DEPARTMENT FOR EDUCATION (DFE) AND DEPARTMENT FOR WORK AND PENSIONS (DWP) – WRITTEN EVIDENCE YUN0062
Youth Unemployment Committee inquiry
Geographical Scope
We recognise that certain policy areas explored within this written evidence touch on matters that are the responsibility of the Devolved Administrations. Where the text below mentions devolved matters, this should be read as relating to England only.
For wider background:
We remain committed to working in partnership with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to consider how best to deliver support for young people.
Opening statement
Throughout the public health emergency, the Government has provided an unprecedented package of support to help individuals and families with the financial shock of Covid-19, protecting lives and livelihoods. This has included a particular focus on support for young people, whether protecting them from unemployment via the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (which has supported 11.5 million jobs), helping them acquire the skills they need to get a job, protecting them via the Self-Employed Income Support Scheme (SEISS) or supporting them back into work.
In Summer 2020, the Government announced the Plan for Jobs[1] which included our commitment to deliver:
We have continued to develop additional support since the introduction of the Plan for Jobs. This includes supporting Universal Credit claimants in England to access Level 3 skills courses and bootcamps.
We will monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the Plan for Jobs, seeking to learn lessons as delivery continues to give young people the best opportunities and make sure groups are not left behind.
We are also aware that young people already in education have been badly affected by the pandemic. To this end, we have appointed an Education Recovery Commissioner, Sir Kevan Collins, who will advise the Government on the approach for education recovery, with a particular focus on helping students catch up on learning lost because of the unprecedented public health outbreak. We continue to work in collaboration with Sir Kevan and the education sector to help develop and implement long-term solutions to mitigate the detrimental effects of lost learning.
Historically, young people tend to suffer more than other age cohorts in recessions. ONS data[2] showing the unemployment rate since 2006 shows that the increase in unemployment for young people was larger than other cohorts following both the Great Recession and the pandemic.
The coronavirus pandemic has affected people of all ages. However, we recognise that young people have been particularly affected – partly due to a lack of work experience compared to older people and being over-represented in sectors most affected by public health restrictions. These sectors include retail and hospitality, where vacancies have declined more, and remain further below pre-coronavirus levels than vacancies in the UK as a whole.
The Institute for Fiscal Studies’ report on sector shutdowns during the coronavirus crisis[3] found those aged under 25 were ~2.5 times more likely to be employed in a ‘shutdown sector’ compared to other employees. It also found that before the pandemic, nineteen shutdown sectors accounted for 30% of employment for those aged under 25 compared to 13% for those aged 25+.
When it comes to addressing these challenges, the Government understands the importance of helping young people enter or re-enter work as soon as possible. We know that if a young person is not employed, in education or training (NEET), it is rarely for a short time period. When 18-24 year-olds are NEET for three months, three quarters of them will stay NEET for at least a year.[4]
The proportion of young people aged 16-17 who are NEET increased slightly in the last quarter - by 0.4 percentage points to 3.6%. The proportion of those aged 18-24 who are NEET increased by 0.7 percentage points to 13.8%. However, we can see that coronavirus has not had a significant impact as the proportion of young people who are NEET has remained broadly stable for the past five years. [5]
The impact of the coronavirus pandemic varies across sectors and whilst some, such as aviation, are facing significant challenges, it has created new demand for workers in some other sectors, such as e-commerce and distribution. These changes provide the opportunity for jobseekers to pivot successfully into employment in key sectors where there is high demand. Our Sector-based Work Academy Programmes (SWAPs) are pivotal to this, offering pre-employment training, work experience and a guaranteed job interview to unemployed people on benefits who are ready to start a job. They allow people to learn the skills and behaviours that employers in particular industries look for, supporting pivots into sectors such as adult social care and construction where there are long-standing shortages.
As public health restrictions ease, there are positive indicators for the economy, with survey data frequently citing a pick-up in activity and more positive expectations of the future with restrictions being eased. Data from the ONS also provides some evidence of improvements in the labour market. The number of employees on payroll has increased by 190,000 from November 2020 to April 2021, whilst vacancies have improved from a low of 341,000 in April-June 2020 to stand at over 600,000 in the latest period available (Feb-Apr 2021). However, both these metrics remain below pre-pandemic levels, with employees on payroll 772,000 below February 2020 levels and vacancies 19% lower than Dec-Feb 2020. Whilst older age groups have seen a slight increase in payroll employment between November 2020 and April 2021, those under 25 saw further reductions. The youngest age groups have been disproportionately affected with under 25 year olds accounting for 63% of the fall in payroll employment between February 2020 and April 2021.[6]
The Government has already implemented a range of measures to help deliver on our commitment to provide all young people with opportunities to develop skills that will enable them to secure jobs in productive and fulfilling careers. As outlined in our opening statement, the Government’s Plan for Jobs (July 2020) focused on protecting, supporting and creating jobs across the country, including help for young people through Kickstart, which is providing job opportunities for young people at risk of long-term employment. Over 200,000 Kickstart jobs have been created by the scheme.
A key part of this package of measures is the support we provide for those who face additional disadvantage in the labour market. As part of our Youth Offer, we have introduced Youth Employability Coaches to provide flexible support to young people with significant complex needs and barriers and help them move into employment. These young people will also be able to access continued support for up to six weeks once they start work. 150 Youth Employability Coaches have been recruited and are already in place supporting young people.
More widely, a range of Government initiatives are in place to help disabled people to enter and stay in work. We recognise that even before the pandemic hit, young disabled people were more likely to be unemployed and economically inactive than their non-disabled peers. Available support includes Access to Work, which is a demand-led discretionary grant to contribute to the disability-related extra costs of working faced by disabled people and those with a health condition that are beyond reasonable adjustments (but it does not replace an employer’s duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments). The grant provides personalised support and can provide workplace assessments, travel to/in work, support workers, specialist aids and equipment for individuals to enable disabled people and those with a health condition to move into or retain employment. In response to the Coronavirus pandemic we have provided this, and other support remotely, and made programmes easier to access.
DWP will be bringing forward a Green Paper on health and disability support, focusing on how the welfare system can better meet the needs of claimants with a disability/health condition. The Green Paper will be strongly influenced by the views of disabled people and representatives from disability organisations, drawing on the significant engagement we have conducted.
We also recognise the widening employment gap for ethnic minority young people. Our response to this Committee following the evidence session on 16 March outlines some of the ways we are supporting this group. This includes the use of mentoring circles and working across the twenty challenge areas.
We also acknowledge the longer term, systemic challenges with the skills system, and how well it supports young people into sustainable, skilled employment. We recognise that a number of graduates will face particular challenges gaining employment as a result of the pandemic, and those currently in education are having to overcome gaps and disruption to their learning, which may impact on their longer-term ability to secure employment.
In response to this, we have recently published our Skills for Jobs White Paper[7] which sets out our blueprint to reform post-16 education and training. It is focused on giving people the skills they need, in a way that suits them, so they can get great jobs in sectors the economy needs and boost this country’s productivity. A key aspect of our reforms is putting employers at the heart of the system so education and training meets their needs.
In addition, DWP Train and Progress helps claimants to reach their work search goals by making the best use of existing flexibilities within the skills offer provided by key partners. As of 26th April, DWP has extended the time that UC claimants can undertake full time work-focused training to up to 12 weeks across Great Britain and up to 16 weeks in DfE Skills Bootcamp areas in England (with the agreement of their work coach). This opens up new courses for claimants to gain the skills that employers value locally and pivot into new sectors.
