The Big Interview with Skills England Chair Phil Smith

Skills England Chair Phil Smith sat down with Gavin for a virtual coffee to wrap up his first six months in the role. The conversation covered everything from priority skills areas, industrial strategy and apprenticeship reform to AI, local skills improvement plans, and the pressing challenge of getting young people into work.

Gavin and Phil discuss the first six months in the Skills England job as chair and what Phil is the most proud of that Skills England has achieved.

Industrial Strategy and Priority Sectors

Phil and Gavin discuss how Skills England are supporting the delivery of priority skills needs. Phil and Gavin last had an interview literally the day after the Industrial Strategy was launched.

Phil discusses his unique position sitting across the Industrial Strategy Advisory Council, Skills England, and the Labour Market Evidence Group, giving him what he calls the ability to see the whole story. He explains how Skills England is aligning the skills system with ten priority sectors, including the original eight from the industrial strategy, plus health and social care and construction.

Phil also chats about strategies on how to manage competing priority skills needs.

Gavin and Phil also chat about the Post 16 Skills for Jobs White Paper and what are the key areas of interest for Skills England.

Skills Simplification

One word keeps coming up throughout the conversation: simplification. Phil is passionate about making the skills system easier to navigate, for employers and to reducing the number of apprenticeship standards, to creating common core skills that can be topped up with sector-specific elements. His menu analogy, moving from 800 choices to three main options with add-ons is really interesting.

The conversation then moves into local and national skills. Discussing how Skills England is making sure local and national skills needs are met, with more on LSIPs and how HE and FE need to work together with employers and providers to deliver change for the better.

Local vs National Balance

How do you get the local-national dynamic right? Phil proposes what he calls a franchise model, where local areas deliver what’s right for their environment, but within national guidelines and standards.

Local Skills Improvement Plans

Phil discusses Local Skills Improvement plans and shares practical advice for employers and training providers wanting to get involved, and challenges the employer representative bodies to seek out diverse voices rather than just the usual suspects.

AI as a Game-Changer

Then Gavin and Phil discuss AI and how Skills England is supporting delivery on AI Skills needs. Phil discusses Artificial intelligence, not just as a skill to learn, but as a tool to transform how the skills system operates. Skills England is already using large language models through their Skills Compass tool. Phil argues AI could be the great leveller, making sophisticated capabilities accessible to everyone from small businesses to individuals navigating career pathways.

The NEETs Challenge

With nearly a million young people not in education, employment or training, Phil doesn’t mince words, calling it a national emergency. He discusses the complexity of the issue, the impact of COVID on this generation, and why recent policy changes like making apprenticeships free up to age 25 for small businesses are steps in the right direction. Gavin and Phil discuss more on what Skills England is doing and planning to do to support young people into Skills jobs.

Skills Santa’s Christmas Wish

The conversation ends with Phil’s festive wish for the sector: giving everyone a skills kaleidoscope, so they can look into the system and see their own pathway through it. It’s a metaphor that captures his entire approach – making the complex accessible.

Check out the full interview below: