Contribution
For too long, our skills system has not delivered due to policies that simply have not worked. Businesses have struggled to recruit the skilled workers they need, young people do not have the opportunities they deserve and investment in training has gone backwards. The previous Government talked a good game and introduced measures such as the apprenticeship levy with big promises, but in reality their approach was slow, bureaucratic and failed to deliver.
It is worth noting, as I said in my interventions on Conservative Members, that I feel their criticism of the Bill today has focused far too much on structures, not outcomes, but since they have done that, I think it is worth reiterating this point. The Standards and Testing Agency sets the statutory assessments for school pupils, and it develops professional skills tests for trainee teachers. It is an Executive agency, just as Skills England will be, and it was formally a non-departmental public body, just as IfATE was. However, the Standards and Testing Agency was set up in October 2011, so I am not sure that criticisms of structures actually hold any merit; rather, they are a distraction from the record of the Conservative party. On its watch, investment in skills fell and apprenticeship starts dropped. Critical sectors are still facing chronic skills shortages, and employers up and down the country have been left navigating a system that just does not work for them. That is why this Bill is so important. It is about fixing what is broken and making sure that our skills system actually works for workers, businesses and the wider economy.
To celebrate National Apprenticeship Week, I visited Basingstoke College of Technology to talk to its current class of carpentry and joinery apprentices, and to speak to college leaders. It was a particular privilege for me because my dad was a carpenter. He left school at 15 with no qualifications, but in the trade that he learned on the job he had skill and pride in his craft. He did not have the opportunity that many young people I met last week in Basingstoke have, with the fantastic support structures around apprentices today and more that we are going to build, as well as all the brilliant ways in which apprenticeships can help turbocharge the careers of so many talented and skilled young people.
One thing that was made very clear to me from my visit to BCOT alone is that it is massively oversubscribed for many of the apprenticeships it offers. That worries me, because it shows that too many young people are not getting access to the resources they need to learn a trade and are being left behind by more than a decade of failure to deliver. So I am pleased that this Government, through this Bill, are working harder and faster—with their very first education Bill to be introduced—to cut red tape and give people greater opportunities to start apprenticeships.
With 1,250 apprentices currently training in Basingstoke, 310 just starting and 110 having just completed their courses, the Labour Government are already making progress, but there is much more to do. I want Basingstoke to be the best place for someone to learn a trade, start a career and build a life for themselves, and I believe this Bill will help to deliver just that, laying the groundwork to establish Skills England and taking a step towards a more joined-up and responsive approach.
Skills England will replace the current fragmented system with one that properly assesses national and regional skills needs, which will be absolutely crucial if we are to meet the challenges of the future. That will ensure we are training people for the jobs that actually exist in the places where they are actually needed. This is not just about cutting red tape; it is about making sure that our approach to apprenticeships and technical education is fit for the modern economy. For years, the system has been tied up in rigid, outdated rules that make it harder to respond to the fast-changing needs of industries such as digital, green energy and advanced manufacturing. The changes in this Bill will allow for a more flexible, forward-thinking approach that actually meets the needs of employers and workers alike. A big part of that is replacing the old apprenticeship levy, which has been too restrictive, with a new growth and skills levy, which will give employers the freedom to invest in a wider range of training opportunities.
As other Members have said, we must put an end to the snobbery around skills and apprenticeships. For too long, highly skilled and essential trades have not been given the recognition they deserve. Too often they have been seen as somehow less valuable than the careers that require a university degree, despite being just as vital, just as skilled and just as valuable to our economy and society. I am proud that this Government are changing that narrative. We need these skills to drive growth, build the homes and infrastructure that we need and deliver energy security. We have the opportunity here to fix the mistakes of the past and to build something better. I urge colleagues to support the Bill, because a strong skills system is not just good for business and the economy, but good for everyone.