Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to work with UK businesses to address any gaps in the education and training of vocational skills.

The department is working with employers to jointly design and deliver policies and programmes which will make the skills system more responsive to employer needs, whilst giving individuals the skills they need to succeed.

T levels are being designed to better meet the needs of businesses and to help young people to move successfully into skilled employment. Over 200 employers have been involved in defining the content of T levels to ensure that they reflect current industry requirements. Students’ experience on industry placements will be ‘hands on’ so they will leave their course with the skills employers are looking for.

Employers are leading on the design of new apprenticeships standards, putting them in the driving seat to give apprentices the skills that businesses really need. Across all sectors, they are being designed and driven by industry, creating higher quality training that will lead to a more skilled and productive economy. We are working closely with employers to help them take advantage of apprenticeships and grow their programmes.

Employers are central to traineeships, which are an education and training programme supporting social mobility by providing quality training for young people who need to develop their skills and experience in order to enter the labour market. They consist of a high quality work placement with an employer; work preparation training; and English and maths support for those who have not achieved a GCSE grade A* to C or equivalent with a training provider.

We are establishing a National Retraining Scheme, driven by the National Retraining Partnership, which brings together the Confederation of British Industry, Trades Union Congress and the government to set the scheme’s strategic direction and oversee its development. This partnership will work together to ensure that the voices of businesses and workers feed directly into the development of the scheme so that it will genuinely make a difference.

Skills Advisory Panels (SAPs) aim to bring together local employers and skills providers to pool knowledge on skills and labour market needs. They aim to work together to understand and address key local challenges, including helping to tackle local skills shortages. SAPs will address both immediate needs and challenges and look at what is required to help local areas adapt to future labour market changes and to grasp future opportunities. This will help colleges, universities and other providers deliver the skills required by employers, now and in the future.