Post-16 Education and Skills Strategy

Baroness Caine of Kentish Town Excerpts

Wednesday 22nd October 2025 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

I think the noble Baroness was welcoming the development of a more modular approach, supported through the delivery of the lifelong learning entitlement. Of course, we will want to look carefully at previous experiences, but we have a big opportunity here to increase both the prevalence of students who are able to go through a pathway to level 4 and 5 courses and the willingness of higher education institutions to work with further education to promote the possibility of that happening. As I say, we will learn from previous experiences in doing that.

[Baroness Caine of Kentish Town (Lab)]

My Lords, alignment with the industrial strategy is vital, and I am really pleased to see that the White Paper is taking a national view of skills in target sectors. It is good news that sector skills packages with significant investment attached have been agreed for construction, TechFirst, engineering and defence.

As has been said, there are also shortages in the creative industries. I therefore press my noble friend the Minister: does she agree that the development and agreement of a sector skills plan and package for and with the creative industries—working with DfE, DCMS and DSIT—is a priority and needs to be developed at pace?

[Baroness Smith of Malvern (Lab)]

As my noble friend knows, there is a sector skills plan that goes alongside the creative industries’ inclusion in the industrial strategy. Of course, it is already the case that among the sector skills packages—for example, the digital package, with £187 million behind it—we will be developing important skills for the creative industry. As well as the sector skills plan, jobs plans will be developed in each of the areas, and I am sure my noble friend will maintain her pressure to make sure that this makes the difference to skills in the creative industries that I know she wants to see.