Skills Builder Partnership has today released its response to the publication of the 2022 Spring Statement.
The Partnership is pleased to hear the Chancellor discuss the importance of employment training and apprenticeships to addressing the lack of vocational qualifications among 25 to 64-year-olds, the technical skills gap, and lower rates of workforce productivity.
However, hundreds of employers and educators will be concerned that the Statement lacks mention of essential skills like problem solving, teamwork and leadership as part of this employment training, and their benefits to the UK economy.
As inflation and the costs of living surge, hitting the lowest-income households the most, essential skills training will be crucial in supporting individuals into well-paid, stable employment.
Skills Builder Partnership therefore urges the Government to prioritise essential skills teaching and training in skills and education reform.
In the workplace, it should encourage essential skills training as part of vocational programmes such as apprenticeships. Meanwhile, in education, it should provide more support for schools and colleges to embed essential skills into their learning, building off the recent statutory careers guidance. The Government should also adopt essential skills as part of the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) Restart scheme.
Tom Ravenscroft, Founder and CEO of Skills Builder Partnership, said:
“Time and again, research shows that training up a skilled, well-rounded population is key to stabilising the economy and building resilient communities. Our latest research, the Essential Skills Tracker, discovered an annual wage premium of up to £5,900 with an increase in essential skill levels. The boost to productivity and social mobility from higher levels of essential skills is clear.
“But the skills gap remains wide. And, in addition, many from more disadvantaged backgrounds are caught in a skills trap: having lower essential skill levels mean they’re likely to have fewer opportunities to build their skills and secure higher paid employment, compounding the effects of the cost of living crisis.
“The 800 organisations in the Skills Builder Partnership have demonstrated that it is possible for everyone to improve their essential skills and reap the rewards in increased employability, earning, and wellbeing. We call on the Government to support our efforts to make access to opportunities to build those skills more equitable.”
About Skills Builder Partnership
Skills Builder Partnership is a non-profit social enterprise. It unites more than 800 educators, employers and impact organisations around the Skills Builder Universal Framework and six principles of best practice to develop the eight essential skills that everyone needs to succeed.
To read Skills Builder Partnership’s latest publications, see skillsbuilder.org/insights.
For any enquiries, please contact Eleanor Collard, Communications Associate, at eleanor.collard@skillsbuilder.org, or Erica Popplewell, External Affairs Manager, at erica.popplewell@skillsbuilder.org.
