Skills and post 16 education policy: Reducing barriers and supporting regional growth

Approximate read time: 50 minutes

The House of Lords is scheduled to debate the following motion on 3 September 2026:

Baroness Morgan of Huyton (Labour) to move that this House takes note of the action needed on skills, vocational training, and further and higher education to improve outcomes for those from deprived and disadvantaged communities and strengthen regional growth.

1. Key points

• Research indicates links between socio-economic disadvantage and lower educational attainment, lower rates of a sustained destination in education, employment and apprenticeships after GCSEs and poorer labour market outcomes.
• Around 1 million young people age 16 to 24 are not in education, employment or training (NEET). The government has identified youth inactivity as a barrier to economic participation and growth.
• The government’s current approach emphasises closer integration of skills, employment and health support, including through the ‘Get Britain working’ agenda and the ‘Youth guarantee’, which aims to ensure that all young people can access education, training, apprenticeships or support to enter employment. Related measures include youth jobs grants and apprenticeship reforms.
• Reforms to further education under the Sir Keir Starmer government were set out in the ‘Post-16 skills and education white paper’, including new vocational pathways, foundation apprenticeships, technical excellence colleges and changes to qualifications and funding arrangements.
• The Starmer government also set out higher education reforms aimed at widening participation for disadvantaged students, addressing skills shortages in priority sectors, and strengthening universities’ contribution to local and regional economic growth.
• Recent Conservative and Labour governments have increased the role of devolved and mayoral authorities in skills policy through devolved adult skills funding, local skills planning and wider devolution measures linked to regional growth. Since becoming prime minister in July 2026, Andy Burnham said he would also devolve control over the 16 to 19 skills budget.

2. Education and skills, economic growth and opportunities

2.1 Link between skills, employment and economic growth

Successive governments have linked workforce skills to employment rates and economic growth. Research has suggested that individuals with higher levels of skills are more likely to be in employment or education, and that on average they will earn more.^[1]

According to analysis from the Social Mobility Commission (SMC), studying qualifications in higher or further education is generally associated with higher future earnings, with returns typically increasing at higher qualification levels.^[2] This applies even when accounting for an individual’s personal characteristics, suggesting that on average studying a qualification in higher education (HE) or further education (FE) is associated with a positive value-add in earnings.^[3]

The SMC found that within FE, the value-add tends to be positive; increasing the level of qualification increases returns.^[4] The SMC also reported that higher-level qualifications such as level 4 and 5 are associated with higher earnings when compared to level 3 qualifications. The highest returns were for level 4 for men and level 5 for women.^[5]

The ONS has noted that qualification levels are an important indicator of workforce skills and can provide insight into local labour market opportunities and economic performance:

Education levels among local labour forces vary between areas in England and Wales. This matters, because it can indicate the quality of locally available jobs, whether they require higher levels of education and whether they are higher-paid. Areas with good educational attainment, opportunities and job markets are likely to have a richer local economy.

Meanwhile, areas with a less-qualified workforce might have fewer job opportunities for highly qualified people, struggle to train or attract and keep qualified workers, and have a poorer local economy.^[6]

2.2 Workforce skills and labour market challenges

Sir Keir Starmer’s government argued “the talents of too many are being wasted because of spiralling economic inactivity”.^[7] Research published by the government highlighted several labour market challenges, including:

• Around 2.8 million people out of work due to long-term sickness.^[8]
• Nearly 1 million young people aged 16 to 24 in the UK not in education, employment or training (NEET): One in 8 young people.^[9]
• Many people lacking the skills needed to progress in work, with around 8.5 million adults with low proficiency in English, maths or both, 7.3 million lacking the essential digital skills required for the workplace, and those without a level 2 qualification being far more likely to be out of work. The challenges faced varied from region to region, but the government argued “this lack of crucial skills is of national importance”.^[10]

Skills England has argued there is “clear evidence of a gap between the skills demanded by employers and the skills supplied by the system and possessed by individuals”.^[11]

In its 2025 ‘Assessment of priority skills to 2030’, Skills England forecast the UK will need 900,000 more skilled workers in its priority sectors, from 5.9 million in 2025 to 6.7 million in 2030, an increase of 15%.^[12]. In June 2026, Skills England reported that the demand for key occupations in priority sectors was expected to increase by nearly a quarter over the next decade.^[13] It found:

There will be particularly strong cross-sectoral growth in digital and engineering professions as they are identified as priorities across several sectors. Most of these occupations require qualifications at level 4 and above (above A levels or T levels), including higher technical qualifications and degrees. At the same time, our assessments indicate continued growth in construction, clean energy, and adult social care, where roles typically require level 2 and 3 training and qualifications. The scale of projected demand suggests the education pipeline alone will be insufficient to meet employers’ needs. Therefore, significant reskilling of the existing workforce will be essential.^[14]

In response to the increase in the number of young people NEET, the government commissioned an independent review led by former Labour health secretary Alan Milburn to investigate the rise in youth inactivity. The interim report (hereafter the Milburn review), published in July 2026, considered the barriers to young people gaining employment and found that it was not necessarily a lack in basic skills that was preventing young people from entering the jobs market.