We recognise the challenges that employers face in meeting their skills needs and have put in place a number of reforms to address this such as: reforming apprenticeships; introducing traineeships and developing ground-breaking T levels. Meeting employer needs are at the heart of these reforms and this is emphasised in our White Paper which is aimed at making the skills system even more responsive to employer needs.
The challenges faced by employers are numerous and broad, including technological changes, artificial intelligence, the Coronavirus pandemic and meeting the needs of the low carbon economy.
Employers need to remain competitive and adapt to the changes and the environment in which they operate. These factors have a major impact on defining the skills that employers need. In this respect employers face 3 key challenges (all data below from the Employer Skills Survey 2019): [8]
1.Skill Shortage Vacancies.
In 2019, 6% of UK employers had skill-shortages vacancies (defined as vacancies that are hard to fill due to applicants lacking the skills, experience or qualifications employer require). This proportion remained unchanged from 2017.
Despite employers reporting fewer vacancies in 2019 than 2017, there were slightly more skill-shortage vacancies (from 209,000 to 214,000). As a result, 2019 had a higher density of skill-shortage vacancies (up 2 percentage points to 24%).
The majority of skill-shortage vacancies (63%) were attributed, in part, to a lack of specialist skills or knowledge needed by candidates to perform their role. A lack of ‘operational skills’, including lack of knowledge of the products and services the employer offers and/or knowledge of how their organisation works contributed to 45% of skill-shortage vacancies. A lack of ‘complex analytical skills’ also contributed to 45% of skill-shortage vacancies, although its importance has continued to decrease (down from 48% in 2017 and 50% in 2015). The ability to manage one’s own time and prioritise tasks remained a common cause of skill-shortage vacancies (45%). When this was combined with the ability to manage one’s own feelings and handle the feelings of others –cited as a skill lacking for 33% of all skill-shortage vacancies – just over half (52%) of skill-shortage vacancies were at least partly caused by a lack of ‘self-management skills.’ Furthermore, a lack of management and leadership skills such as managing or motivating other staff, persuading and influencing others, and setting objectives and/or planning resources contributed to 44% of all skill-shortage vacancies.
While only one in 20 employers had skill-shortage vacancies, almost all reported that the skill-shortage vacancies impacted their business, with the most common being an increased workload for staff (84%). Two-fifths or more also mentioned financial impacts including loss of business to competitors (40%) and increased operating costs (45%).
2.Skills Gaps in Existing Staff
In 2019, most UK employers (87%) reported having a fully proficient workforce. However, 13% felt at least one staff member was not fully proficient, consistent with levels reported since 2013 (between 13% and 14% each wave). In total, in 2019 around 1.25m employees were considered not fully proficient at their job, equivalent to 4.5% of the workforce, up from 4.3% in 2017.
As has been the case historically, skills gaps were most often caused by transient factors (79% of all skills gaps) which would be expected to ease naturally over time, including individuals being new to their role (67%) or their training only having been partially completed (61%). The prevalence of transient factors had increased since 2017 (up 3 percentage points) and a fifth of all skills gaps were entirely attributed to these factors. There was also an increase in causes of skills gaps linked to positive changes made by employers such as introducing new technology or working practices; these causes of skills gaps accounted for 42% of skills gaps in 2019, compared with 34% in 2017 (returning to levels seen in 2015). These increases in potentially ‘positive’ causes of skills gaps, when combined with the increase in number of transient skills gaps, may somewhat offset concerns about the rise in number of skills gaps overall.
Most employers affected by skills gaps reported that it impacted on their establishment’s performance (66%). Across all sectors, the key impacts on performance included increased workload for other staff (52%), higher operating costs (26%), having difficulty meeting operating standards (24%) and having difficulties introducing new working practices (23%). All of these were reported at similar levels to 2017.
3.Education Leavers Work Readiness
A key issue for employers, education providers and policymakers is whether individuals leaving education to join the workplace are deemed to be well-prepared for their job role.
When asked in 2019, more than half of employers that had recruited any education leavers in the last 2-3 years felt that these recruits were prepared for their job role. This proportion rose in line with age and level of educational achievement, from 56% of those that had recruited 16-year-old school leaver to 78% of those that had recruited university leavers.
Although school leavers continued to be regarded as less prepared than college or university leavers, there were increases in the proportions of employers feeling their school leavers were prepared for work for both 16-year-old school leavers (56%, up from 51% in 2016) and 17-18-year-old school leavers (64%, up from 58% in 2016, and 60% in 2014).
At the same time, there was no change in the perceived preparedness of FE college leavers, and a decrease in the proportion of employers describing their university leavers as prepared (78%, down from 80% in 2016).
Taking all these factors into account, the Government is determined to give young people the opportunity to develop the skills employers need. The Skills for Jobs: Lifelong Learning for Opportunity and Growth White Paper is focused on giving people the skills they need, in a way that suits them, so they can get great jobs in sectors the economy needs and boost this country’s productivity.
We have already established Apprenticeships and T levels, which are based around employer engagement and standards so that employers have a real stake in developing the skills that they need. We will build on this success as set out in our White Paper, putting employers at the heart of the system so education and training meets their needs. By 2030, almost all technical courses will be on employer-led standards, ensuring that the education and training people receive are directly linked to the skills needed for jobs.
We recognise the importance of local engagement through the work of DWP’s National Employer Partnership Team. They help to build the local partnerships which are essential when working together to support young people. This engagement also builds our understanding of what employers need. In addition, the Sector-based Work Academy Programme works with employers to fill their skills gaps and support their recruitment pipeline, helping those in sectors with current local vacancies to fill them.
The Government is also working with employers to help them attract a wide range of applicants. One example of this is the Mentoring Circles programme, which supports both employers and young people. In January 2019, the then Minister for Employment announced the national roll out of the Mentoring Circles initiative and the extension from the ethnic minority community to all young people who would benefit from such support. Mentoring Circles involve senior managers from large employers working with groups of young people to increase their confidence, motivation and job search skills. This in turn helps the young people to move closer to employment. The benefit for employers comes from the insight gained into barriers they face in recruiting young workers. They also receive feedback on how to amend their attraction and recruitment practices to encourage applications from a more diverse talent pool.
Barriers to offering Apprenticeships and Traineeships
Apprenticeships are available to people of all ages from 16. We continue to support individuals to access apprenticeships to start or progress in their careers, and support employers to utilise apprenticeships to meet their skills needs. For young people not yet ready for an apprenticeship, they can undertake a traineeship course to help prepare for one. Traineeships support those aged 16 to 24 and 25-year-olds with an Education, Health and Care Plan.
We have set out our plans to make apprenticeships work for all employers in the FE Skills for Jobs white paper. Measures include developing portable apprenticeships so that apprenticeships work better for sectors, like construction and creative, where short-term working patterns are the norm.
We are also working with the construction and health and social care sectors, to test front-loading off the job training so that apprentices can hit the ground running. The introduction of accelerated apprenticeships will support apprentices with relevant skills and experience to complete their training more quickly by improving recognition of prior learning.
We are increasing our focus on sectors with existing and emerging skills needs, guided by the Government’s national skills priorities. We are already engaging with the construction, manufacturing, public, health and social care, digital and creative sectors to understand and tackle the specific barriers these sectors face in making full use of apprenticeships.
Smaller employers play an important role in providing apprenticeship opportunities across the country, particularly for young people. We want to support more SMEs to offer apprenticeships. In April 2021 we completed the transition of all employers onto the apprenticeship service. This enables employers to manage every aspect of their apprenticeships from initial planning and recruitment to management of payments to training providers.
