Question to the Department for Education:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what additional skills training they plan to replace any skills lost to the UK economy through any departure of nationals from other EU countries due to Brexit.

The Industrial Strategy White Paper sets out a long-term plan to boost productivity with investment in the skills, industries and infrastructure of the future. This includes increased investment in maths, digital and technical education to address the shortage of science, technology, engineering and maths skills and creating a National Retraining Scheme that will support people to reskill. A summary of the government’s proposals for delivering a world-class technical education is attached from the Industrial Strategy White Paper.

We will be delivering on our commitment to create three million apprenticeships by 2020, and drive up the quality of apprenticeships to make sure they provide the skills that employers need.

The department is reforming the technical education system to be more responsive to the needs of employers. Our reforms will also offer employers the opportunity to develop the skilled labour they require to run their business and increase productivity.

From September 2020, we are introducing T levels to develop talent within the UK, starting with construction, education and childcare and digital. T levels are an integral part of our wider reforms to technical education to address skills gaps in our economy, including skills which we have previously relied on EU nationals for.

A key component of these reforms is the Skills Advisory Panel programme, which has recently been launched and will be rolled out across England. The programme will work with Mayoral Combined Authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships to help match skills provision with employer demand at a local level. The programme will also provide a greater understanding of regional, sectoral and national skills needs.