Expert comment, from Dr Ben Silverstone, Workforce Transformation, Skills and Policy Lead at WMG, University of Warwick, on the establishment of Skills England

“WMG welcomes the formal announcement on the establishment of Skills England. A combined approach from the Government, education providers and employers is, without a doubt, the best way of ensuring that the skills system is fit for purpose. The decision to appoint a non-governmental chair should also be applauded and will ensure the needs of industry and the workforce are placed before policy pressures. 

“To make the most of this opportunity we encourage the Government to consider the following key issues:

• Everyone, regardless of age; background or employment status, must have the best opportunities in terms of education - this is critical to the future prosperity of our society
• There must be an equal, if not greater, focus on upskilling and reskilling those already in employment
• We must learn from the Apprenticeship Trailblazer model, and focus on the skill enablers of our economy rather than the narrow interests of a traditional sectoral led approach
• Finally, we strongly urge Government to ensure the balance between a nationally conceived strategy, a regional contextualisation and high-quality local delivery is not lost.”