Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Skills Builder Partnership report entitled Essential Skills Tracker 2023, published March 2023, which found that 17 per cent of workers do not manage to break out of a cycle of low education, basic skills and essential skills, what steps she is taking to help upskill this group.

The department has an ambitious skills agenda, backed by £3.8 billion of investment. The department is using this to build a skills system that is employer focused, high quality, and fit for the future.

Our skills reforms provide a ladder of opportunity that enables young people and adults to attain good jobs and progress in their careers. This begins with the opportunities and social justice needed to access excellent education and skills training. This will help more people to achieve secure, sustained, and well-paid employment and provide opportunities for individuals to progress in their careers.

The department funds a range of programmes and services which help learners develop the skills that employers want, including:

• Skills Bootcamps: These are designed to support local regions and employers to fill in-demand vacancies and increase the skills set and opportunities open to adults. They have the potential to transform the skills landscape for adults and employers through upskilling adults with training that meets key sectoral skills gaps.
• Apprenticeships: Apprenticeship standards are developed by employers to address their sector skills needs. The knowledge, skills and behaviours in the standard describe the full competence required in the occupation and are developed to be transferable to a range of employers across the sector. The End Point Assessment also ensures that people completing apprenticeships are occupationally competent.
• Returnerships: In the Spring Budget 2023, the government announced Returnerships, which will provide a clear route back into work and encourage employers to hire older workers through raising awareness of three different pathways: Apprenticeships, Skills Bootcamps and Sector-Based Work Academies Programmes.
• Department for Work and Pension’s (DWP) sector-based work academy programme (SWAPs). Developed by Jobcentres in partnership with employers and training providers, SWAPs offer training, work experience and a guaranteed interview to fill jobs. SWAPs allow people to learn the skills and behaviours that employers in particular industries look for, with individual placements lasting up to six weeks.
• Careers guidance: The government expects all secondary schools to use the eight Gatsby Benchmarks of Good Career Guidance to develop and improve their careers provision for young people, including providing them with encounters with employers and the world of work. The Careers & Enterprise Company supports schools and colleges to meet the Gatsby Benchmarks, including connecting them with employers and increasing young people’s awareness of the different pathways available and the types of skills employers are looking for. The guidance can be found here: https://www.gatsby.org.uk/education/focus-areas/good-career-guidance.
• Skills Taxonomy: The Unit for Future Skills has begun developing a UK-specific skills taxonomy that will provide a common language for skills and mappings between skills, qualifications, and occupations. The first part of the project will focus on developing a methodology for the taxonomy, and will involve engaging with potential users, to ensure the final product provides value across the skills system. It is during this phase of work that the scope of the taxonomy will be determined, including how the different types of skills (such as essential and technical) will be covered. Officials in the department have recently met with the Skills Builder Partnership to discuss this work. We are currently considering options for how the Skills Builder Universal Framework for Essential Skills, alongside other work in this area, might inform or be incorporated into our skills taxonomy.