UK desperately needs ‘skills support’ to boost recovery

Yesterday’s budget announcement did not go far enough to address vital skills needed to help the economy recover, according to organisations like the CIPD and International Longevity Centre (ILC) UK.

Both want the Government to shift gears and move from its focus from job protection to greater investment in skills; and supporting jobseekers of all ages. While the furlough scheme will continue to support jobs over the summer and avoid a “cliff edge” end to support and protect thousands of jobs, “there is still a huge challenge to address the reskilling needs of the new economy; and to help jobseekers back into work,” stated Peter Cheese, Chief Executive of the CIPD; the professional body for HR and people development. 

Cheese said the budget’s announcements on skill investment and policy “lack ambition and don’t meet the needs of businesses or workers”. “Spending on lifelong learning is still less than it was a decade ago at a time when investment in this area has never been more important. This must be addressed if the Government’s further education reforms are to meaningfully tackle the skills gaps and shortages that hold back the economy,” he points out. “There also needs to be much more sector-specific funded training and mentoring support to help job seekers develop the technical and employability skills they need to find work in parts of the economy that are set to grow.” 

BOOSTING TRAINEESHIPS & FLEXI-JOBS

The announcements on skills are “underwhelming and undermined by the continued failure to reform the Apprenticeship Levy” into a more flexible training levy, which would have the most positive impact on employer skills investment, added Cheese (as reported).   

“We welcome the plan to boost the number of traineeships with the caveat that they need to be marketed much better to employers; as awareness of them is extremely low, and there needs to be a focus on quality provision not just numbers,” said Cheese. “The proposal for new ‘flexi-job’ apprenticeships is also a positive step, particularly at a time when apprenticeships opportunities are limited.”    

However, Cheese believes that the increase in cash incentives for firms to take on apprentices is “still not sufficient”; and based on evidence from previous schemes, these should also be targeted at small firms and on apprenticeships, particularly for young people.

SCHEMES FOR OLDER WORKERS

Additionally, ILC UK wants the Government to invest in older workers that have lost jobs amid the pandemic. “It is great news that Kickstart has funded jobs for a quarter of a million younger people,” noted ILC UK’s Director David Sinclair.  “But older workers have also been hit hard by the pandemic. The Government must find a way of delivering a similar scheme for those older workers made redundant due to Covid-19.” 

People aged 50+ in the UK face early retirement forced on them without urgent Government support as long-term employment prospects fall amid Covid-19, pointed out Sinclair.

Responding to the Budget, Sinclair stated: “We won’t Build Back Better or deliver the vision for a ‘future economy’ without recognising the economic and social challenges and opportunities, which come from demographic change. Our workforce is getting older, our consumers are getting older, our carers and volunteers are getting older.”

PREVENTATIVE HEALTH & WELLBEING

The Budget also overlooked preventative health and wellbeing, according to Sinclair. “The Budget has missed an opportunity to recognise the enormity of the policy challenges, which come from us living increasingly longer lives. Longevity could offer a huge economic return for UK Plc. By 2040, the over-50s could be spending 63p in every pound. And supporting people to spend or work for longer could add 2% to UK GDP every year,” he highlighted.

“We won’t Build Back Better without investing in health systems and focusing more of that spend on preventative health. Without this focus, the Government won’t be able to deliver its ambitious goal of ensuring people can enjoy at least five extra healthy, independent years of life by 2035,” Sinclair concluded.