On 22nd July, the Prime Minister and the Education Secretary announced the launch of Skills England, which aims to bring together the fractured skills landscape and create a shared national ambition to boost the nation’s skills.
Prime Minister Kier Starmer said “Our skills system is in a mess, which is why we are transforming our approach to meet skills needs over the coming decades.”
A significant decision in this government announcement is the overhaul of the Apprenticeship Levy. The MTA has long pushed for it to be changed to a Growth and skills Levy, allowing businesses to have more control over how they spend their levy to train their staff. Skills England will identify the training for which the growth and skills levy will be accessible. This is an important reform that will give businesses more flexibility to spend levy funds on training for the skills they need, which employers have long been calling for.
Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said: “The skills system we inherited is fragmented and broken. Employers want to invest in their workers but for too long have been held back from accessing the training they need.”
The MTA through its active participation with DFE intermediary ambassador network and partnership with other membership organisations will continue to actively represent the Manufacturing Technologies Sector to ensure our voice is heard and our skills requirements met.
The Education & Development Committee is the MTA’s main voice on all Education and skills issues. MTA members can apply to be members of this committee, which helps to steer the Manufacturing Technologies Skills agenda.
If you would like to find out more about the E&D committee, please click here or contact Danny Reed