Training providers are primarily involved in establishing traineeships. However, employers do have an important role as they provide the mandatory work experience placement which ideally would lead to an apprenticeship or other job opportunity with the employer.
We are working with employers of all sizes to make them aware of the benefits and impact of our skills ‘offers’ including apprenticeships, T Level industry placements, traineeships, and Kickstart placements. We are working directly with larger employers that have potential for growth alongside providing high-quality telephone/web-based advice and guidance for substantial numbers of other employers. In addition, we work closely with both our Apprenticeship Ambassador Network and our Intermediary Ambassador Network to reach SMEs.
Future changes that may impact youth unemployment
The Government recognises the social, economic and technological changes that are likely to affect the labour market, which include automation, new technological developments, migration and demographic changes, and the continuing impacts of the Coronavirus pandemic. These will create both challenges and opportunities in the short, medium and long term, and shift the sectoral make-up of the labour market.
The Coronavirus pandemic has also led to sudden changes in ways of working, including a surge in home-working and an increase in demand for online deliveries and virtual networking. It is likely that at least some of these working practices will remain once the pandemic has passed. Given the dynamic future of work and the need to support a strong economic recovery, it is important that we act now to put the right structures in place.
One key future change that we are already planning for is the development of the green economy. Our response to this challenge is outlined in the answer to question 12.
New technologies are changing the nature of work available and the skills needed for existing and emerging jobs. This brings great opportunities for job creation, for new ways of engaging with the labour market, and scope to increase productivity and wages.
Precise prediction of the labour market impacts the widely forecast growth in the use of technology over the next decade is difficult. Not least because COVID-19 continues to impact jobs and sectors, reshaping existing models of potential labour market change.
While there are a wide range of external estimates and models on the potential impacts of technology on jobs, the Office for National Statistics’ report in 2019 (pre Covid-19) assessed the types of jobs and employees at risk. As well as identifying that around 7.4% of jobs in England are at high risk of being automated, they reported that younger people (aged 20-30) held 45% of those jobs, although they often move into lower-risk work as they develop their career.
DWP’s role continues to be ensuring people have access to appropriate skills training so they can access jobs in growing and emerging sectors such as the green economy.
Impact that the changes might have
We recognise jobs will likely be lost as the pace of technical innovation adoption picks up but also recognise that, as in previous technological revolutions, there will likely be a net increase in jobs. This is because automation increases productivity, which drives economic growth and thus a demand for more employment. Technology brings great opportunities for new ways of engaging with work, and scope to increase productivity and wages.
Precise predictions of the impacts this widely forecast growth in the use of technology will have on jobs over the next decade are difficult. Not least because the Coronavirus pandemic continues to impact jobs and sectors, reshaping existing models of potential labour market change. It may increase the pace of change as businesses build resilience to potential future economic shocks.
How such changes should be planned for and addressed
HM Treasury published Build Back Better: our plan for growth alongside the Budget, on 3 March 2021. This outlines the Government’s plans for growth, building on recovery from Coronavirus pandemic and addressing the long-standing productivity issues. The document also highlights a number of sectors identified as those likely to have future growth with higher (technical) skills needs.
The Government also recognises the importance of building back greener after the pandemic. To achieve this, the government is planning to create 250,000 new green jobs as part of 10-point plan for a Green Industrial Revolution, as well as bringing together a Green Jobs Taskforce, who meet regularly.
The key to responding to the social, economic and technological challenges is to make the skills system even more responsive to employer demand, by putting employers at the heart of the system. We also need to train and upskill individuals, so they can take advantage of the opportunities presented by these changes in the labour market. To Build Back Better, investing in skills is crucial in order to help people adapt to the changing world of work.
DWP, DfE and BEIS have jointly led a skills-matching exercise to better understand the skills and training pathways to employment in priority and growing sectors. The newly formed Skills and Productivity Board will build vital evidence on skills demand in sectors that are important for future growth and productivity, helping to inform key policy decisions.
To improve the link between the local supply of and demand for skills provision, the Government is supporting Skills Advisory Panels (SAPs), which operate as part Mayoral Combined Authorities (MCAs) and Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) across England. These bring together employers, skills providers and local government to better understand and resolve mismatches between skills supply and employer demand. In addition, the Government is already undertaking analysis through numerous means to help strengthen our understanding and determine immediate and longer-term skills needs. This includes funding Labour Market Information for All – an impartial service which connects and standardises existing national sources of high-quality and reliable information. The Government also recognises the importance of building back greener after the pandemic. The Prime Minister’s Ten Point Plan will support up to 90,000 highly skilled green jobs across the UK within this Parliament, and up to 250,000 by 2030, as well as bringing together a Green Jobs Taskforce, who meet regularly. DWP will play a key role in supporting people into these roles, through, for example, Sector-based Work Academy Programmes.
As well as helping people to move into employment, we also recognise the importance of supporting people to progress within their chosen field. As we move towards economic recovery we are looking closely at the role of skills in relation to in-work progression. This is vital to help build people’s incomes and living standards, building on the work of the In-Work Progression Commission led by Baroness McGregor-Smith. In the same vein, we have also commissioned the Learning and Work Institute to develop guidance for those considering job-switching as a means of progressing or of moving into more secure work.
Latest developments to the Government’s skills offer
In January the Government published the Skills for Jobs White Paper which set out the intention to introduce Local Skills Improvement Plans, led by employer representative bodies, starting with a small number of trailblazer areas in 2021. The plans will bring together colleges and other providers, employers, and other local players to identify skills needs and priorities for change. We will also launch a strategic development fund to support providers to make changes to align their provision more closely to local employers’ needs.
In order to keep up with any change to the labour market and employer skills needs, we must ensure that people are able to reskill and upskill throughout their life. That is why we are providing £2.5 billion over the course of this Parliament for the National Skills Fund to help people learn new skills and prepare for the economy of the future. The fund has so far been used to extend the level 3 entitlement to over 24s and develop Skills Bootcamps.
From April 2021 any adult aged 24 and over, looking to achieve their first Level 3 (which is equivalent to an advanced technical certificate or diploma, or two full A-Levels), will be able to access a fully-funded course. The Government will invest £95 million from the National Skills Fund over the current Spending Review period to make the Level 3 adult offer available, targeting courses that will help adults get ahead in work and support strong labour market outcomes.
Complementing the Level 3 adult offer, Skills Bootcamps offer free, flexible courses of up to 16 weeks, giving people the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with a local employer. From April 2021 we will be investing a further £43m through the National Skills Fund to extend Skills Bootcamps further in England.
The Government is also introducing a Lifelong Loan Entitlement, which will provide individuals with a loan entitlement, equivalent to four years of post-18 education from 2025 to use over their lifetime. This will create a more efficient and streamlined funding system, make it easier for students to navigate the options available and encourage provision to better meet the needs of people, employers and the economy.
In addition, we are encouraging Universal Credit claimants to engage with work-related training. The Government’s Train and Progress initiative was launched on 8 February 2021. It mobilises the network of Jobcentres to make best use of existing flexibilities within the skills offer provided by key partners.
We have reinforced the value of skills support with Jobcentre work coaches through a range of products, guidance and learning sessions. This enables them to more proactively identify UC claimants who would benefit from referral to skills provision to enhance their work search prospects.
From 26 April 2021 the Government is extending the time that Universal Credit claimants can undertake full-time work-focused training to up to 12 weeks across Great Britain and up to 16 weeks in Skills Bootcamp areas in England (with the agreement of their work coach). This opens up new courses for claimants to gain the skills that employers value locally and will help them to pivot into new sectors. We have provided guidance and learning sessions for work coaches to help them identify suitable Universal Credit claimants who would benefit from such a referral.
