Six Wishes for Skillsmas

Dr Ashmita Randhawa, Director of R&D at Sunderland Software City and Visiting Professor at the National Innovation Centre for Data

For those of us working across research, innovation, and skills, 2025 has been an especially eventful year. From global accolades to regional breakthroughs, we’ve witnessed moments of genuine promise. But we’ve also seen reminders that progress is rarely linear, and that opportunity can too easily be undermined by disconnected thinking.

On the global stage, the Nobel Prize in Economics spotlighted the powerful relationship between innovation and long-term economic growth, renewing public discussion on creativity, disruption, research and innovation. Nationally, the UK government’s new Industrial Strategy and the release of the long-awaited Post-16 Skills White Paper has encouraged a more joined up approach to innovation and skills. Regionally, the announcement of the North East of England as the first official AI Growth Zone has provided a platform for focussed ambition around technological adoption and inclusive growth.

However, every encouraging announcement reminds me of the need for more radical thinking to rise to the challenge. So, in the spirit of the season, I have penned my Six Wishes for Skillsmas:

Wish 1: A truly connected innovation and skills system

Policy and delivery often operate in siloes, which has the knock-on effect of slowing progress, diluting investment, and exacerbating the disconnect between the needs of industry and the capabilities of the workforce. Innovation does not happen in a vacuum; it is driven by people — by their technical, creative, and entrepreneurial abilities, and their capacity to apply those skills to solve real-world problems. Skills, therefore, need to be treated not as an add-on to innovation; but as one of its core infrastructures.

Innovate UK’s Skills Foresighting Hub offers a glimpse into what this could look like. By analysing how technologies reshape workflows and job profiles, it is enabling sectors to build a common understanding of future workforce needs, allowing technologists, employers and educators to integrate thinking on technology adoption and skills requirements.

Wish 2: A joined-up tertiary system that delivers on the ambition of the Post-16 White Paper

The researchers of the SKOPE Centre argue that a key obstacle facing the post-16 sector in England is a lack of joined-up thinking and coordination and have challenged policymakers to ‘deliberately and strategically’ bring together further education, higher education, apprenticeships, adult education,  research and innovation. This would enable the creation of more coherent pathways for learners, and more agility for a workforce vulnerable to disruption by technological innovation. A joined-up system would also help move us away from fragmented funding and quasi-market dynamics. For the successful rollout of the Lifelong Learning Entitlement, alignment across systems is not optional; it is essential.

Wish 3: Adoption of a common skills taxonomy across different jobs and career pathways

Agreeing a common taxonomy for skills will enable businesses to better identify the right talent to fill emerging roles that are sometimes the hardest to fill. The successful deployment of such a taxonomy requires a common language that bridges the the gap between different sectors, industries and career pathways, and is widely adopted by employers and training providers alike. We need a standard classification of skills across the UK which is constantly updated to ensure currency.

Just this month, Skills England launched a prototype “dictionary of skills, knowledge, and tasks across UK occupations” — a development that has the potential to be transformational in so many arenas.

Wish 4: Better data – and better-connected data

Connected policy making, common language, skills syntax, are all wishes that require data - on jobs, qualifications, and standards. The challenge is not simply to generate more data, but to connect it in a meaningful way. A genuinely connected data infrastructure would enable a shared understanding of skills needs in real time, thus supporting smarter investment decisions, more responsive programmes, and more effective interventions. Building it will be a significant task — but one that could unlock enormous value for our innovation and skills ecosystem.

Today we have datasets scattered across systems that don’t often align; such as Tech Talent Engine, Skills Compass, and national Learning Education Outcomes data; all important initiatives but needing to be better connected.

Wish 5: Recognition that small, targeted interventions can catalyse systemic change

Many of the most impactful solutions begin with small, focused interventions that respond directly to employer needs and workforce gaps. Systemic change rarely starts with sweeping overhaul. It starts with targeted action that builds pathways, shifts perceptions, and inspires others to do the same. These interventions may not fix the entire system, but they can spark momentum, build confidence, and create proof points that inform broader reform.

Skills bootcamps such as Tech Talent Ready help learners build skills to work in the tech sector, and connects them directly to job opportunities following intensive training. The National Innovation Centre for Data’s traineeship is a unique pilot programme that has been designed to equip graduates with the skills to apply data science and AI in real-world business settings.

Wish 6: Supporting not only new learners but the existing workforce is essential

A lot of the narrative of skills policymaking tends to focus on young people, and whilst this is incredibly important to consider for future workforce needs, it represents only part of what we need to focus on. Many adults already in the workforce face constant disruption as roles evolve, tasks are automated, and new competencies become essential.

Lifelong learning can no longer be an aspiration; it must be a practical reality. That requires flexible provision, employer investment, modular learning, digital capability, and a culture of  continuous upskilling. As AI and other new technologies reshape the economy, supporting the existing workforce will be critical for productivity, resilience, and inclusive growth.

As we move into the New Year, I hope that these six wishes stimulate some new ideas and serve as reminders of the radical thinking needed to create transformative change.