It found that rising youth unemployment was not only about weakened demand but also a reduced ability of the labour market to support young people into work.^[15] The report argued the traditional mechanisms that helped young people secure their first jobs has become less effective over time, with employers reporting a mismatch between the skills, experience and workplace readiness that young people possess and those expected in entry-level roles. It stated:

Only 3% of employers recruiting 16-year-olds to their first job, and 1% recruiting FE leavers, identified poor literacy or numeracy as the main issue. Employers pointed instead to lack of experience of the workplace, lower confidence and weaker work-readiness. The issue is less that young people lack basic skills, but that too many have had too little exposure to how workplaces operate before being expected to succeed in one.^[16]

The review concluded the reason this issue has not had enough focus “is that the labour market doing less has been, in part, compensated for by the education system doing more”.^[17] However, it found that more recently:

Overall, by age 18, a lower proportion of young people were in education or apprenticeships in 2024 than 10 years earlier. Of those who were, more were in higher education and fewer in further education or apprenticeships, even though the latter two routes are the ones that are most accessible to the potentially NEET cohort. More young people are being exposed to the risk of becoming NEET as a result.^[18]

Further information on NEETs and policy approaches can be found in section 4.2 of this briefing.

3. Skills and educational inequalities

3.1 Socio-economic backgrounds, attainment gaps and employment outcomes

Research by organisations including the Sutton Trust, Education Policy Institute (EPI) and the SMC has identified persistent gaps in educational attainment and labour market outcomes between disadvantaged students and their peers.

The Sutton Trust reports that children from less well-off homes start school behind their classmates and that these gaps widen throughout primary and secondary education.^[19] The EPI’s research similarly demonstrates enduring attainment disparities. Its 2025 analysis found that in 2023 disadvantaged pupils were, on average, around 10 months behind their peers by age 11 and 18.6 months behind by age 16.^[20] The report concluded that disadvantage-related attainment differences remained evident throughout the education system.

Studies have also indicated these inequalities often continue beyond compulsory education. EPI’s research has found that disadvantaged students were less likely to remain in education after key stage 4 and that, by the end of 16 to 19 study, they achieved lower results than their peers.^[21] It found that in 2023, the 16 to 19 attainment gap between disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged students was equivalent to 3.4 A level grades. The EPI said its evidence also suggested that disadvantaged students continued to fall further behind their peers in the 16 to 19 phase.

SMC research found that socio-economic background continues to influence post-16 and labour market outcomes. It found that between 2022 and 2024 individuals from lower working-class backgrounds were more likely to be NEET (22%) compared with those from higher professional backgrounds (9%).^[22] This gap has remained mostly unchanged since 2014.

The SMC research also found that almost half (48.2%) of young people aged 25 to 29 years were in professional occupations between 2022 and 2024. This is up from 36.1% between 2014 and 2016.^[23] However, people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds have not benefitted as much from these opportunities as their peers. The data showed the gap widening between those from higher professional backgrounds and those from lower working-class backgrounds in securing higher professional roles, from 15 percentage points difference between 2014 and 2016 to 23 percentage points between 2022 and 2024.

The Milburn review has also argued the “NEET problem” was “grounded in social disadvantage”.^[24] It found that almost 30% of those living in households where no one was earning when they were aged 14 were themselves NEET. In addition, over half of cases of being NEET at 17 years of age were “attributable to persistent exposure to poverty and family adversity”.

3.2 Participation in education and apprenticeships according to characteristics

The Department for Education (DfE) publishes data on participation in education and apprenticeships, including figures broken down by pupil characteristics, for those young people educated in the English state-funded sector.^[25]

Overall, there have been increases in the proportion of young people participating in education and apprenticeships:

• 88.2% of 16 to 17-year-olds who were educated in the mainstream state-funded sector in year 11 were participating at the end of 2025. In 2024, the figure was 87.9%.
• 58.3% of 18-year-olds at the end of 2024 was participating, up 1.1 percentage points compared with the end of 2023.
• 64.0% of 16 to 21-year-olds who were educated in the mainstream state-funded sector in year 11 were participating at the end of 2024, up 0.4 percentage points compared with the end of 2023.^[26]

Other key findings included:

• The proportion of 18 to 21-year-olds participating in education and apprenticeships remained fairly stable across all characteristic groups at the end of 2024 compared with the end of 2023. However, participation rates for those with higher prior attainment increased.
• There was an increase in the population of 16 to 17-year-olds participating in education and apprenticeships across all characteristic groups at the end of 2025 compared with the end of 2024.^[27]

Table 1 presents further data on participation rates of 16 to 21-year-olds in education and apprenticeships at the end of 2024, presented by pupil characteristics. It shows a participation gap in education and apprenticeships across all age groups for pupils eligible for free school meals (FSM), those classified as disadvantaged, and those living in the most income-deprived families. The gap generally widens among 18 to 21-year-olds, those beyond compulsory education or training age. The table also shows that young people who had not achieved level 2 qualifications by age 15 were less likely to participate in education or apprenticeships than those who had achieved this level.

(Department for Education, ‘Participation in education, training and employment age 16 to 21: Calendar year 2025’, updated 12 August 2026)

Table 1 notes:

A child or young person has SEN if they have a learning difficulty or disability which calls for special educational provision to be made for them.

FSM are free lunchtime meals provided to full-time pupils who are eligible by virtue of benefits their family claims and/or household income.