We have made significant recent investment in post-16 education and skills provision, recognising its importance in the education landscape. We will be looking carefully at further education (FE) funding in preparation for the forthcoming Spending Review.
We announced on 25 November 2020 that there would be an investment of an additional £291 million in 16-19 education in financial year 21-22. This has allowed us to maintain the 16-19 base rate of £4,188 we introduced for the academic year 2020/21 and to continue with the increased funding for high value and high cost subjects, including the High Value Courses Premium.
This is additional to the £400 million awarded in the 2019 Spending Review which was the biggest injection of new money into 16-19 education in a single year since 2010 and will ensure 16-19 education is properly funded and able to deliver the high quality training and skills that our country needs.
We are committed to supporting disadvantaged children and young people. The national funding formula for 16-19 year olds includes extra funding for disadvantaged students. This funding is provided to institutions specifically for students with low prior attainment, or who live in the most disadvantaged areas.
In the 2020/2021 academic year, we have allocated over £530 million to enable colleges, schools and other providers to support, attract and retain disadvantaged 16 to 19 year olds and to support students with special education needs and disabilities (SEND).
As already mentioned, part of the skills recovery package the Chancellor announced investment of over £500m to deliver a package of support to ensure young people access the training and develop the skills they will need to go on to high-quality, secure and fulfilling employment. The package included the high value courses for school and college leavers one year offer for 18 and 19 year olds. This is to encourage and support delivery of selected level 2 and 3 qualifications in specific subjects and sectors that enable a more productive economy and support young people to remain engaged with education, employment and training. This is a one-off intervention in response to the Coronavirus pandemic.
For 2020/21 academic year, we have made up to £96m available specifically for colleges, sixth forms and other 16-19 providers, to provide small group tutoring activity for disadvantaged 16-19 students whose studies have been disrupted through pandemic and we have now announced that we will be extending this for the next academic year with a further £102m of funding announced.
Employers of all sizes can access funding for apprenticeships. In 2021-22 we are making £2.5 billion available to support apprenticeships, including for
employers who do not pay the levy, who will continue to be able to reserve
funding for 95% of apprenticeship training and assessment costs. This is
double what was spent in 2010-11.
We continue to provide additional funding to employers and providers for
young apprentices, and those that require additional support, recognising where the costs of support are higher and the need to provide funding where it is most needed. An example of this is the £1,000 additional payment we pay to providers and employers who take on a care leaver aged 19-24[9].
The Chancellor has confirmed significant investment in traineeships as part of the Plan for Jobs[10] to ensure more young people have access to high-quality
training. Additional investment of £126 million will support a further 40,000
traineeships in the 2021/22 academic year[11]. This is in addition to the £111
million made available to fund an additional 30,000 places this academic
year.
The Government is clear that schools must offer all pupils a broad and balanced education. This includes a rigorous curriculum, supported with extra-curricular activities to develop skills, character and resilience which prepare children for the world of work.
We want pupils to leave school prepared, in the widest sense, for adult life. The acquisition of knowledge is the basic building block of education to which all pupils should have fair access; and a knowledge-based curriculum can stimulate critical thinking and enquiry skills which can only be taught in the context of solid subject content.
The two broad aims of the national curriculum are to promote spiritual, moral, cultural, mental and physical development of pupils; and to prepare the pupils for the opportunities, responsibilities and experiences of adult life.
The national curriculum focuses on the key knowledge that schools should teach, should enable children to acquire a secure understanding of the key concepts and provide them with the understanding they need to participate fully in society.
We have no plans to change the curriculum at present.
As part of the national curriculum, GCSEs aim to raise standards in schools and ensure that children have the skills vital to continue in higher education, training and employment.
The Government’s ambition is that more pupils in mainstream secondary schools enter the EBacc to provide them with a strong academic foundation that keeps options open for work and further study.
The EBacc subjects are considered essential for many degrees and open lots of doors, providing a sound basis for a variety of careers beyond the age of 16. The Ebacc subjects are Maths, English, Double Science, History or Geography, and a Modern Foreign Language. They can also enrich pupils’ studies and give them a broad general knowledge that will enable them to participate in and contribute to society.
The 2017 Careers Strategy[12] makes clear that schools and colleges are expected to adopt the Gatsby Benchmarks, which define what good careers guidance looks like, to develop and improve their careers programmes and support their statutory careers duties. This includes Benchmark 4, which encourages all teachers to link curriculum learning to careers so that students understand the relevance of subjects they are studying. During 2019/20, of the colleges and schools who used the Compass Tool, 48% fully achieved this benchmark and 50% partially achieved this benchmark.
The Careers & Enterprise Company has created a range of resources to support schools and colleges to link curriculum learning to careers. This includes:
We recognise that high quality careers information, advice and guidance can play an important role in our long-term economic recovery and is key in supporting young people to make informed choices about their future careers.
Our 2017 Careers Strategy has laid strong foundations for a high-functioning careers system, supported by our investment in the National Careers Service and The Careers & Enterprise Company (CEC).
There is a clear definition of what good careers guidance looks like, in the form of the Gatsby Benchmarks[13]. We expect all secondary schools and colleges to adopt the benchmarks to develop and improve their careers programmes and support their statutory careers duties.
Our investment in careers is delivering improved outcomes for young people:
The Skills for Jobs: Lifelong Learning for Opportunity and Growth White Paper announced measures in four key areas that will build on the foundations laid by the 2017 Careers Strategy. This includes
Work experience is important for getting into any career. For young people, activities involving employers, such as careers insights, mentoring, work tasters and work experience provide opportunities to test out different careers, improve their skills and show their commitment and enthusiasm.
The careers statutory guidance makes it clear that schools should offer work placements, work experience and other employer-based activities as part of their careers strategy for year 8-13 pupils and that secondary schools should offer every young person at least seven encounters with employers during their education.
We are providing valuable support to schools and colleges to provide work experience through CEC, which has been tasked with increasing access to work experience for young people.
Evidence suggests this is working. Just under three in five schools and colleges in the most established Careers Hubs are now providing access to work experience (Gatsby Benchmark 6) and over half (47%) of schools and colleges in the Enterprise Adviser Network are now fully achieving the target.[16] This clearly demonstrates the value of business involvement with education.
The Government provides expert advice and events for school-aged children through the Apprenticeship Support and Knowledge (ASK) programme[17], which has a specific target to ensure they are active in a range of schools, including faith schools, and inner-city schools.
ASK delivery partners have worked with over 4,000 schools and colleges, supporting over 1.1 million students to find out more about Apprenticeships, Traineeships and T-Levels through a blended offer of face-to-face sessions and virtual workshops. The services are bespoke to the school/college and equip parents/carers, teachers and careers professionals with the ability to provide advice and support for student’s post-16 choices.
The specifically tailored ASK ‘alternative’ programme is bespoke for 56 establishments with students facing the most significant barriers in accessing apprenticeships.
The Government supports young people in England to make informed career choices through a demand-led programme (Support for Schools) where school advisers work closely with schools to support the statutory duty they have to deliver careers education and advice. This initiative looks to offer young people who are at a particular risk of being out of education, employment or training (NEET), advice on the vocational routes available to them to achieve ambition in the world of work.
The initiative informs students of a range of opportunities that can enable an effective transition from school to work, training or further study. This includes utilising an extensive network of employers to help source and deliver on work experience opportunities for students, as well as providing advice on the benefits work experience provides.
The national curriculum, which schools started teaching from September 2014, was developed with due regard to the views of subject experts and teachers and to the findings of international best practice comparisons.
