PAC extremely concerned at dramatic falls in further education and skills training
14 December 2022
£4 billion spent annually “failing to deliver skills we need” for economy
In a report today the Public Accounts Committee says the Department for Education’s (DfE) £4 billion a year spend on activities designed to develop workforce skills in England is failing to deliver the skills essential to economic growth and prosperity.
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The number of adults participating in government-funded further education and skills training has dropped dramatically, from 3.2 million in 2010/11 to 1.6 million in 2020/21. The drop is particularly marked in poorer areas.
The Committee says DfE’s response doesn’t match the scale of the problem and doesn’t address key factors involved in the national skills shortage, which include Brexit and the target in law to reach net zero by 2050.
Employers are meant to lead on identifying skills requirements and designing qualifications and training. But they’re spending less on workforce training, and the DfE’s skills index shows the impact of further education on productivity declined 46% over the last decade.
Chair's comments
Committee Chair Dame Meg Hillier MP said:
“Despite £4 billion a year of taxpayers’ money spent on skills programmes, participation has fallen off a cliff - especially among older workers and in poorer areas. The Government is not going to make inroads on levelling-up if it does not get ahead of this.
With UK workforce numbers falling the Government needs to get serious on skills. The future of the economy depends on it.”
Further information
- Inquiry: Developing workforce skills for a strong economy
- Public Accounts Committee
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