Academia and business group backs Labour skills pledge

The National Centre for Universities and Business – an independent and not-for-profit membership organisation that promotes, develops and supports both academia and UK businesses – has hailed the potential of the Labour Party’s manifesto to unleash UK innovation and address the nation’s severe skills gap.

Calling the manifesto a positive vision for unlocking and realising the strength of the UK research and innovation base, the NCUB’s chief executive Dr Joe Marshall, said the organisation warmly welcomes the security of 10-year budgets for research and innovation to create greater certainty in the system and encourage private investment.

The NCUB also welcomed the fact that Labour had recognised the critical role of universities, alongside employers, in the design and delivery of Local Growth Plans.

Marshall continued: “We applaud Labour’s promise to deliver a comprehensive strategy for post-16 education and reform the immigration and skills system, to ensure Britain is developing home-grown skills to meet the needs of business and the economy.

“The latest results of the Employer Skills Survey show a significant increase in skills gaps and vacancies have been persistently high at around 1 million. Decisive and strong policy change is vital to rectify our growing skills crisis.”

Marshall added: “More generally, however, we implore the next Government, whichever party, to have greater ambition for UK business. The Industrial Strategy should not just be about how we harness the latest technologies but should position the UK at the forefront of reaping the economic and social benefits for the UK from developing and designing the groundbreaking innovations of the future.”

The organisation has yet to comment on the Conservative Party manifesto, which was published earlier this week. However, the NCUB slated Rishi Sunak’s plans to create 100,000 high-skilled apprenticeships a year by scrapping “rip-off degrees” if he wins the election.

In response, NCUB head of policy and engagement Rosalind Gill said: “University is a significant investment with profound returns. Graduates drive knowledge economies, typically facing lower unemployment and higher wages. However, the Prime Minister’s plan, unveiled today of capping student numbers on ‘low-quality courses’ in England misses the mark. This policy uses past data to limit future opportunities. The new Government must instead strive to understand future needs to inform today’s higher education.”

“Such measures would unfairly target disadvantaged students and places with lower wages, stifling social mobility and entrepreneurship. Instead, the Government should leverage labour market data to help educational institutions prepare for future needs.

“We are facing a severe skills crisis in the UK, with four in five businesses facing recruitment issues. Whilst we are very supportive of a proposed, increased number of apprenticeships, this does not mean the Government needs to take further measures to restrict higher education. UK universities excel globally, not only in research but also in student completion rates, crucial for economic prosperity. We hope the new Government recognises this, and is prepared to make sensible decisions, for the future of work.”

TOPICS:digital skills education skills shortage training