What will Skills England mean for apprenticeships? 

In July 2024 the UK Government introduced the Skills England initiative. This initiative was launched with an aim to address the skills gap in the UK and to help create a national strategy for improving skills development. 

This project has ambitious goals to put lifelong learning at its core, encouraging continues learning and development for all workers to stay up to date with the everchanging job market. 

In order for this initiative to succeed, however, it needs to ensure that there is a focus on age inclusive career opportunities and development. As we’ve seen with apprenticeships, learners may come from all walks of life and in a large age range. If the initiative aims to reduce the skills gap, age inclusivity is a must.  

Additionally, Skills England should ensure that it provides support for SME’s so they can continue to access necessary support and funds.  

What will the Skills England initiative mean for apprenticeships? 

The Skills England initiative should help to enhance and strengthen apprenticeships. The initiative plans to expand the availability of apprenticeships and introduce an employer-led approach, tailoring the apprenticeships on offer to specific skills that businesses require. The initiative aims to bring representatives from local and national authorities together with businesses and training providers to ensure the right skills and competencies are being addressed. 

Skills England should also help to simplify the system, making it easier for both employers and learners to navigate. The government is also looking to give businesses more control of their apprenticeship levy funding and introducing the ability to spend the funds on different types of trainings. 

The initiative is also likely to place an emphasis on digital skills to reflect the national focus of preparing the workforce to the demands of the future economy. 

Skills England is an ambitious initiative that if done right will bring about welcome change and help employers and learners alike. 

LMP Education is committed to helping our learners and employer partners navigate these upcoming changes and will continue to provide outstanding support and advice throughout this transition period.