Post-16 Education & Skills: Labour's Two Missions, One Year On

We’ve just completed our first academic year under a Labour government for a long time. Last year’s general election was an extraordinary landslide victory, but despite this, the Starmer government has so far felt strangely fragile and fraught. It’s perhaps worth remembering that its huge majority is based on the lowest overall share of the vote of any government elected since the war, thanks to the vagaries of our electoral system. It’s also true that this is a very different style of government than we’ve had recently, with a determinedly rational and calm approach to communication, and a focus on long-term solutions rather than quick fixes. So, beyond the PR and spin, what has been achieved in the Post-16 Education field since July 2024?

The Education & Skills sector is critical to two of Labour’s five missions: the “kickstart economic growth” mission and the “break down barriers to opportunity” mission. A start has been made on both, but at this point much of the focus has been on remodelling the institutional architecture to support the strategy, rather than making a difference on the ground. In short, not much has actually changed yet for providers or students. Indeed, another aspect of this government’s style appears to be a deliberately slow, step-by-step approach to making change. The recent update on the Lifelong Learning Entitlement, for example, was all about measured, selective implementation of the new system, rather than radical revolution.

Four new initiatives are designed to underpin both missions. The creation of Skills England and the acceleration of Adult skills devolution will start to have tangible impact in the coming year, while we’re still waiting for the crucial White Paper which will set out a new Post-16 strategy and clarify the way in which FE and HE providers will be incentivised to work more closely in partnership to widen access and stimulate economic growth. This means that it’ll be 2026/27, not next year, before most of us feel real effects from any new policies.

It’s a similar story with the most strategically important of the two missions, the Growth mission. Common sense dictates that unless there is a sustained improvement to our national prosperity there simply isn’t enough money available for the kind of funding increases we fondly remember from the Blair years, when education funding rose sharply – by 65% between 2002-2010 for FE and Sixth Form colleges – and the new student loan system turbo-charged HE expansion. Beyond applying some welcome sticking plasters to FE funding and HE fee caps, there’s no prospect of any funding bonanza for the foreseeable future.

The Industrial Strategy has signalled a targeted investment in skills for the IS-8 priority sectors, including the establishment of a network of Technical Excellence Colleges for the Construction sector, soon to be followed by the Defence sector – but funded by re-prioritising existing budgets rather than any injection of extra funding. With the apprenticeship budget now maxed out, the flexibilities we’ve been promised under the new Growth & Skills Levy – which in any case are not going to materialise until April next year – will most likely be funded through a similar process of rearranging current budgets rather than an overall expansion of resources.

Rebalancing a school curriculum which has pivoted far too far towards traditional academic study and away from skills and inclusion is an essential step in the Opportunity mission, but the Frances Review is not due to report until the autumn and will therefore have no practical effect until 2026/27 at the earliest. But three steps have been taken which will shake things up during 2025/26. The controversial decision to withdraw funding from Level 7 apprenticeships and introduce new, shorter Foundation Apprenticeships is an immediate move to put the lower rungs of the vocational education opportunity ladder back in place. Meanwhile, trailblazers are already under way across England to try and get millions of people back into employment and training, as part of the DWP’s “Get Britain Working” strategy. With adult education funding once again being cut, it will be vital for local authorities to ensure that local adult training providers are fully integrated into this new initiative. One of the keys to success will be to create a new culture of lifelong learning and to find effective ways of supporting all adults to enhance their skills throughout their lives.

So what’s the Post-16 education verdict on the first year of our new government? Bearing in mind that we’re only 20% in to what should be a five-year Parliament, it’s a bit like evaluating the first day of a five day Test match in cricket. Bridget Phillipson and Jacqui Smith have kept a straight bat, not played and missed too often, ducked the odd bouncer, and made an unspectacular but solid start to their innings. But it won’t be until 2027/28 that the success (or otherwise) of their new policies will start becoming evident. And beyond that, a volatile electorate will be the ultimate umpire.