A new white paper on post-16 education and skills has laid bare the scale of the workforce challenge facing sectors such as construction.
The Post-16 Education and Skills report flags the urgent need for an overhaul of training, recruitment and employer engagement, including the introduction of a new vocational pathway at level 3.
According to the report, there are too many people who “lack the skills they need to thrive in work”. While the challenges faced vary from region to region, the lack of crucial skills is described as being of “national importance”.
To help address this issue, the new ‘V Level’ qualifications will sit alongside A Levels and T Levels and will become the only pathway of vocational qualifications at level 3 for 16 to 19-year-olds.
“V Levels will be offered in a range of vocational subjects covering key employment sectors, based on nationally set content,” the report said.
The content will be linked to occupational standards, set by Skills England working with employers.
The V Levels are expected to be similar in size to A Levels so as to be “easily combined with other V Levels or A Levels, to allow learners the flexibility to explore different areas”, the report added.
Persistent skills gap
An ongoing tension for construction, as for many technical sectors, is the gap between intermediate and higher technical education.
“There are not enough individuals choosing to study qualifications at higher technical level (levels 4 and 5), despite their positive economic returns and increasing demand in the economy for workers with these skills,” the report said.
“We strongly support expanded participation in higher education, but the traditional three-year degree is not the only option.
“Instead, in line with other countries, we need to build clear and well understood pathways at these levels, underpinned by qualifications that are easier to study close to home, which are both modular and flexible.”
Addressing the ‘missing middle’
According to the government, the reforms set out in the new white paper will help to tackle the “missing middle” in the UK workforce.
“Among G7 countries, the UK ranks sixth, only ahead of Italy, for the proportion of adults aged 25 to 64 whose highest qualification is at level 4 or 5,” the report said.
“We know that two-thirds of the additional jobs in the priority occupations needed to deliver the Industrial Strategy will require qualifications at level 4 and above.”
Speaking at the Labour Party conference in Liverpool earlier this month, prime minister Kier Starmer revealed the government’s “bold new target” of two-thirds of young people participating in higher-level learning by age 25.
The decision to ditch Labour’s previous target of encouraging 50% of young people to go to university was welcomed by industry leaders.
In August, the government also announced plans to train more than 40,000 future construction workers by 2029 at new ‘technical excellence colleges’.
The specialist construction colleges will be in every region of England, offering qualifications at level 2 and above.
The launch of the colleges aims to improve engagement and collaboration with employers, while also equipping learners with the skills and practical experience that support job readiness.