Disadvantaged pupils are individuals who are one of the following: eligible for FSM in the last six years (eligibility on census day); looked after continuously for one day or more and aged 4 to 15; adopted from care. This excludes children looked after under an agreed series of short-term placements.

The income deprivation affecting children index measures the proportion of all children aged 0 to 15 living in income deprived families.

3.3 Destination by disadvantage status and region

The latest key stage 4 (GCSEs) destination data for pupils from state funded mainstream schools is for 2023/24. It highlights a widening gap between disadvantaged pupils and their peers in progression to sustained education, employment and apprenticeships:^[29]

• Lower rates of sustained participation:2% of disadvantaged pupils who finished key stage 4 in 2023 were in education, employment or an apprenticeship for at least six months of academic year 2023/24, compared with 94.6% of other pupils, a gap of 11.4 percentage points.
• A widening gap: The participation gap increased from 10.4 percentage points in 2022/23 and has continued to widen since 2019/20, when it stood at 8.1 percentage points.
• Different education destinations: The most common education destination for disadvantaged pupils was FE (45.6% of total destinations), compared to a school sixth form destination (39.7% of total destinations) for non-disadvantaged pupils.
• Higher rates of employment and lower apprenticeship participation: Disadvantaged pupils were more likely to enter an employment destination and less likely to go into a sustained apprenticeship than all other pupils.
• Greater risk of not sustaining a destination: Disadvantaged pupils were also more likely not to sustain a destination (11.3%) compared to all other pupils (3.6%).

At a regional level, pupils from London were most likely to have an overall sustained destination, with pupils from the North East being least likely.^[30] The gap in overall sustained destinations between London and the North East was 4.0 percentage points, continuing the widening of the gap between the two regions in recent years. Data from the 2023/24 academic year showed that:

• 91.7% of pupils from Outer London sustained an education destination, closely followed by Inner London with 91.1% of pupils. These values are 5.9 and 5.3 percentage points greater than the national average.
• Pupils from the North East were most likely to have a sustained apprenticeship destination, whereas Inner London had the lowest proportion of pupils sustaining an apprenticeship destination.
• The highest employment destination rate was for the South West where 3.6% of pupils sustained an employment destination, whereas London had the lowest rate at 0.9%.

4. Policies targeted at addressing the skills gap and reducing inequalities

Published under the Starmer Labour government, the ‘Get Britain working white paper’ set out proposals to bring together employment support, health interventions and skills provision.^[31] The government argued that barriers such as poor health, low qualifications and lack of essential skills, and limited employment support should be addressed through a more integrated system. The government suggested its plans would “ensure everyone, regardless of their background, age, ethnicity, or where they live, has the opportunities they need to achieve and thrive, to succeed and flourish”.

Proposals included:^[32]

• “Scaling up and deepening” the contribution of the NHS and wider health system to improve employment outcomes. This included cutting waiting lists so people can “get back to health and back to work”, as well as having a greater focus on prevention.
• Creating new national jobs and careers service. This would involve transforming Jobcentre Plus across Great Britain into a “genuine public employment service”, bringing it together with the National Careers Service in England. The aim would be to support people to progress in their careers, earn more and find higher quality work.
• “Mobilising” mayors and councils to join up local work, health and skills support in ways that meet the needs of their area. This would include local work, health and skills plans, and greater local coordination of employment support.
• Delivering a ‘Youth guarantee’, so that all 18 to 21-year-olds in England have access to education, training or help to find a job or an apprenticeship.

The Stamer government also published the ‘Post-16 education and skills white paper’, which set out further details on its plans to reform the skills system to “educate and train the workforce of the future and give people the skills they need”.^[33]

The white paper argued that economic growth depended on creating a workforce equipped with the skills needed in sectors such as clean energy, manufacturing, construction, defence, health and digital technology.^[34] It asserted “skills gaps and mismatches in our economy are holding people back from employment and limiting growth in priority sectors”. The white paper made clear that a strong skills system is essential to delivering careers, higher wages and improved living standards.^[35]

To address the skills gaps, the white paper said the government would:

• review the adult essential skills offer
• join up the skills and employment system
• support the development and implementation of local skills plans
• reduce the chances of young people becoming NEET through the youth guarantee

The government said it intended to focus public funding on improving skills provision in priority sectors.^[36] These include the eight sectors identified as growth-driving sectors in the government’s ‘Industrial strategy’ (June 2025): advanced manufacturing, clean energy industries, creative industries, defence, digital and technologies, financial services, life sciences, and professional and business services.^[37] In addition, the government has listed construction and health and adult social care as priority sectors.^[38]

Sections 4 to 6 of this briefing provide an overview of recent Labour government reforms to the skills system and the further and higher education sectors. For detailed analysis see the House of Commons Library briefing ‘The post-16 education and skills white paper’ (10 December 2025).

4.1 Adult skills training

Government policies on adult skills development and employment support

The Starmer government has argued that adults can face significant personal and structural barriers to participating in training.^[39] It contends that caring responsibilities, poor health, lack of transport and digital connectivity, and a range of other factors can make it harder for those who are most disadvantaged to get access to the support they need.

