Queen’s Speech 2021: Skills and Post-16 Education Bill ‘central to pandemic recovery’

The new legislation was revealed in today’s (11 May) Queen’s Speech during which the Prime Minister said his Lifetime Skills Guarantee was “central” to the nation’s recovery from the pandemic.

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It will include reforms to the student finance system, giving employers a statutory role in providing publicly funded training programmes and give the Education Secretary “more powers to intervene in colleges that fail to meet local needs”.

The Skills and Post-16 Education Bill will be introduced to parliament next week (18 May) following the publication of the Skills White Paper in January.

In its announcement of the bill, the government states: “A third of working-age undergraduates are not in highly skilled employment, and in 2019 employers were unable to fill a quarter of their vacancies due to a lack of employees with the right skills.”

Meanwhile, latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) finds that between January and December 2020, the employment rate of young people aged 16 to 24 decreased by 2.6 percentage points to 51.9 per cent compared with the previous year. 

However, according to the ONS: “in 2020, there were more young people going into full-time education than in 2019. The higher enrolment in full-time education was associated with higher economic inactivity."

Johnson said: “These new laws are the rocket fuel that we need to level up this country and ensure equal opportunities for all. We know that having the right skills and training is the route to better, well-paid jobs.

“I’m revolutionising the system so we can move past the outdated notion that there is only one route up the career ladder, and ensure that everyone has the opportunity to retrain or upskill at any point in their lives.”

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson added: “As we rebuild from the pandemic, we’ve put reforming post-16 education and skills at the heart of our plans to build back better, and as Education Secretary I have championed the often forgotten 50 per cent of young people who don’t go to university.

“Through legislation, our vision is to transform the sector and expand opportunity right across the country, so that more people can get the skills they need to get good jobs.”

Responding to the move, David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said: “Everybody agrees that people should have access to training and reskilling throughout their lives – the shifting of the economy, post-pandemic, is highlighting yet again, just why it is so important for people to be able to access training to move into new jobs and new sectors.

“While the Lifetime Skills Guarantee has the potential to open up these opportunities, it will only work if people can afford to live whilst studying, through a mixture of loans, grants and welfare support. Without this, many simply won’t be able to afford it.”

However, others said under-16s had been overlooked in the speech.

Anna Feutchwang, chief executive of the National Children's Bureau, said:“Too much of the government’s policy programme outlined in the Queen’s Speech ignores children and young people. Measures to improve integration between the NHS and adult social care, boost home ownership and encourage adult education will do little to assure the next generation that they will be able to play their part in society, reach their potential or enjoy good life chances.”