Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what support they are giving to employers to upskill all workers.

The government is taking steps to improve productivity, employment levels and social inclusion. Programmes including reforms to technical education such as apprenticeships, funded or co-funded skills provision through the Adult Education Budget, access to Advanced Learner Loans and the National Retraining Scheme enable adults to gain the skills that they need to progress or reskill.

The government has started testing the first part of the National Retraining Scheme, Get Help to Retrain, in 6 areas across England. Get Help to Retrain is a digital service that will help users to understand their current skills, explore alternative occupations and find and sign up to training. We will continue to test and further improve the service in 2020.

We are also providing an extra £3 billion to develop a National Skills Fund that helps adults to learn new skills and to prepare for the economy of the future. We are planning to consult widely on the fund and will be keen to hear the views of employers.