In the ‘Post-16 education and skills white paper’, the government said it would more closely integrate its skills offer and employment support to help individuals to access the training they need to find and progress in work and ensure the workforce had the skills needed by employers. Proposals included:

• Review the adult essential skills offer in English, English for speakers of other languages, maths, and digital skills to ensure that it includes the most relevant skills individuals need for work or for additional education or training.
• Introduce ‘pathways to work’ with funding intended to provide access to specialist employment, health and skills support for disabled people and those with health conditions who are out of work and on benefits. In July 2026, under the Starmer government, the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) launched the pathways to work and innovation fund. The DWP said that from September 2026, organisations from the private, voluntary and public sectors will be able to bid for funding to test “genuinely new approaches” to employment support.^[40] The government said the £60mn fund comes as part of a £3.5bn employment support package to “knock down barriers to opportunity for disabled people and those with health conditions”.
• Invest more in the sector-based work academy scheme (SWAP), which provides employment placements for people receiving benefits who are ready to work. SWAP is a partnership between businesses, Jobcentre Plus and training providers. In the white paper, the government said it would invest in 100,000 places in the 2025/26 financial year. In July 2026, under the Andy Burnham government, the DWP set out a delivery target of 115,000 starts for the 2026/2027 financial year.^[41]
• Develop skills passports, which will set out an individual’s skills and competencies. In June 2026, Skills England reported it was working with industry and regional partners to develop skills passports and wallets. It argued skills passports could support sectors to fill skills gaps and shortages by “improving portability of skills within and across sectors”.^[42] It said that skills passport schemes were active in sectors like construction and clean energy.

Public investment and funding

In the ‘Post-16 education and skills white paper’, the Starmer government set out an ambition for all future public investment in adult skills to be channelled through the adult skills fund and the growth and skills levy, in order to simplify funding streams.^[43]

The Starmer government said it would ensure the adult skills fund was joined up with the support offered by Jobcentre Plus.^[44] It explained that the adult skills fund, which supports learners to access skills courses, would be complemented by the Jobcentre Plus flexible support fund. This supports people claiming universal credit (UC) to gain access to locally run training which is deemed appropriate by their work coach in their employment search.^[45]

Alongside this support for individuals, the Starmer government set out measures aimed at helping employers address skills shortages. It said the growth and skills levy would be available to employers to fund apprenticeship units: short, flexible training courses for people aged 19 and over who are already employed.^[46] The government explained that these would be available in critical skills areas and would be designed to “help employers respond quickly to evolving skills needs and invest in workforce development”.^[47] These were launched in April 2026, and currently include courses on AI, digital and engineering.^[48]

In addition to the adult skills fund and the growth and skills levy, individuals will also be able to access training from September 2026 through the ‘Lifelong learning entitlement’ (LLE), with the first courses due to be taught from January 2027.^[49]

The Starmer government argued the introduction of funding for shorter modes of study, as well as for longer courses, will enable people to “upskill and reskill around the needs of their jobs and to enter new sectors where there is high demand for skills”.^[50] It said these will operate alongside the apprenticeship units, introduced through the growth and skills levy.

4.2 Youth guarantee and other skills training support for young people

Increases in young people not in education, employment or training

The Milburn review described it as a “moral crisis”, the number of young people who are NEET.^[51] It found that of those NEET for less than a year, 65% return to participation the following year, but of those NEET for more than a year, only 25% do. It argued the situation carried significant costs for both the taxpayer and the economy. It estimated the annual economic cost associated with almost 1 million NEET young people at £125bn.

Recently published ONS statistics has shown that the number of young people NEET has continued to rise since the figures referenced in the government’s white papers and the Milburn review.^[52] In January to March 2026, an estimated 1.01 million people aged 16 to 24 were NEET, which was 13.5% of people in this age group. This proportion was up by 1.0 percentage point from January to March 2025.

Studies have also shown that time spent NEET can have a detrimental effect on physical and mental health and increase the likelihood of unemployment, low wages or low quality of work later in life.^[53]

The Starmer government had argued the increase in young people who are NEET is driven by increases in youth unemployment and a longer-term increase in the proportion of young people who are economically inactive.^[54] It contended the challenges that young people face include:

• Health: Proportion of young people who are NEET and who are affected by long-term or temporary sickness has risen, with over 1 in 4 citing sickness as a barrier to participation in 2023, compared to 1 in 10 in 2012.
• Education: Young people who are NEET over the long term are more likely to have lower qualifications than their peers. While 1 in 5 young people aged 16 to 24 in full-time education or employment had no qualifications or qualifications below level 2, this proportion doubled among those who were not in full-time education and were unemployed or economically inactive.
• Disadvantage gap: Persistently disadvantaged pupils were almost two years (22.7 months) behind by the end of secondary school. Disadvantaged 16 to 19-year-olds were 3.5 grades behind their peers across their three best subjects in 2022.
• Regional disparities: NEET rates vary by region. In England, the highest rates are in the North East (15.4%) and North West (15.0%), in contrast to 10.6% in London. Higher rates are often concentrated in disadvantaged areas and linked to factors including ill health, disability and caring responsibilities.^[55]

Government policy on the youth guarantee and other youth employment support is intended to reduce the number of young people who are NEET and improve long-term market outcomes.^[56] The government said it was “determined to break down barriers to opportunity for all young people”. It argued that “too many young people are at risk of being left behind, without the skills, opportunities and support to get started in the world of work”.

