Levelling Up Skills in the East of England

Chambers East is supporting a call for Government action to level up skills in the East of England.

Chambers East worked with the East of England All Party Parliamentary Group, local authorities, FE colleges, universities and training providers to prepare a report that identifies barriers to improving skills in our region.

Some of the barriers identified include the loss of some of the apprenticeship training levy funds from the region; the Maths and English element of apprenticeship assessment leading to low completions; widespread teacher shortages and insufficient and inflexible funding.

Report recommendations include the reform of apprenticeship provision and the levy to allow greater flexibility; further devolution of all post 16 skills funding and incentivising companies to volunteer their staff to provide teaching support on apprenticeship courses in key sectors.

Charlotte Horobin, Chief Executive of Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce said ‘There is a lot of inflexibility in the way skills funding can be used and unfortunately this means that funding is not always available to meet the rapidly changing skills needs of employers.’

Denise Rossiter, Chief Executive of Essex Chambers of Commerce commented ‘A large number of nationally significant infrastructure projects are being planned for the East of England, including the Lower Thames Crossing and Sizewell C. These projects will increase the demand for skilled workforces. However, there is insufficient regional funding available to provide the training that is needed’.

Nova Fairbank, Chief Executive of Norfolk Chambers of Commerce said ‘Employers across the region are ready to release staff to support skills training, but it’s a big commitment and more needs to be done to help employers manage the impact of releasing key staff on a regular basis.’

John Dugmore, Chief Executive of Suffolk Chamber of Commerce commented ‘This report shows there are common skills issues across the East of England. By working together as Chambers East and in partnership with others, the region’s chambers of commerce can amplify the voice of East of England businesses in calling for action to address the issues that have been identified.

To read the report Towards a Strategic Framework for Levelling Up Skills’ click here: https://eastofenglandappg.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/FINAL-Strategic-Skills-Framework-EE-LUDP-v5.pdf

To read the letter from the East of England All Party Parliamentary Group to the Minister for Skills, Apprenticeships and Further Education click here: https://eastofenglandappg.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Follow-up-letter-to-Minister-for-Skills.pdf