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North East LEP welcomes Government’s Skills for Jobs white paper

The North East LEP welcomes the Skills for Jobs: lifelong learning for opportunity and growth white paper published by the Department for Education today [Thursday 21 January 2021].

The white paper sets out reforms to post-16 technical education and training to support people to develop the skills needed to get good jobs and improve national productivity.

Michelle Rainbow, Skills Director at the North East LEP, said: “We are particularly pleased to see that the reforms take into consideration some of those recommended from the Independent Commission for the Future of Colleges. It’s crucial that employers are given a pivotal role in working with general further education colleges, other training providers and local stakeholders to meet local and regional skill needs, and ultimately achieve our ambition of more and better jobs.

“This, together with the spotlight on technical education and announcement of a flexible lifetime skills guarantee enables us to continue to build upon existing partnerships in the North East LEP area. We are well placed to support and drive this agenda owing to our Chair of Board, Lucy Winskell and Skills Advisory Panel Chair, Ellen Thinnesen, being local and national leaders in the Higher and Further Education sectors respectively. It also enables us to build upon our investment into the region’s first Institute of Technology.”

Kim Smith, College Hub Facilitator, added: “Engagement between education and enterprise is a key strength across employer stakeholders and educational partners in the North East LEP area and we look forward to hearing more about the trailblazer opportunities for piloting local skills improvement plans and establishing College Business Centres.”

For more information, and to read the Skills for jobs white paper in full, visit gov.uk.