Youth guarantee

In the ‘Get Britain working white paper’, the Starmer government said it would establish a ‘youth guarantee’ in England so that all young people aged 18 to 21 can access further learning to help to get a job or apprenticeships or other opportunities.^[57] It said it would trial new initiatives in trailblazer areas. Their aim would be to identify young people at risk of being NEET and support them into training, education or work. The government said various proposals would be tested and the learning from their outcomes would be used in the future development of the guarantee.

Initially the Starmer government said it would work with mayoral authorities to mobilise eight place-based youth guarantee trailblazers, from spring 2025, with £45mn of funding in 2025/26. The first trailblazers were located in Liverpool City Region, West Midlands, Tees Valley, East Midlands, West of England, Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and two in London. They were initially due to run for 12 months.^[58] However, in August 2025 it was announced that the trailblazer scheme would be extended for another year with a further £45mn of funding.^[59]

In March 2026, the Starmer government announced further components to the youth guarantee scheme. The government referred to the package as a “new deal” for young people. The measures included:^[60]

• A new youth jobs grant, through which businesses would receive £3,000 for every young person they hire aged 18 to 24 who has been on UC and looking for work for six months. This is expected to support 60,000 young people over three years.
• Expansion of the jobs guarantee to a wider age range, from 18 to 21 to 18 to 24, to create more than 35,000 extra subsidised jobs. This brings the total to be supported through the scheme to over 90,000 in the next three years. The job guarantee provides six months of work to those eligible who have been receiving UC for 18 months without earning or learning.

Various stakeholders have welcomed the government’s proposals on a youth guarantee but stressed that implementation would be key. For instance, the Resolution Foundation saw the scheme as a potential mechanism for reducing youth inactivity but argued that its success would depend on whether sufficient opportunities are available locally and whether long-term funding is secured.^[61] The Youth Futures Foundation said the trailblazer place-based pilots had the potential to deliver a coordinated response that incorporates a national strategy, local leadership and youth voice.^[62] However, it argued a far more sophisticated approach to national and local coordination would be required.

During its inquiry into youth education, employment and training, the House of Commons Work and Pensions Committee reported it had not heard evidence opposing the government’s policy.^[63] However, a common criticism was that the youth guarantee was too limited in scope and lacked ambition. In its report, the committee recommended:

To have an impact with young people, the youth guarantee must not become another here-today-gone-tomorrow scheme […] To demonstrate its commitment, DWP should announce a minimum funding level for the next 10-years. This should include equally long-term funding settlements with local government so that local areas and stakeholders can make long-term planning decisions.^[64]

Apprenticeship reforms to support young people

The Starmer government made changes to the apprenticeship system intended to encourage employers to take on young apprenticeships. This includes the introduction of foundation apprenticeships, which the government described as an “important first step” towards the youth guarantee.^[65] Foundation apprenticeships are paid jobs with structured training in an entry level occupation (at level 2) designed for eligible young people aged 16 to 21 or people aged 22 to 24 who have a local education, health and care plan, have previously been in care, or are a prisoner or prison leaver.^[66]

They are designed for “those looking for a broad grounding in an entry level occupation, leading to opportunities for progression to a more specific or higher-level apprenticeship”.^[67] They have been developed as an “alternative route for young people who need extra support with employability skills and the transition to the workplace, including those moving from full-time education and those not currently in education, employment or training”.

The Labour government has also introduced additional investment through the growth and skills levy to “help employers of all sizes hire young apprentices”, including:^[68]

• From 1 August 2026, apprenticeship training and assessment costs are fully funded by government for eligible apprentices aged 16 to 24. This applies to non-levy employers and also to levy-paying employers where they have insufficient levy funds available.
• If the apprentice is aged 18 to 24 and has been on UC for over six months, employers can access a further £3,000 from the recently launched youth jobs grant.
• From October 2026, non-levy paying employers (typically small and medium sized employers) will be able to get a payment of up to £2,000 when recruiting new apprentices aged 16 to 24. This will apply to those starting an apprenticeship from 1 October 2026, providing they have joined their employer within the past three months.

Since becoming prime minister on 20 July 2026, Andy Burnham has also announced changes to the apprenticeship system which will affect young people, including a new bursary worth up to £4,500 per year per household for low-income families on UC who would otherwise lose benefits when a young person starts an apprenticeship.^[69] The announcement stated the bursary would be funded through the growth and skills levy.

Further proposals to support young people into education, training or work

In addition to the youth guarantee, and changes to the apprenticeship system to increase opportunities for young people, the Starmer government set out in the ‘Post-16 education and skills white paper’ a series of other policies to improve support for young people, including:^[70]

• developing new NEET indicator tools and guidance and better collection and sharing of data
• revising guidance for schools so that they provide targeted support at those at risk becoming NEET
• using best practice in school attendance tracking to track when attendance starts to decline in FE

5. Further education reforms to reduce barriers and promote economic growth

The ‘Post-16 education and skills white paper’ argued the FE sector has “for decades” been treated as “second rate”, which has contributed to declining participation in adult education and skills gaps in the economy.^[71] It argued the FE sector should play a greater role in supporting workforce development and local growth. The proposals in the white paper sought to:

• create stronger links between colleges and employers
• put greater emphasis on vocational and technical pathways
• align provision with skills shortages
• provide support for priority sectors

5.1 Barriers to accessing further education

The Milburn review suggested the UK’s relatively high NEET rate, compared to other countries such as Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark, “may in part be attributable to lower participation in vocational education”.^[72] Drawing on Resolution Foundation research, the review found that while Britain had a slightly higher proportion of 18 to 21-year-olds in “general education”, 36% compared with 32% in those countries, it has a substantially lower proportion in vocational education, with participation rates of 22% and 35% respectively.

