The new Government has quickly started on its manifesto pledge to establish Skills England—a new public body, at arms' length from the Government, that will oversee the country’s post-16 skills system. The body has now been launched in a "shadow form" in the Department for Education (DfE), with Richard Pennycook CBE, formerly chief executive of the Co-operative Group, appointed as interim Chair.  

Over the next year, it will be developed into its intended form, independent from the Government. The forthcoming Skills England Bill, introduced in the King's Speech, will facilitate the transfer of functions from the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE) to Skills England and grant enhanced powers and a broader remit to oversee the skills system. A permanent board, chair and CEO will be found. In the meantime, it will start assessing the country’s future skills needs and cultivate employer relationships while the government more broadly develops a new post-16 skills strategy.   

Over the summer, the DfE has begun to outline the Government’s plans for Skills England more clearly. At its core, Skills England will provide strategic oversight over the skills system, aligned closely with the government's industrial strategy and its migration policy. It has a significant mandate over the skills system, overseeing the post-16 skills strategy and deciding what other training can be funded using the apprenticeship levy after it is reformed. It will engage with both central and local government as well as businesses, training providers and unions. We know that broadly, its immediate remit is to (1) develop a national picture of the country’s skills needs, (2) identify which training should be prioritised for funding (including through the levy), and (3) assess and ensure that local and national skills provision going forward meets the country’s skills needs. 

In the recently launched Skills 2030 report, Policy Connect and the Skills Commission recommended the creation of an arms-length skills body. The Government’s intention to have Skills England work in unison with the Industrial Strategy Council and Migration Advisory Committee is an important measure. Seeing three of our core hopes for the body reflected in the three priority tasks for Skills England is pleasing. Skills 2030 emphasised the need for the new body to lead on data analysis and forecasting workforce needs and skills trends. The Skills Commission also stressed the need for the body to assess the success of the skills system across different areas and decide which non-apprenticeship training can be funded by the levy. Finally, the emphasis on Skills England working together with devolved authorities is welcome, given the need to further devolve funding and power over skills to local areas. 

Currently, we only have these broad statements of intent for what Skills England will be. There is little detail about how the body will actually operate day-to-day. A cynic may worry it is simply a reconstructed version of IfATE, given that it will likely have many of the same civil servants working in it and, given its remit so far, looks relatively similar. However, if it grows into the body it needs to be – with additional powers, roles and responsibilities – it could help drive a needed step change in the skills system. 

To fulfil its transformative potential, Skills England must include a policing function that is independent of the Government. The value of the most impactful independent public bodies, such as the Climate Change Committee (CCC), has been holding the Government accountable for taking action to meet its targets. A national skills strategy is due to be produced, and it should lay out clear targets for the skills system, defining clear, medium- and long-term objectives around reducing NEET rates, improving social mobility, driving productivity, and increasing rates of upskilling. Skills England’s role should, in part, be to hold local and national government accountable for meeting these targets. Setting and delivering clear objectives would help provide policy stability, which is sorely needed after years of constant policy churn negatively impacting the skills system. 

Secondly, SMEs and not just large businesses must be represented in Skills England's senior leadership and form a core part of its stakeholder engagement. Most of the country's businesses are SMEs, and they struggle the most with engaging with employee training. Skills England needs to help the skills system work better for smaller businesses and their employees. To make this happen, representatives from SMEs must have a direct hand in shaping the body’s decisions.   

Thirdly, Skills England needs to be a genuine cross-government workforce and skills body rather than simply a DfE offshoot. Across other government departments – including Work and Pensions, Transport, Health, Treasury, Business and Trade – a large number of civil servants are developing policies and frameworks for workforce issues and skills. Skills England should not simply be the body for post-16 education policy work done under the banner of DfE, but genuinely provide strategic oversight and coordination of all post-16 education and training initiatives across government. While currently housed in DfE, the Cabinet Office should eventually sponsor Skills England to ensure it takes on a cross-government role and feeds directly into senior politicians’ thinking. 

Overall, the launch of Skills England marks an exciting opportunity to improve skills policymaking in England. By embracing a more expansive remit than previous skills policy bodies, it could drive the change we need to see. Those of us invested in the success of the skills system must vigilantly monitor its evolution to ensure it realises its potential.