Making Skills England work for our region
Panel 1 underscored the complexity of creating a cohesive skills strategy for a region as diverse as the East of England. By addressing barriers; transport, funding, and collaboration, and leveraging initiatives like Skills England, stakeholders can build a more inclusive, skills-driven economy. Continued dialogue and action from all sectors; employers, educators, and policymakers will be essential to achieving these goals.
Key Talking Points:
1. Skills England and Government Reforms
Skills England’s Role: A newly established national body aimed at unifying the skills system, addressing both local and national skills needs, and creating a coherent strategy for economic growth.
Flexible Growth and Skills Levy: Employers are calling for more diverse and shorter training options beyond traditional apprenticeships. The upcoming consultation will shape how the levy can support broader training initiatives.
Lifelong Learning Entitlement: Delayed to 2027, this initiative aims to make higher education and training more accessible for working adults, enabling short-course funding and aligning with Skills England priorities.
Increased Focus on Universities: Government mandates for universities to contribute more to local economies and disadvantaged communities, with an emphasis on civic engagement.
2. Regional Challenges and Opportunities
Devolution and Collaboration: The East of England’s lack of extensive devolved authorities, aside from Cambridge and Peterborough, complicates efforts to align skills strategies. Future devolution deals and a simplified landscape are key priorities.
Rural and Coastal Isolation: Access to opportunities is hindered by limited transport infrastructure, particularly in rural areas, which affects work experience and apprenticeship accessibility.
Employer Investment in Training: Despite some regional successes, the East lags behind in training days provided by employers, reflecting a broader challenge in engaging businesses to upskill their workforce.
3. The Role of Further Education and Pre-16 Reform
FE Colleges as Anchors: Institutions like West Suffolk College are central to addressing skills gaps but face challenges, including funding constraints and outdated metrics for success.
Pre-16 Curriculum Reform: Current education models were criticized for not adequately preparing students for the workforce, with calls to integrate practical, leadership, and resilience skills earlier in the education journey.
4. Workforce Development and Employer Engagement
Apprenticeships and Degree Pathways: Employers like the Hill Group and Anglian Water have implemented robust training programs, but the apprenticeship system needs greater flexibility to align with industry needs.
Work Experience and Careers Guidance: Effective CIAG (Careers Information, Advice, and Guidance) remains a challenge. Employers emphasized the need for teachers, parents, and students to better understand modern industries and career paths.
Skills Gaps in Construction: The Hill Group highlighted the acute shortage of skilled workers in the construction sector, with specific figures for bricklayers, carpenters, and site managers needed to meet housing targets.
5. Cross-Sector Collaboration
Employers and Education Partnerships: Collaboration is essential to ensure training aligns with local economic needs. Programs like the Hill Group’s Cambridge apprenticeship scheme demonstrate the potential for successful partnerships.
Social Value and Inclusion: Employers are expanding efforts to support underrepresented groups, including women in construction, ex-offenders, and care leavers, but systemic funding and support gaps persist.
Key Recommendations:
1. Simplify and Streamline Skills Systems:
Ensure Skills England integrates existing initiatives to reduce fragmentation and align local and national strategies.
2. Enhance Pre-16 and Careers Education:
Broaden the school curriculum to include leadership, resilience, and employability skills while improving access to vocational pathways and guidance.
3. Expand Apprenticeship Models:
Introduce shorter, more flexible apprenticeships and degree-level programs tailored to industry needs, particularly for rural and coastal regions.
4. Address Transport Barriers:
Invest in transport infrastructure to connect rural communities with training and work opportunities, ensuring equal access.
5. Strengthen Employer-Provider Collaboration:
Facilitate stronger partnerships between employers, FE colleges, and schools to shape responsive curricula and create local training pipelines.
Towards a Skills Strategy for the East of England
Panel 2 highlighted the complexity of creating a unified skills strategy for the East of England but emphasized the importance of localized solutions, collaboration, and employer engagement. There is a clear opportunity for devolution and innovative programs to address regional disparities and create a more inclusive and dynamic workforce.
Key Talking Points
The Need for a Localised Skills Strategy:
Norfolk’s Economic Strategy: Jan Feeney outlined Norfolk County Council’s efforts to align skills with local needs through extensive consultations with businesses, educators, and stakeholders.
Local Skills Assemblies: These focus on hyper-local issues and bring together employers and training providers to address skill shortages.
Regional Collaboration: Cross-border initiatives with Suffolk, such as sector-focused skills hubs, are essential to addressing shared economic challenges.
Employer Engagement and Apprenticeships:
Apprenticeships: Gareth John hared insights from the accountancy sector, where apprenticeships have dramatically increased access to professional careers. Level 7 apprenticeships have become vital for social mobility and progression pathways.
Employer Challenges: Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) face barriers in taking on apprentices or offering work experience due to regulatory and resource constraints.
Work Experience Access: Many young people struggle to secure placements due to geographic and resource limitations, especially in rural areas. Employers are encouraged to create more accessible opportunities.
Diversity and Inclusion in Workforce Development:
Case Studies: Julia Nix highlighted good practice in the region. Employers like Anglian Water and Hill Group were praised for their efforts in hiring neurodiverse candidates and ex-offenders, demonstrating the value of inclusive practices.
Barriers to Employment: Transport, childcare, and digital access remain significant challenges in enabling individuals to upskill or enter the workforce.
