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Sir Keir Starmer has said his government will resist “easy leverage” for foreign workers as he launched a new body to tackle what he called Britain’s “fragmented and broken” training system.
The body, Skills England, will largely replace an existing non-governmental organisation called the Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) and will be responsible for deciding which adult training courses receive government funding.
The body will work closely with central government, local councils, businesses, trade unions and training providers to address the country’s “skills gap”. It will also work alongside the Migration Advisory Committee, which advises ministers on migration policy, to identify current skills shortages.
“We’re going to make sure there are highly motivated, ambitious and talented young people who want to work in your business,” the prime minister said in a speech at the Farnborough International Airshow in Hampshire on Monday.
“We are going to boost the training of all UK workers… and in doing so we will drive growth because if there is one thing we know will drive innovation and accelerate productivity, [it] “It is about having qualified workers,” he added.
Skills shortages extend to infrastructure projects, with major projects and utilities including the Hinkley Point C nuclear project, National Grid and Thames Water warning in recent months about their impact on costs and future delivery.
Star He said it would be easy for the government to rely on immigration to fill skills gaps in the economy, but added: “We will not be content to simply pull the easy lever of importing skills. We are turning the page on that.”
Richard Pennycook, former Co-op chief executive, will act as interim chair of the body, which Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson says will “boost young people’s careers and galvanise local economies”.
Starmer said the skills system was “in a mess” after 14 years of Conservative-led government, adding there was no “quick fix” to the long-standing problem plaguing British businesses.
“That’s why we are transforming our approach to meeting skills needs in the decades ahead,” he said. He noted that “Labour’s number one mission as a government is to drive economic growth by opening up new opportunities for young people and enabling British businesses to hire more local talent.”
The government also announced plans to change the current “apprenticeship levy” system to give businesses more flexibility in spending money currently earmarked for apprenticeships.
He said there had been low take-up among businesses of the tax, a policy introduced by the previous Conservative government eight years ago, which raises about £3.5bn a year.
Under a plan rebranded as the “growth and skills tax”, Labour will allow eligible companies to use up to 50 per cent of the money raised to fund other types of training.
Starmer said the change to the levy had been demanded by business leaders: “You told me it wasn’t flexible enough, it wasn’t working well enough for you, we will change that with the growth and skills levy, giving you more flexibility to spend the funds on the training you think is really needed,” he added.