Nearly one million ‘priority’ jobs excluded from Lifetime Skills Guarantee as Queen’s Speech fails to deliver opportunities
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Labour has today [Thursday] revealed that nearly one million
‘priority’ jobs will be excluded from the Conservative’s Lifetime
Skills Guarantee exposing the Government’s empty rhetoric on
creating opportunities, as the Queen’s Speech fails to deliver for
young people hardest hit by the pandemic. The country is facing a
skills shortage for jobs such as vets, architects or computer
programmers, with the Government designating these jobs as a
priority for work visas,...Request free
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Labour has today [Thursday] revealed that nearly one million ‘priority’ jobs will be excluded from the Conservative’s Lifetime Skills Guarantee exposing the Government’s empty rhetoric on creating opportunities, as the Queen’s Speech fails to deliver for young people hardest hit by the pandemic. The country is facing a skills shortage for jobs such as vets, architects or computer programmers, with the Government designating these jobs as a priority for work visas, yet these sectors are excluded from the Lifetime Skills Guarantee offer to help adults gain a new Level 3 qualification – equivalent to two A-levels. Overall, over nine million jobs are in sectors excluded from the training scheme, while adults who already hold a Level 3 qualification will not qualify despite promises from the Prime Minister that the guarantee would allow adults to retrain. Opening the Queen’s Speech debate on ‘A bright future for the next generation’, Kate Green MP, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, will argue the Government has nothing to offer young people who have been shut out of opportunities during a decade of broken Conservative promises. Under the Conservatives apprenticeship starts among under 25s have fallen by over 113,000 in five years, while the number of young learners in further education has fallen by a third as the Government slashed millions from the 16 – 19 education budget, taking training opportunities away from thousands of young people. Labour has been calling for the Government to introduce a ‘Jobs Promise’ to provide quality training, education or employment opportunities for young people who have been out of work, education or training for six months. To deliver quality training opportunities and jobs for young people, Labour has urged the Government to use the underspend from the apprenticeships levy to boost opportunities. Last year this could have created 85,000 new apprenticeship opportunities for young people aged 16 – 24. Kate Green MP, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, said “The Government’s skills promises are inconsistent and illogical, shutting out sectors where we already have a skills shortage. “The Conservatives have overseen a decade of decline with skills and training opportunities disappearing. This Queen’s Speech is a missed opportunity to deliver a bright future for young people across our country. “Labour’s is committed to helping every young person make a strong start to their working lives with quality training and employment opportunities ensuring they can develop the skills our economy needs.” Ends Notes to editors:
House of Commons Library:
Source: Further education and skills, England 2015/16 - 2019/20 https://explore-education-statistics.service.gov.uk/data-tables/permalink/3595957e-9202-44f4-b33d-952f9050f1eb
Source: House of Commons Library 16-19 education funding in England since 2010 https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn07019/
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