The national curriculum review considered the whole of the national curriculum, including whether the new curriculum should specify the acquisition of particular skills in the context of specific subjects (including critical thinking). The new national curriculum focuses on the essential knowledge that must be taught, allowing teachers to take greater control over the wider curriculum in schools and how it is taught.
At primary level, the current system of assessment in England places a focus on attainment in reading, writing and mathematics. These areas are essential preparation for secondary school, where pupils can then develop the knowledge and skills that they need for their future career paths.
The Standards and Testing Agency (STA) selects primary assessment instruments based on the purpose of the assessment, the nature of the subject and the age of the pupils being assessed. For example, teacher assessment frameworks are used to assess writing, while standardised tests assess pupils’ attainment in key stage 2 mathematics and reading. When making its decisions, STA will always consider alternatives: each mode of assessment has different strengths and weaknesses and must be considered in light of the different purposes to which the data will be put, such as the nature of school accountability requirements.
In addition to statutory assessments, as matter of standard classroom practice, primary teachers will use other forms of assessment to aid their understanding of pupils’ attainment and progress and to enable them to amend their teaching accordingly. STA aims to support continuing professional development for teachers in this area to ensure different forms of assessment are employed at the right time and support the primary curriculum effectively.
At secondary level, the department reformed GCSEs as a response to concerns being raised by employers and higher and further education institutions that GCSEs did not adequately prepare young people for the demands of the workplace and higher study.
The reformed GCSEs rigorously assess the knowledge acquired by pupils during Key Stage 4 and are in line with expected standards in countries with high performing education systems.
We have no plans for wholesale changes to existing GCSEs or A levels.
A levels now have a linear structure where assessment (mostly exams) takes place at the end of the course. AS qualifications are now stand-alone qualifications which are separate (“decoupled”) from A levels.
We created more linear exams, ending modularisation, so that less time would be spent on preparing for module resits and more time on teaching and holistic learning.
Non-exam assessment (or coursework) is only used where knowledge, skills and understanding cannot be tested validly in an exam.
The Government wants academic study and technical education to be recognised by employers and learners alike as an equally valuable path to a career - aiming to ensure there is genuine choice for young people, whilst giving employers access to a highly skilled workforce.
For too long it has seemed like university was the only route to high quality employment, but data shows that in 2019, only 66% of working-age university graduates were in high-skilled employment[18]. Furthermore, men getting a Higher Technical (level 4) Qualification earn on average £5,100 more at age 30, and women getting a higher technical (level 5) qualification £2,700 more at age 30, than those with an academic degree (level 6).,[19]
Despite the benefits of technical education, this country still has fewer people qualified to higher technical levels than many competitors. Only 10% of all adults aged 20-45 hold a Higher Technical Qualification as their highest qualification, compared to around 20% of adults in Germany, and as many as 34% in Canada.[20] This is leaving us with significant skills gaps in areas like construction and manufacturing.[21]
We have introduced T levels, backed by up to £500m a year when fully rolled out. With content designed by employers and based on the same employer-led standards as apprenticeships, T Levels are at the heart of our technical education reforms and will be a platform to raise the quality and prestige of technical education.
T Levels, designed with employers, include a technical qualification that will ensure students know both the core concepts, theories and principles for the sector they are studying. They will also teach students the more specific knowledge and skills required to enter employment in their chosen area. Crucially, T Levels also include a 9-week work placement, so students will have spent a substantial amount of time putting these skills into practice.
Teaching of the first three T Levels began in September 2020 and 21 more subjects are being introduced over the next 2 years with coverage growing across the country. This investment will ensure England’s technical education system matches the excellence of our world-leading higher education system, and creates two genuine options, equal in esteem.
A total of £268m capital funding has been made available for T Levels starting in 2020, 2021 and 2022, helping providers to fund building/ facilities works and cutting-edge equipment needed to deliver the new qualifications.
The Government’s Higher Technical Education reforms in July 2020, set out our plans to reform higher technical education, making it a true alternative to a degree by having a strong focus on quality assurance and delivering the training and education that employers want. We will make sure that people understand the benefits that technical education can offer them throughout their lives.
We will increase the provision of high-quality technical education and training through the National Skills Fund, Institutes of Technology and T Levels, and we will use our reforms to funding and accountability to encourage providers to offer more education and training at this level. We are working towards making it as easy to get a student finance loan for an approved Higher Technical Qualification as it is for a full-length degree.
Building on this work, The Skills for Jobs White Paper published in January 2021 sets out how we will transform technical education and training, boosting UK productivity, building back better from the Coronavirus pandemic, and creating a more prosperous country for all.
Although our universities are world-class, it is not the only choice: in many cases, a college course or apprenticeship can offer better outcomes.
We want to ensure that every apprentice has a quality experience, from when they investigate their options right through to their experience of end point assessment and beyond. Overall satisfaction with apprenticeships remains high, 86% of apprentices were satisfied with their apprenticeships[22]. 92% of apprentices go into work or further training with 91% in sustained employment[23]. This demonstrates the value and prestige associated with the successful completion of an apprenticeship for employers and apprentices. We know that many apprentices remain with their employer following their apprenticeships.
A strong base of high-quality providers is key to building on this further. Therefore, we are investing in a comprehensive package of professional development for providers. We will introduce a new approach to the accountability system, strengthen our internal risk assessment and quality assurance of existing providers and undertake a full refresh of the Register of Apprenticeship Training Providers (RoATP). In April 2021, Ofsted assumed responsibility for the inspection of apprenticeship training at all levels (including level 6 and 7 apprenticeship provision), ensuring every apprentice and employer can have confidence that there is a consistent approach to quality assurance, irrespective of provider type or level of the apprenticeship. Moreover, we are developing enhanced apprenticeship certificates and providing support for graduation ceremonies.
Earnings for those undertaking higher apprenticeships compare well to the earnings of university graduates five years on but we need to raise awareness of this to enable people to make informed choices. Latest data for median graduate annual earnings five years after graduation were £27,400[24], compared to £27,560 for level 4 apprentices and £29,030 for level 5 + apprentices. We will start by making wage returns data available for apprenticeships, as recommended by the Augar Report[25], so that people are informed of the value of their apprenticeship.
In 2020/21 we introduced the High Value Courses Premium, allocating additional funding to providers for Level 3 courses that deliver the skills the country needs for the future and which lead to higher wages for students, including a number of STEM subjects. We have also increased programme costs weights, to help cover the cost of delivering courses in six key, more expensive subject areas: building and construction, hospitality and catering, engineering, transportation operations and maintenance, manufacturing technologies and science.
Government departments welcome the close working relationships already in place between themselves and many employers – both on a national level and those centred on local Jobcentres. We work with over 250 national employers and partners, and are always looking at facilitating links for these partners with HE colleges and universities (with a view to businesses creating appropriate skills and training programmes to attract more young people into their opportunities). We are working closely with employers to ensure the skills system reflects employer need.
The Government launched a campaign to help people in the labour market called ‘A good place to start’ and in parallel they’ve created a campaign page on GOV.UK that caters specifically to employers – Employer Help. It showcases how the Government is focused on protecting, supporting and creating jobs across the country, including for young people, and focuses on specific schemes available such as Kickstart.
Departments are using a range of channels to reach employers, mainly via our stakeholder engagement strategy and maximising the relationships establish by our National Employer and Partnership Team. The Government also held a trial run of paid-for activity on LinkedIn targeting employers to promote Kickstart.
DfE and DWP are working together to make sure employment programmes like Kickstart are showcased to employers as part of a wider package of support that enables employers to provide opportunities to young people – Employment programmes information for employers.