The Milburn review advocated FE as the main sector for delivering vocational education and preparation for the workplace.^[73] It argued FE was the “primary recovery layer for those who leave school without strong academic results”, pointing to studies suggesting young people with lower prior attainment and from less advantaged socio-economic backgrounds were more likely to enrol in FE colleges at age 16. For example, less than 15% of those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds and with lower attainment go on to academic routes post 16.

However, the interim report of the Milburn review argued FE in England had been “significantly weakened, with reduced funding and capacity”.^[74] It stated FE colleges were in “practice serving those with the most complex needs with some of the most constrained resources”. The report highlighted several barriers to participation in FE, including:

• English and maths qualifications: Requirements for young people in England to achieve level 2 English and maths can block some 16 to 18-year-olds from accessing and progressing through FE and apprenticeship pathways. The report warns that this can prevent a significant minority from moving towards employment at a crucial stage.
• Further education funding: FE colleges face funding rules that limit flexibility. Student numbers are capped based on past recruitment, and colleges bear the financial responsibility when students do not complete their courses. The report says these rules also make it harder to offer places to young people who become NEET during the academic year.
• Further education staffing: FE colleges face high staff vacancy and turnover rates. Around half of staff leave within five years, with low pay, heavy workloads, limited career progression and inconsistent professional development cited as key reasons.

Further information on access to FE can be found in the House of Commons Library briefings:

• ‘Access to further education’ (29 June 2026)
• ‘Financial support for further education students’ (31 July 2026)

5.2 Government reforms to the FE sector

The Starmer government said that its objective for the FE sector was to deliver “world-leading provision that breaks down barriers to opportunity”, enabled by “the implementation of qualifications reform, excellent teachers, and innovative leaders”.^[75] It also wanted the sector to contribute to national economic growth by addressing skills gaps as well as working with strategic authorities to “drive growth locally”.

The ‘Post-16 education and skills white paper’ set out the Starmer government’s plans to reform the sector. Its proposals focused on four areas, namely teaching, curriculum and qualifications, technical colleges, investment and regulation.

Teaching

The white paper set out a series of policy interventions the government said were designed to improve the FE workforce and their teaching experience. The government said it would:

• provide £1.2bn of additional investment per year in skills by 2028/29 to maintain real terms per student funding
• legislate to give the secretary of state power to bar unsuitable people from management positions in FE providers
• improve the training and professional development offer for teachers, including statutory guidance to ensure consistency and quality in initial teacher training

Curriculum and qualifications

The ‘Curriculum and assessment review 2025’ said too many qualifications and a lack of clear pathways at age 16 had made it difficult for young people to decide on their options, which has led to poor outcomes for individuals and the economy.^[76]

The review concluded the existing offer of either an academic or a technical pathway, with only A levels or T levels available alongside smaller complementary academic and technical qualifications, did not meet the needs of all sectors, occupations and learners.^[77] The review recommended a third vocational pathway based on new ‘V level’ qualifications.^[78]

The ‘Post-16 education and skills white paper’ acknowledged the challenges identified in the review’s final report. In relation to improving the range of post-16 pathways available to learners, the white paper stated that it would:

• Replace the current range of level 3 (A levels and T levels) vocational qualifications with new V level qualifications that would sit alongside A level and T levels.^[79] V levels are set to be introduced in September 2027. They will be broad vocational qualifications comprising 360 guided learning hours (the same size as A levels) and to be studied over two years. Students will be able to combine them with other qualifications.^[80]
• Introduce two pathways for post-16 students at level 2 (GCSEs at grades 4 to 9), giving them a choice between study that would either lead to work or to a further study at level 3. Each pathway would be a 16 to 19 study programme and would have a relevant qualification, alongside English and maths where necessary.
• Introduce new 16 to 19 English and maths level 1 qualifications (GCSEs at grades 1 to 3) to prepare students at GCSE grade 2 or below before they progress to retaking their GCSE.

The shadow education secretary, Laura Trott, has criticised the proposals for new post-16 maths and English qualifications, calling for pupils who failed their English and maths GCSEs to be expected to retake them rather than pursue “second-tier qualifications”.^[81] However, the Social Market Foundation welcomed support for students struggling to gain a pass in these subjects. Nevertheless, it stressed that efforts to raise attainment must “go hand in hand with strong family and community support, access to adult education, and sustained action to reduce the impact of poverty on young lives”.^[82]

On the introduction of V levels, Laura Trott questioned whether they were a “rebranded continuation” of reforms under previous Conservative governments, “or a completely new qualification that will take years to develop”.^[83] Liberal Democrats spokesperson for universities and skills, Ian Sollom, welcomed the government’s ambition but called for BTECs to be retained until 20230, rather than defunded as V levels are rolled out, arguing that they were a qualification that already worked and V levels were an attempt to recreate them.^[84]

