REC response to Skills England announcement

Responding to the Skills England announcement today, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) Director of Campaigns and Research Shazia Ejaz said:

“The urgency with which the new government is setting out plans to improve the ability for people to train up, and for employers to access the skills they are desperate for, is welcome. Employers have long wanted to see reform of the skills system. Skills England has an important job to improve upon the Apprenticeship Levy which failed to meet employer demands and where so much money paid in to the pot wasn’t used effectively. That is why businesses and especially recruiters who understand employer needs should now be central to advising the body on priority setting and the best approach to combatting labour shortages.

“The move to a more flexible Growth and Skills Levy where apprenticeships will not be the only option available for employers to spend their levy funds on will be a huge help for temporary workers. Not everyone works full-time or with the same employer for long periods, so training has to be accessible to people working flexibly. There are one million temporary workers on assignment on any given day, most of whom have been missing out on opportunities to train. Skills England must focus on redressing that. One way to do that is to allow the new Levy to fund modular courses in worker-short sectors.

“By working with the Migration Advisory Committee, Skills England can help reduce reliance on overseas workers. But public policy must find a balance between helping domestic talent to shine while accepting that takes time. So along with today’s announcement we want to hear more from the government on how they will create a fair and flexible immigration system to meet the needs of business. And we should remember that survey after survey shows people support immigration by those who are here to work, pay tax, and build a life. To maximise economic growth, we need a skills and immigration policy that work in sync to meet the needs of employers in the private and public sectors.”

Notes to editors

Overcoming shortages - How to create a sustainable labour market, REC, July 2022
In this report, we show exactly how much damage could be done if we do not step up. With a 10% surge in demand for staff across the economy, and the labour market restricted by shortages, we could see a 1.2% fall in expected GDP and productivity by 2027 – costing the economy anywhere between £30 billion and £39 billion every year. This figure is just short of the entire current defence budget, or two whole Elizabeth Lines.

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