“Where’s there’s a will, there’s a way.” How the FE and skills sector has held on to that proverb in the past decade. But as Lord Blunkett and his Labour skills advisers launched their learning and skills report last week, he was upbeat in tone.
He talked about the report’s “practical policies” to tackle immediate challenges – mounting job vacancies, failing apprenticeships, stagnant productivity, decline in investment in skills and in adult learning. He spoke too about the future – the rapid expansion in digital skills and AI, the needs of the NHS and social care, net zero – and was passionate on the central role of skills in economic recovery and “liberating the talents of individuals”.
