The All-Party Parliamentary Group for Skills, Careers and Employment (APGSCE) met yesterday to share their first reactions to the government's recently published Levelling Up White Paper and to discuss what's next for skills, careers and employment. 

This session was chaired by Baroness Sue Garden and joining the event were the following speakers: 

• Smita Jamdar, Shakespeare Martineau, 
• Rosa Wilkinson, High Value Manufacturing Catapult,
• Graham Razey OBE, EKC Group,
• Elena Wilson, Edge Foundation, and
• Jan Ellis, Qdos Education.

The white paper was published in February 2022, with a cross cutting set of policies and missions. Its stated aim is to address geographic inequality of opportunity across the UK. 

Following presentations for the speakers, Baroness Garden opened up for a general discussion with questions from attendees. The discussion covered a range of topics including questions on how to tackle regional inequalities, how to support young people with up skilling, how to support smaller pockets of deprivation within wealthy areas, and what funding is needed to support this transformation. 

Speakers and attendees agreed that the levelling up white paper is welcome and touches on some important points but needs more clarity on delivery. 

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