Ahead of the Spring Budget, set to take place on 6 March, the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) has urged the Chancellor to go for growth by prioritising skills funding.
AELP has long argued that better funding of skills is essential for the growth the country needs to drive up living standards and fund public services. In Autumn 2023, AELP published Skills Means Growth, its vision for the future of the further education sector, highlighting the link between skills and economic growth. This builds on AELP’s recent Save Our Skills System campaign and open letter to the Secretary of State for Education calling for urgent action to stabilise the skills sector.
In its submission to HM Treasury ahead of the Spring Budget, AELP focuses on five specific asks of Government:
- Closing the gap between the DfE’s apprenticeship programme budget and the apprenticeship levy take.
- Focusing on the value of an all-age apprenticeship system.
- Removing barriers to support for SMEs.
- Increasing social mobility through the skill system by aligning the different components more effectively.
- Investing in adult education funding.