The FE sector has largely welcomed the proposals for V levels but there has been concern about the implementation timetable. The Association of Colleges has argued the V levels, alongside the new level 1 qualifications, “feel more based in the realities of the students colleges work with and meeting the needs of every young person”.^[85] Dr Fiona Aldridge, CEO of the Skills Federation, suggested the qualifications could give vocational education more credibility and bring greater coherence to the post-16 landscape.^[86] However, she cautioned they would only be a success if there was “clarity, consistency and collaboration at their core”. Rob Nitsch, chief executive of the Federation of Awarding Bodies, has raised concerns about the timeline for introducing the V levels. In particular, he highlighted that Ofqual has not undertaken the usual consultation period on recognising awarding organisations for delivery of the qualifications.^[87]

Since coming into government in July 2026, Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced that his government would also be introducing new technical routes for students aged 14, which would provide them with “valuable early access to technical skills, work experience and connections with local employers”.^[88] Under the proposals, from year 10 students will be able to combine core academic subjects with technical skills that are linked to jobs available in their area. The government has said that regional mayors, local leaders, schools, colleges and employers will work together to tailor the new education pathways around local industries and growth sectors. It plans to begin rolling them out from September 2028.

Responding to the announcement, Alan Milburn told the BBC the plans would help prevent children becoming NEET by “equipping them with the skills and aptitudes that they’re going to need to be successful in the future labour market”.^[89] The Association of School and College Leaders also said it welcomed the prime minister’s ambition, but warned that schools could face capacity issues as they continued to face tight budgets. The National Education Union also warned the new proposals would “hit the skids unless there is sufficient investment in schools”, while the National Association of Head Teachers called for “greater clarity” about funding and practical details.

Technical excellence colleges

The ‘Post-16 education and skills white paper’ set out plans to introduce technical excellence colleges (TECs), which will be FE colleges that have demonstrated excellent provision in one of the government’s growth-driving priority sectors.^[90] The intention is for them to act as hubs of excellence in a specific sector. The white paper set out the government’s plans for the TECs programme, including:

• employers to play an important role in courses and curriculum design
• partnership between TECs and employers to co-finance capital investment in colleges
• strategic authorities to work with local partners, including employer representative bodies (ERBs) to encourage collaboration and facilitate relationships between employers and TECs, to ensure skills delivered match local need

The Starmer government announced that, from April 2026, 19 TECs would begin delivering “high-quality training on the sectors driving Britain’s growth—advanced manufacturing, clean energy and defence, as well as digital and technologies”.^[91]

Investment and regulation

The ‘Post-16 education and skills white paper’ set out plans to invest in FE, reform the funding system and simplify the regulation regime. Policies included:

• Undertaking a 16 to 19 funding formula review to ensure high-value courses are funded sufficiently, particularly in the most critical subject areas, for example those linked to priority sectors. The aim set out in the white paper was for a revised formula to be in place for the 2027/28 academic year.
• Exploring measures to allow FE colleges to secure loans from local or strategic authorities.
• Bringing FE and HE providers closer together by making the HE regulator in England, the Office for Students (OfS), the primary regulator for all providers offering courses at level 4 or above.

6. Higher education, widening participation and regional collaboration

HE is also an important part of the government’s strategy to improve social mobility, address skills shortages and support regional economic growth. The Starmer government argued that universities play a key role in developing higher-level skills, supporting innovation and research, and supplying skilled workers for priority sectors including digital technologies, engineering, life sciences, clean energy and health.^[92] The ‘Post-16 education and skills white paper’ set out an ambition for two-thirds of young people to access higher-level education or training by age 25 and emphasised the need for stronger links between HE, FE, employers and local growth priorities. Measures set out in the white paper included:

• Increasing the undergraduate tuition fee cap for all providers in line with forecast inflation in the 2026/27 and 2027/28 academic years and increasing them automatically for future academic years in line with inflation and conditional on a provider’s quality rating. It said this would “balance the need to give the sector stability with fairness to students and taxpayers”.^[93]
• Working with the sector to address issues around the sustainability of research funding and to ensure a “more strategic distribution of research activity”.
• Reforming the strategic priorities grant to ensure alignment of funding with the priority sectors.
• Taking measures to ensure the OfS has the capacity to intervene in low-quality teaching provision, especially franchised provision.^[94]

6.1 Policies to improve access and participation

The ‘Post-16 education and skills white paper’ contends that HE plays an important role in closing the gap between people from disadvantaged backgrounds and their peers, arguing it should be “a gateway open to all who have the ability and desire to pursue it”.^[95]

The white paper set out several measures intended to widen participation and improve the levels of progression into graduate employment, including:

• Increasing maintenance loans in line with forecast inflation every academic year and making care leavers automatically eligible to receive the maximum rate of maintenance loan.
• Continuing the policy started under the Conservative government of replacing the HE student finance system with the LLE. The white paper said that modular funding would initially be focused on key subjects for the economy, as informed by the ‘Industrial strategy’.
• Introducing new targeted means-tested maintenance grants by the end of the parliament, funded by a new levy on international students. The government has announced that from 2028/29, a new international student levy will require HE providers in England to pay a flat fee of £925 per international student per year.^[96] The government has said the levy is intended to raise funds for the HE and skills system, including to support disadvantaged students.^[97]
• Supporting the OfS in developing a reformed regulatory framework that “focuses on driving out pockets of poor performance, strives to continue to improve quality and safeguards the financial health of the system in a balanced and proportionate way”.^[98] This would include bringing together a task and finish group of sector experts, charities, UCAS and the OfS to focus on how the system could best widen access for those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
• Exploring challenges that lead to disparities in access to PhD programmes for those from disadvantaged backgrounds.
• Working with the OfS to develop options for how to measure and compare progress in HE to hold providers to account not just for student outcomes but for the progress they make. The government says this would “offer providers across the whole sector sharper incentives to improve quality and outcomes”.