However, we are not complacent and recognise that there is still more that can be done. We encourage all employers to work with us to continue to support young people into employment – making a real difference to the generation of young people affected by the economic impacts of Coronavirus pandemic.
In practical terms, a range of employment provision is designed with the employer at the heart. For example:
When looking at specific groups of young people, the Disability Confident scheme supports the Government’s commitment to have one million more disabled people in work by 2027. Disabled people are around three times less likely than non-disabled people to enter employment over the course of one year. We urge all businesses to join the more than 20,000 employers who have already signed up. No employer is too small or new to start the Disability Confident journey and even the most experienced employer will still find new techniques and best practice that can help them. All Disability Confident employers are also encouraged to sign-up their network of stakeholders, providers and suppliers to the scheme.
For some time, employers have been central to design and delivery of our skills policies such as through apprenticeships, T levels, and Institutes of Technology. In the Skills for Jobs: Lifelong Learning for Opportunity and Growth White Paper we set out that we want to build on these successes, giving employers a key role in our skills system.
Through employer engagement we have transformed apprenticeships into a prestigious opportunity to train with leading employers and get a well-paid job and enter a rewarding career. Building on this we want to put employers at the heart of the skills system so education and training meets their needs.
By 2030, almost all technical courses will be on employer-led standards, ensuring that the education and training people receive are directly linked to the skills needed for jobs.
Employers are also crucial to the design of T Levels - over 250 employers have been involved in designing the content of T Levels, ensuring the qualifications meet industry need and prepare students for the world of work. Employers also play a crucial role in offering T Level industry placements, where students spend at least 45 days with an employer as part of their course, giving them the confidence needed to enter employment ‘work ready’.
Employers are at the heart of our reforms to apprenticeships and they remain central to our ambition to create high-quality jobs with training. Working in conjunction with the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (the Institute), employers develop the apprenticeship standards they need to meet their skills needs now and in the future.
Employer engagement and involvement in apprenticeships, from design to delivery to promotion, is critical to the success of the programme. Employers such as Toyota invest in outreach work in local schools to ensure a pipeline of future talent, recognising the value that apprentices bring to their business. Lloyds Banking Group as well as offering 25 different standards at levels 2 to 7 spanning the entire working age spectrum have led the way sharing their apprenticeship levy through transfers helping 250 businesses and 450 apprentices start their learning journey in critical areas of skills gaps in science, technology engineering and digital disciplines.
The Government is working with employers to develop traineeships that provide a progression route to apprenticeships and other jobs in priority sectors. From April 2021, they will start to deliver the first-ever traineeships developed alongside trade bodies and employers specifically for construction and rail with further sectors to follow in the summer
Universities play an increasingly important role in providing vocational and technical as well as academic skills. A key example is apprenticeships, where increasing numbers of universities are working with employers to deliver higher, level 6 plus and degree apprenticeships. These apprenticeships are supporting productivity and helping to widen participation in higher education and employment. The Government is working closely with the higher education sector to encourage more higher education providers to work with employers to offer these opportunities, including to support young people, wherever there is employer demand.
Many HE providers have developed new and innovative ways to support students and graduates who are looking to continue their studies or to prepare for employment. The Government is working with Universities UK, the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services, the Institute of Student Employers, the Office for Students, and the sector to understand what more we can do to support graduates who are looking to enter the labour market or continue their studies at this challenging time. We have introduced Youth Hubs, which are being delivered with local partners including many FE colleges and skills providers. These offer young people access to support and advice on skills support, finding work and opportunities.
Since the announcement of the Government’s Higher Technical Education reforms in July 2020, we have engaged with a number of universities, as they clearly play a role in making our reforms a success. Whilst we want to see further education colleges expanding their higher technical provision, it also wants universities to offer more higher technical qualifications or apprenticeships, which are a more focused and better targeted route for students, employers and the economy.
Higher technical qualifications have been developed by awarding bodies in collaboration with employers and businesses so that students get the specific training, knowledge and skills required for their chosen career. The qualifications are either new or existing level 4/5 qualifications (such as HNDs/Foundation Degrees/Diploma HE) that have been approved by the Institute of Apprenticeships and Technical Education, as meeting occupational standards for the relevant sector.
The new national approval process for higher technical qualifications, led by the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education, will provide a range of approved level 4 and 5 qualifications based on employer-led standards which will prepare students for employment in a wide range of occupations. The first approved higher technical qualifications in the digital route will be announced this summer, for first teaching from September 2022.
Apprenticeships and traineeships will be more important than ever in helping young people into jobs. That is why the Government is supporting business, through the Plan for Jobs, to offer more apprenticeship and traineeship opportunities which will benefit young people.
In August 2020 we introduced incentive payments to help employers offer new apprenticeships and they have now increased the cash incentive on offer. Employers can now claim £3,000 for each apprentice they take on as a new employee between 1 April and 30 September. The payment is available for apprentices of any age, but we know that apprentices recruited as new employees are disproportionately younger and are confident this will continue to support young people into jobs. To help ensure that employers retain their apprentices the incentive payments are paid to employers in two equal instalments (after 90 days and 365 days).
Skills programmes such as traineeships will be critical in preparing young people with the skills they need to enter the workforce. The additional investment, previously outlined in this response, will support more traineeship places. In addition to that, the Government introduced a £1,000 cash incentive per trainee for employers that offer work placements and that incentive will remain in place until the end of the 2021/2022 academic year.
The apprenticeship levy is an important part of our reforms to apprenticeships, ensuring that funding for apprenticeships for employers of all sizes is not only sustainable, but that the largest employers are encouraged to invest long-term in high-quality training. The Government continues to meet with, and listen to, employers and business representative groups. As set out earlier in this response, we have set out plans in the FE Skills for Jobs White Paper[26] to make apprenticeships work for all employers. Levy paying employers have said they want greater flexibility to spend their levy funds on apprenticeship training that works for them. We are therefore simplifying the transfers process enabling employers to make strategic decisions over where their levy funds are spent.
Apprenticeships are at least 12 months long, so some sectors with flexible employment patterns and short-term roles, such as agriculture, construction and creative sectors, have found it challenging to create enough opportunities. In April, the Government launched a consultation seeking views on how new flexi-job apprenticeship schemes could be run which will enable these sectors to offer more flexible apprenticeship opportunities. Announced by the Chancellor at Budget, the new flexi-job apprenticeship schemes would enable an apprentice to work across a range of projects and with different employers to gain the full skills and experience they need to complete their programme
The Government is keen to learn from past interventions and those in other countries, drawing on available evidence and information. For example, the development of T Levels has been informed by high-performing technical education systems such as those found in the Netherlands and Norway.
The Government reviews its policy interventions on a regular basis. When developing new interventions, it considers what can be learned from previous ones. For example, the current Youth Offer is a development of the previous Youth Obligation Support Programme (YOSP) which included the Intensive Activity Period (IAP).
Evaluation conducted by the Institute for Employment Studies[27] of the Intensive Activity Period showed that it increased people’s confidence, improved the quality of their job applications and increased their search for work. The Government published statistics in July 2019 showing the outcomes of young people who had taken part in YOSP[28]. The headlines from these statistics were that:
YOSP in turn was built from a number of individual components which the Government already knew to be successful. Young people on YOSP were encouraged to undertake provision such as a sector-based work academy programme or work experience, which we knew to be beneficial for participants.
For example:
All of this learning was factored into the development of YOSP, which in turn was built in to the development of our Youth Offer.
