Prime Minister Keir Starmer has introduced a reform in the UK’s skills training framework aimed at aligning domestic training more closely with industry needs, promoting a home-grown workforce, reducing the requirement for overseas hires.
The key players in this plan include the newly established government body, Skills England, and the interim chair, Richard Pennycook CBE.
In a speech at the Farnborough International Airshow, Starmer announced the formation of Skills England, which will replace the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE). The new body is expected to collaborate with migration advisers to address skills shortages across key sectors by developing targeted training programmes. However, the agency will take approximately a year to become fully operational.
“Our skills system is in a mess, which is why we are transforming our approach to meet skills needs over the coming decades,” stated Starmer. “We won’t be content just to pull the easy lever of importing skills. We’re turning the page on that.”
One of the critical changes includes the replacement of the existing apprenticeship levy with a new growth and skills levy. This new levy will provide businesses with greater flexibility in using funds for various types of training, not just apprenticeships. The government argues that this will make companies more responsive to evolving skills demands.
Skills England will oversee the allocation of this levy, deciding which training programmes are eligible for funding. The aim is to make up to 50% of the current apprenticeship funds available for other training initiatives. This move addresses criticisms that the current system, introduced in 2016, is fragmented and underutilised by employers.
The Prime Minister emphasised that a better skills training system would reduce the UK’s dependence on high levels of immigration. Although Labour has not set specific migration targets, the intention is to lower demand for overseas hires through improved domestic training.
An integral part of this strategy involves addressing pay issues within sectors heavily reliant on foreign workers. For instance, Labour plans to introduce collective pay bargaining in the social care sector. Starmer acknowledged that higher wages are necessary to attract local talent. “An element of that will be about pay, of course,” he admitted, highlighting the need to balance wages to ensure sectors are adequately staffed without resorting to foreign labour.
For jewellers and the broader jewellery industry, these reforms could mean a more skilled domestic workforce in the long term, reducing dependency on overseas hires. The introduction of Skills England and the flexibility of the growth and skills levy may lead to more targeted and effective training programmes, ensuring jewellers have access to a pool of highly skilled local talent.
Moreover, addressing pay issues might make the jewellery industry more attractive to domestic workers, potentially leading to a more stable and motivated workforce. This shift towards enhancing domestic skills and training aligns with broader economic goals of boosting local employment and reducing migration dependency, which could lead to a more resilient and self-sufficient jewellery sector in the UK.
