At this year’s Liberal Democrat Spring Conference, the Education Policy Institute (EPI) has partnered with the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) to hold an open fringe panel discussion: ‘Addressing the skills gap: how can we ensure that young people are prepared for the workforce?’
In their Autumn Statement, the Government recognised the importance of skills in driving long-term economic growth and committed to progressing major reforms including the rollout of T Levels and skills bootcamps, approving Higher Technical Qualifications and introducing the Lifelong Learning Entitlement from 2025. Yet, at a time when 1 in 20 employers report a vacancy due to skills shortages and the job market of the future looks set to require increasing levels of at least digital skills, do these reforms go far enough?
The current reforms focus on post-16 education, begging the question: what of pre-16 education? Currently, this system predominantly measures school performance based on outcomes in traditional academic subjects, but are there opportunities to embed skills training earlier in a child’s educational journey? How could this help in closing the skills gap?
This panel at the Liberal Democrat Spring Conference 2023 will bring together policy-makers, school leaders and education stakeholders to discuss the importance of skills in providing opportunities for young people and driving economic growth and how we can ensure pupils leave education with the necessary skills to enter the ever-changing labour market. The discussion will cover how to embed skills into the curriculum, the role of pre-16 education and what can be learned from other nations and their comparative skills gaps. Finally, it will ask what should the next step in skills legislation be?
We are pleased to welcome Janey Little, Young Liberals; Julie McCulloch, ASCL; Frank Norris, Northern Powerhouse Partnership and Munira Wilson MP to the panel. Natalie Perera, EPI’s Chief Executive, will chair the session.
** Note: This event will take place outside the conference secure zone so a pass is not required to attend.**