When creating the Kickstart scheme, lessons were learned from previous schemes, such as the Future Jobs Fund. We have acknowledged evidence[31] of what worked well within the Future Jobs Fund and have improved areas where we can make a greater impact. For example, Kickstart will aim to create more jobs in the private sector than previous schemes. The Government is driving more private sector involvement by working closely with employers to source high quality jobs that are additional and meet the required standards. Officials work with partner organisations in all sectors to ensure that the scheme is of maximum benefit to participants and employers. UC allows for more wraparound support for claimants before, during and after placements – ensuring they will be able to capitalise on their new skills, and use the experience gained as a stepping stone into lasting employment.
Partnership working between support organisations is also important - Jobcentre links with local stakeholders and community groups has contributed toward a large range of activities with JCP and provides interventions. We are currently developing evaluation plans which involve hearing from young people and those that work with them on the services they receive to understand their effectiveness and enable us to make improvements.
For the Department for Education, a recent evaluation of traineeships[32] attempted to estimate the impact of traineeships on individuals’ outcomes, looking at the employment and learning outcomes of a cohort of young people who started a traineeship in the 2013/14 academic year. It is important to note that there have been changes to the programme since this point which may affect the effectiveness of the programme.
The impact analysis estimated that:
An Assessment of impact of University Technical Colleges[33] found that for those pupils who enter the UTC at a non-standard transition age of 14, UTCs dramatically reduce their academic achievement on national exams at age 16. However, for students who enter at a more conventional transition age of 16, UTCs boost vocational achievement without harming academic achievement. They also improve achievement in STEM qualifications, and enrolment in apprenticeships. By age 19, UTC students are less likely to be unemployed and more likely to study STEM at university.
We have also learnt from past interventions such as; the Entry to Employment Programme, (a post-16 education programme introduced in 2002/03 providing support for young people ’not yet ready or able to take up a Modern Apprenticeship, an intermediate-level vocational education or training programme or move directly into employment’); and The New Deal for Young People
A Study, Evidence on the effect of increasing the length of apprenticeship on earnings,[34] estimates the effect of a reform of apprenticeships in England in 2012, which changed the duration for Intermediate Apprenticeships in many industries. The study focuses on the group of 19‐24 year olds. The study finds that the reform reduced apprenticeship starts in the sectors affected (by 13 to 33 percent), increased drop‐out rates (by 3‐5 percentage points) and reduced achievement of the qualification (by 4‐7 percentage points), but also significantly increased earnings (by 7% compared to counterfactual for 19‐24 year olds without Level 2 qualifications).
The Government is monitoring the evolving economic and labour market situation to understand supply and demand across throughout and beyond the Coronavirus pandemic. This includes shaping support for jobseekers and identifying the skills required for people to pivot into work in high demand sectors.
The Coronavirus pandemic has led to significant changes in the vacancy landscape across the country. In Q1 2021 (January-March) there were 607,000 vacancies in the UK, down 22% from Q1 2020. However, this is up considerably from the low of 341,000 vacancies in Q2 2020. As of Q1 2021, almost 22% of total vacancies were in Human Health & Social Work (131,000). This is followed by 12% of all vacancies in Retail, Wholesale, and the Motor Trade (75,000).
The sector that has seen the largest fall in vacancies between Q1 2020 and Q1 2021 is the Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation sector – which fell 78% from 22,000 vacancies to just 5,000 vacancies. This is then followed by the Accommodation & Food (Hospitality) sector, that fell from 90,000 vacancies to 25,000 (70% decline).
Whilst most sectors saw an increase in vacancies between the last quarter (Q4) of 2020, and the first quarter (Q1) of 2021, a small number saw further decline in vacancies. The most significant of these are the Arts, Entertainment & Recreation sector (fell 55% between the quarters), Real Estate (fell 27% in this period), and Transport & Storage (fell 25% in this period).
Capitalising on opportunities
The Government is committed to supporting young people and helping them to make the most of opportunities within developing sectors. We have increased the number of work coaches in Jobcentres by 13,500 to help provide the urgent support needed for jobseekers to find work. This includes pivoting toward jobs in high demand sectors, such as Adult Social Care and Digital and Technology.
In addition, the Government launched two websites, Job Help and Employer Help, in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. Job Help in particular offers job search advice, showcases recruiting sectors and signposts to job vacancies to help people successfully find work.
We have been working to identify and promote opportunities within high demand sectors, including holding a series of Ministerial roundtables to understand the opportunities and barriers to employment in specific sectors. This has enabled us to learn from businesses in growing sectors – including infrastructure, residential care, logistics, gig economy, supermarkets and knowledge/tech.
Through the Kickstart scheme, open to 16-24 years old at risk of long-term unemployment, we are introducing new talent to growth sectors. The Kickstart team is engaging across Government departments (recent work includes with DEFRA to look at how the scheme can bring in green jobs) and with local government. Work locally is undertaken by dedicated district teams with local chambers and local authorities. Similarly, the Government maintains strong national relationships (including at ministerial level) with groups such as the Local Government Association.
We continue to work with key stakeholders to ensure that Kickstart is offered across Great Britain and in a wide range of sectors. Through national and local engagement activity the Department is focussing on using a data-led analysis of sector and geographical spread of Kickstart vacancies and employer engagement to agree targeted interventions to increase participation where gaps are identified.
The Government is also targeting specific sectors to increase engagement in the Plan for Jobs. This includes the engineering sector and care, as well as outlets aimed at older workers and young people. As a recent example, a partnership event with Adzuna in March (a Tech event) with the DWP Secretary of State, Minister for Lords and the Minister for Employment led to 35 new employers signing up to Kickstart.
More broadly, identifying skill-shortage vacancies is a way of identifying where skill needs are greatest. Recent research[35] has identified that the Business Services and Health and Social Work sectors had the highest volumes of skill-shortage vacancies. It also identified that the density of skill-shortage vacancies was highest in Construction and Manufacturing sectors, where approaching two-fifths of vacancies were proving hard-to-fill because of applicants lacking the appropriate skills, qualifications or experience. By occupation, employers faced the greatest challenges in finding suitably skilled candidates for Skilled Trades positions, with nearly half of vacancies in these roles classed as skill-shortage vacancies (48%). Skilled Trades has consistently been the group of occupations with the highest density of skill-shortage vacancies across the Employer Skills Survey series.
Meeting demand for green jobs
A green recovery in particular presents a significant opportunity for UK workers to benefit from increasing employment opportunities in clean growth sectors, and will contribute to the manifesto ambition to deliver 2 million green jobs by 2030.
To support this the Government has established the Green Jobs Taskforce, co-chaired by the Skills and Apprenticeships Minister Gillian Keegan and the Energy Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan. It was launched in November last year and aims to help the UK build back greener and deliver the skilled workforce needed to reach net zero emissions by 2050. This is a joint initiative between the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the Department for Education (DfE).
With help from the Taskforce, we will ensure that our existing skills programmes can be directed to support the net zero agenda and help to identify where the evidence tells us we might need to go further or faster.
Support to get people into jobs or training opportunities aligned to the development of the green economy includes:
We are supporting people to upskill, retrain and pivot in to high demand sectors in line with local labour and skills demand, fulfilling the pledge made as part of A Plan for Jobs.
The Government is currently working on a number of interventions which we hope will meet the skills needs of sectors, employers and learners wherever they are based in the country. Our wide skills offer includes apprenticeships, Traineeships, T levels, free courses for jobs and skill bootcamps.
