Chambers Respond to Skills England Launch
International trade skills crucial to growing the economy
25 July 2024
The government’s launch of Skills England on 22 July refocuses efforts on the country’s long-recognised skills deficit, seeking to provide a more coordinated approach to skills education and training.
In a statement, the government said: “Skills England will bring together central and local government, businesses, training providers and unions to meet the skills needs of the next decade across all regions, providing strategic oversight of the post-16 skills system aligned to the Government’s Industrial Strategy.”
“Skills England will be established in phases over the next 9-12 months to create a responsive and collaborative skills system. The Skills England Bill announced this week will transfer functions from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) to Skills England. This sits alongside work to simplify and devolve adult education budgets to Mayoral Combined Authorities to ensure that they can address their adult skills needs directly and support growth in their areas”, it explained.
Response from Chambers of Commerce
In response, Jane Gratton, Deputy Director of Public Policy at the British Chamber of Commerce BCC, said:
“The UK economy has a pervasive skills and productivity problem that stretches back long before the pandemic and Brexit. Skills shortages ramp up pressure on firms, damaging their ability to operate profitably and leading to unsustainable wage inflation. Alarmingly, our research shows that recruitment difficulties have increased in recent months across all sectors.
“Better planning for skills is crucial. We need a stable and coherent national skills strategy that ensures institutions are delivering the training the economy needs and that gives businesses the confidence to invest for the long term. The new government must work at pace to establish Skills England, reviewing and joining up skills initiatives across the departments, aligning with immigration policy, and working closely with the devolved administrations to drive impact for local communities.
“Employers and the economy’s skills needs must remain at the heart of the system. Building on Local Skills Improvement Plans will help develop strong partnerships between employers, training providers and others - to ensure people get the skills and support they need. But this will not happen overnight. As we transition to a better planned, high-skilled and high wage economy, we need to ensure firms can access global talent to fill urgent job vacancies.”
Crucial for economic growth
Nikki Clow, Head of International Trade at Chamber International, said, “We welcome this new initiative to align skills training with industrial strategy in a more coordinated and responsive way. International trade skills are crucial for growing our economy.”
“Trading internationally requires some skills that are not taught in schools or colleges, and most effectively gained through professional training, in combination with real trade experience. The training we provide, for people involved in all aspects of importing and exporting, enables them to take their skills to the next level, learning from experienced practitioner trainers. We want to see more businesses growing their in-house capacity to handle import and export transactions efficiently, in full compliance with the law and best practice, so that they can realise the opportunities to be found in overseas markets.”
Contact Chamber International today for bespoke and in-house training solutions. We’ll listen to your needs and design the perfect bespoke training programme to increase your business performance and prepare your team for success.
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