Lower-Level Apprenticeships Devalued Or, Worse, Defunded Too

With little wriggle room in the apprenticeship budget and the Government’s commitment to levy flexibility still in place (even if more limited than was expected pre-election), businesses will not want to see lower-level apprenticeships devalued or, worse, defunded too.

Gold-Standard

Indeed, the Prime Minister’s commitment to supporting apprenticeships and technical education in his speech came as he spoke in familiar terms about his pride in his father’s occupation as a tool-maker – which, as a level 3 apprenticeship, is a trade which would seemingly be excluded from his definition of ‘gold-standard’.

A major part of the Government’s justification for removing levy funding for most level 7 apprenticeships earlier this year was to rebalance funding and incentives towards young people at lower and entry levels. An exclusive focus on courses at level 4 and above would risk undermining this goal.

Make UK’s Industrial Strategy Skills Commission recommended in April that the Government reserve all funds raised by the Growth and Skills and Levy and Immigration Skills Charge for investment in the skills system, with a particular emphasis on reviewing apprenticeship funding bands at levels 2 and 3 in priority areas.

Having committed to reviewing funding bands in the industrial strategy, and with the momentum now behind its work on skills following party conference, the Government should now take this action at the Autumn Budget.

Cinderella Sector and Parity Of Esteem

Starmer was correct to identify FE and skills as a ‘Cinderella’ sector, now is the time to give it the recognition it deserves and remove the ‘ugly sisters’ of snobbery and underfunding once and for all. The inclusion of apprenticeships and technical education in the two-thirds participation target will win support across the manufacturing sector and rightly affords technical and vocational options parity of esteem with academic routes after the ages of 16 and 18.

The focus on higher-level skills reflects where manufacturers increasingly want to prioritise additional investment in training. However, the Government cannot risk losing the trade skills that continue to be vital to its industrial strategy. Without them, its goal of economic growth driven by advanced manufacturing and other priority sectors will not be achieved.

By Jamie Cater, Make UK Senior Policy Manager – Skills