The skills system does not differ structurally by sector – the same qualifications and interventions are largely available and these are intended to boost skills mapped to occupations. While the skills system is broadly agnostic on the relative importance of different sectors, a relatively small number of interventions do exist to boost skills in certain priority sectors – ranging from National Colleges focusing on specific sectors like Nuclear and Digital to funding incentives such as the High-Value Courses Premium which prioritises courses linked to sectors including construction and health and engineering.
Build Back Better: our plan for growth sets out three core pillars for driving economic growth - infrastructure, skills and innovation. The plan sets out how the Government will drive growth that will level up the whole of the UK, support the transition to Net Zero, and support a vision for Global Britain. It highlights a range of key sectors that will be vital to future growth and productivity and help to shape the UK’s future, such as life sciences, digital and creative industry sectors, clean energy, fintech, and defence.
As mentioned above, a green recovery presents a significant opportunity for UK workers to benefit from increasing employment opportunities in clean growth sectors and we are providing support to get people into jobs or training opportunities aligned to the development of the green economy.
Through the Skills and Productivity Board (SPB), we are developing an improved ability to understand the changing shape of the labour market and resulting skills needs. The SPB is an expert committee providing independent, evidence-based advice to ministers at the Department for Education on matters relating to skills and their contribution to productivity. Their current remit, as set out by the Secretary of State for Education, includes a question relevant to targeted labour market interventions: ‘Can the board identify the changing skills needs of several priority areas within the economy over the next 5-10 years?’
There is a particular focus currently on the construction and green sectors. A new Infrastructure Delivery Taskforce (Project SPEED) was established in 2020 and includes a focus on skills. As mentioned earlier in this evidence, the Green Jobs Taskforce - chaired by the Energy Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan and the Skills Minister Gillian Keegan was established in 2020 and is focused on the immediate and longer-term challenges of delivering skilled workers for the UK’s transition to net zero.
As has already been stated, apprenticeships and T levels have had businesses and employers from across a range of sectors involved in the design and delivery so that the training matches their needs. In respect of Apprenticeships, the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education are always happy to work sectors which feel there is gap in the apprenticeships standards available.
Approved higher technical qualifications, which will meet employers’ needs, will be rolled out across technical education routes over a multi-year period, starting initially with the digital route in September 2022, and construction and health and science in September 2023, with other routes to follow.
We are developing closer engagement with employers to develop specialist traineeships in sectors. Thus, the Department for Education is launching a pilot traineeship in rail later in April, closely followed by construction, the aim being to roll them out in the summer at the start of the new academic year.
In relation to individuals, polices are aimed at all learners, wherever they are based and whatever their background - but we are also keen to offer support for those who face particular disadvantage with targeted financial support to help close any barriers to participation.
We have also put in place a range of initiatives to support participation and achievement in apprenticeships – the Support and Knowledge programme working in disadvantaged areas; learning support funding for apprentices with a disability; additional funding for employers and training providers with apprentices aged 19-25 with an EHCP Care Plan; and care leaver bursaries.
The Apprenticeship Diversity Champions Network also promotes diversity in apprenticeships - encouraging more ethnic minorities, those with LDD, and women into apprenticeships particularly in key sectors with historic under-representation.
The Government recognises that young people’s needs will vary depending on where they live and their own individual circumstances. This diversity will be essential when it comes to helping our country recover after Coronavirus pandemic.
Just like our Jobcentres, our Youth Hubs are located across the country – using the knowledge of staff from the local area to provide young people with the most suitable provision. We currently have over 120 Youth Hubs open and operating a blend of physical face to face and digital support. As Covid restrictions continue to lift, Digital Youth Hubs are moving to face to face delivery.
These Youth Hubs are located in a range of settings, from busy London boroughs to Elgin in the North of Scotland (where the Scottish Government’s support for young people will also be available) and Swansea on the south Welsh coast (where the Welsh Government’s support for young people will also be available). The location of the Youth Hubs was decided in partnership with local organisations to be responsive to the local community needs and employment market.
We have also worked in partnership to create local Kickstart opportunities that meet the need of each local community. Our Work Coaches are best placed to identify young jobseekers in their areas who would most benefit from the scheme. Local partnership managers and Kickstart District Account Managers are working with employers and partners locally to help align Kickstart to economic recovery plans and works alongside the Scottish and Welsh offers.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) will help to level up and create opportunity across the UK. UKSPF will operate UK-wide, using the new financial assistance powers in the UK Internal Market Act. A portion of the Fund will target places most in need across the UK, such as ex-industrial areas, deprived towns and rural and coastal communities.
A second portion of the Fund will be targeted differently to people most in need through bespoke employment and skills programmes that are tailored to local need. This will support improved employment outcomes for those who face labour market barriers.
28th May 2021
37
[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/topical-events/plan-for-jobs
[2] https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employmentandemployeetypes/datasets/employmentunemploymentandeconomicinactivitybyagegroupseasonallyadjusteda05sa
[3] https://www.ifs.org.uk/uploads/BN278-Sector-Shutdowns.pdf?_sm_au_=iVVF2ZWRN0Z4N2DdW2MN0K7K1WVjq
[4] https://www.impetus.org.uk/assets/publications/Youth-Jobs-Gap-The-Long-Term-NEET-Population.pdf
[5] https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peoplenotinwork/unemployment/datasets/youngpeoplenotineducationemploymentortrainingneettable1
[6] HMRC-ONS PAYE RTI (data excludes self-employment, figures for April-21 are early estimates and are more likely to be subject to more significant revisions)
[7] Skills for jobs: lifelong learning for opportunity and growth - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
[8] Employer skills survey 2019 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
[9] Apprenticeship funding rules - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
[10] Plan for Jobs - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
[11] Budget 2021: documents - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
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[13] Gatsby Charitable Foundation. (2013). Good Career Guidance. London: Gatsby Charitable Foundation.
[14] The Careers & Enterprise Company (2020). Careers education in England’s schools and colleges 2020: Working together for young people’s futures. London: The Careers & Enterprise Company.
[15] The Careers & Enterprise Company (2020). Careers education in England’s schools and colleges 2020: Working together for young people’s futures. London: The Careers & Enterprise Company.
[16] As at September 2020, in CEC Q2 internal data
[17] About ASK - Amazing Apprenticeships
[18] https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/find-statistics/graduate-labour-markets [checked]
[19] http://cver.lse.ac.uk/textonly/cver/pubs/cverbrf013.pdf
[20] OECD (2014), Skills Beyond School: Synthesis Report, OECD Reviews of Vocational Education and Training: https://www.oecdilibrary.org/education/skills-beyond-school_9789264214682-en [checked]
[21] Employer Skills Survey 2019
[22] Apprenticeships Evaluation 2018-2019: learners (publishing.service.gov.uk)
[23] Further education: outcome-based success measures, Academic Year 2017/18 – Explore education statistics – GOV.UK (explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk)
[24] Graduate outcomes (LEO), Tax Year 2018-19 – Explore education statistics – GOV.UK (explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk)
[25] Post-18 review of education and funding: independent panel report - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
[26] Skills for Jobs: Lifelong Learning for Opportunity and Growth (publishing.service.gov.uk)
[27] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/538329/rr925-intensive-activity-programme-trial-claimant-research.pdf
[28] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/youth-obligation-support-programme
[29] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/508175/rr918-sector-based-work-academies.pdf
[30] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/work-experience-a-quantitative-impact-assessment
[31] https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/223071/early_analysis_of_fjf_participant_outcomes_march2011.pdf
[32] Estimating the impact of Traineeships: final report (publishing.service.gov.uk)
[33] Assessment of impact of University Technical Colleges
[34] Evidence on the effect of increasing the length of apprenticeship on earnings