The Role of Devolution:
Potential Benefits: Devolution could enable greater control over adult skills funding, allowing local authorities to commission training tailored to regional needs.
Complexity and Fragmentation: However, inconsistencies in governance structures across the region make it difficult to fully integrate skills, employment.
The role of JCP in devolution: Benefits systems should not be devolved; this is a national system that must be retained and administered centrally. The role of advisors in JCP is also essential in helping people back into work. However, employment programmes and training is something that could be devolved locally.
Improving Career Guidance and Work Experience:
Adult careers: There are recognised gaps and under provision of face-to-face adult careers & skills guidance for those already in the workforce, which must be addressed.
Workplace Exposure: There is a shift toward providing ongoing workplace experiences throughout secondary education rather than a single two-week placement.
Careers Platforms: Tools like “I Can Be A” provide young people with accessible career information, showcasing pathways and inspiring aspirations.
Role of Schools: Schools need greater support to connect students with employers and organize meaningful placements, reducing the burden on parents.
Recommendations
Strengthen Local Partnerships:
Foster collaboration between employers, schools, colleges, and local authorities to align training with local labour market needs.
Increase Accessibility:
Address transport and digital barriers to ensure equitable access to education and work opportunities, especially in rural and coastal areas.
Expand Work Experience Programs:
Simplify processes for SMEs to host work placements and incentivize participation through tax relief or grants.
Provide centralized support for organizing placements to ensure all students have access to opportunities.
Protect Apprenticeships Across All Levels:
Retain Level 7 apprenticeships in key sectors like accountancy and healthcare to maintain progression pathways while focusing on entry-level opportunities.
Leverage Devolution for Skills Growth:
Advocate for devolution deals that prioritize skills funding and allow for tailored, region-specific training programs.
Provide more flexible skills and career services for adults in work:
The majority of people are already in the workforce. Improving skill gaps, progression routes to upskill and reskill are vital to improving productivity in the region.
The session highlighted the complexity of creating a unified skills strategy for the East of England but emphasised the importance of localised solutions, collaboration, and employer engagement. There is a clear opportunity for devolution and innovative programs to address regional disparities and create a more inclusive and dynamic workforce.
Participants were encouraged to contribute to shaping policy, share best practices, and collaborate on addressing key barriers to employment and training in the region.
Green Workforce and Delivering Net Zero
Panel 3 underscored the interconnected nature of skills, infrastructure, and planning in achieving net zero. Panellists emphasised the urgency of aligning government policies with the region’s unique strengths and challenges, advocating for flexible and responsive solutions. The East of England has the potential to lead the green workforce revolution, but collaboration, innovation, and targeted investments are essential to unlocking this opportunity.
Key Talking Points:
1. Regional Strengths in the Green Economy
Diverse Assets: The East of England boasts a range of industries leading in clean energy, agri-tech, and nature-based solutions. Key players include the University of East Anglia, Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, and several forward-thinking colleges.
Clean Energy Focus: Offshore wind, nuclear, and other clean energy initiatives are pivotal to the region, with substantial investment planned (e.g., Anglian Water’s £9 billion).
2. Challenges in Green Skills Development
Definition of Green Skills: Broad and evolving, encompassing everything from hydrogen technology to retrofit construction.
Skill Gaps: Employers are competing for critical skills like digital ecology, marine biology, and software engineering. Many existing roles require upskilling rather than entirely new training.
Capacity Constraints: Local authorities and businesses face resource and expertise shortages, particularly in planning, energy infrastructure, and funding.
Complex Funding Systems: Current funding and qualification frameworks are not well-suited for short courses or agile training approaches.
3. Employer Perspectives
Anglian Water:
Plans to hire 7,000 workers, across Anglian Water and the wider supply chain over the next 5 years, including 1,000 apprentices.
Focuses on meaningful work and employee retention, achieving 84% retention over 10 years.
Challenges include overcoming perceptions of the water industry and addressing overlapping skill demands across industries.
Freeport East:
Freeports provide incentives for inward investment, targeting regions with low employment and skills.
Focus on addressing massive electrification needs (600% increase in capacity by 2030) and developing localized energy solutions.
Issues with fragmented infrastructure planning and lack of coordination between sectors (e.g., energy, transport, and water).
4. Policy and Systemic Barriers
Energy Infrastructure:
Significant disconnect between local energy needs and national grid capabilities.
A need for decentralized energy solutions to enable local generation and distribution. Planning Bottlenecks:
Regulatory complexities and capacity shortfalls in planning departments delay green projects. Calls for private-public collaboration to streamline processes and bolster regional capacity.
Recommendations for Government and Stakeholders:
1. Flexibility in Funding:
Reform apprenticeship and skills levy to allow for agile, short-term training solutions, such as skills boot camps and micro-credentials.
2. Regional Solutions for Green Skills:
Tailor policies to address region-specific challenges and opportunities, ensuring alignment with local industry needs.
3. Cross-Sector Collaboration:
Encourage partnerships among employers, educational institutions, and government to create cohesive strategies for workforce development.
4. Decentralized Energy Systems:
Invest in localized energy networks to reduce reliance on the national grid and enable community-based power solutions.
5. Awareness and Engagement:
Improve public perception of industries like water and planning by emphasizing their purpose-driven contributions to net zero goals.