Analysis of the affordability of HE and government policy to improve access and participation can be found in the House of Lords Library briefing ‘Affordability and quality of higher education’ (29 June 2026).^[99].

Shadow Education Secretary Laura Trott has criticised the tuition fee increase, arguing the cost would fall on both students and taxpayers.^[100] Ian Sollom, the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for universities and skills, warned against the unintended consequences of the international student levy. He stated that:

[…] analysis shows that the levy could cut up to 135,000 domestic student places over five years and reduce our economy by £2.2bn. That is not helping disadvantaged students.^[101]

The University Alliance, which represents professional and technical universities, has also warned it could force universities to reduce spending on students and research.^[102] However, it welcomed the uprating of tuition fees and maintenance loans. It said these were a step to address “the decade long devaluation of income for universities and diminishing levels of support for students”.

6.2 Higher education and regional collaboration

The Starmer government argued the HE sector “is a powerful engine of economic growth and a vital component of the wider skills system”. Regionally, the government envisaged a “more collaborative system where providers”:

• contribute to the skills and wider economic needs of their area, driving local growth and collaborating where necessary to achieve this
• provide a pipeline of critical skills for regions and support regional economic planning through innovation and working with small and medium enterprises
• expand and consolidate where necessary to increase efficiency and collaboration^[103]

To achieve these aims the ‘Post-16 education and skills white paper’ said the government would:

• Reform the strategic priorities grant, ensuring alignment of funding with the priority sectors and future skills needs.^[104]
• Consult on making student support for level 6 degrees conditional on the inclusion of break points in degree programmes. This will give students the option to break down their learning, achieving a qualification at level 4 after the first year and level 5 after the second. The government argued this will “enable young people to ‘stay local and go further’ by connecting local provision at level 4 and 5 with internationally recognised degree level providers, unlocking opportunity and ambition across every region”.
• Strengthen the guidance on local skills improvement plans, setting out clearer expectations for HE providers to engage with their development and implementation (see section 7 of this briefing for further information on these plans). The revised guidance was published in November 2025.^[105]
• Develop a new market monitoring function, with the aim of providing a clear, single picture of HE supply and demand.^[106]

7. Regional growth and devolving powers over skills

7.1 Skills for local economic growth

The Labour government under Sir Keir Starmer established Skills England to help identify workforce needs and support a more coordinated skills system.^[107] According to Skills England, part of its role is to collaborate with employers, local leaders and regional authorities to fulfil its wider remit to:

• assess current and future skill needs
• support workforce plan
• work with employers to support investment in skills
• align skills policies with industrial strategy priorities

Skills England argues that local and regional economies play an important role in supporting sustainable and inclusive economic growth. Describing them as “strategic partners”, Skills England states strategic authorities play a “vital role in place-based solutions”.^[108]

In its 2026 annual report, Skills England said it would continue to work with key bodies, including FE and HE providers, trade unions, ERBs and jobs and careers services, alongside local leaders, to “coordinate efforts across England, fostering a unified approach to skills and labour market development”.^[109] Skills England said it intended to work closely with strategic and mayoral authorities to support local growth plans, local skills improvement plans (LSIPs) and employment initiatives.^[110] It intends to focus on the following three priorities:

• supporting major investors and large infrastructure projects develop the skilled workforces they need
• delivering a more coordinated approach to local skills planning
• strengthening relationships with regional partners, and stakeholders across the UK^[111]

7.2 Expanding devolved regional powers over skills

The Labour government under both Starmer and Burnham has argued that local and regional leaders are often best placed to understand the strengths, skills needs and economic opportunities within their areas.^[112] This view underpinned the Starmer government’s devolution agenda to transfer powers over growth, skills and employment support from Whitehall to local leaders and mayors who “know their communities best” and are “central to driving local growth and supporting labour market and skills needs”.^[113]

Policies of the Starmer Labour government included:

• Adult skills fund: The adult education budget (renamed the adult skills fund from August 2024) continued to be devolved to eligible mayoral combined authorities that are responsible for managing and allocating funding within their areas.^[114]
• Integrated settlements for mayoral authorities: These settlements consolidate funding across skills, employment support, housing, transport, regeneration and local growth, enabling local leaders to allocate resources according to local priorities rather than separate departmental programmes.^[115]
• LSIPs: Measures and guidance were introduced to strengthen the role of strategic authorities in the LSIP framework. Currently ERBs have overall responsibility for LSIPs.^[116] The English devolution white paper set out a commitment to establish a joint-ownership model for ERBs and the relevant strategic authority.^[117] Government guidance issued under the Starmer government stated that it would continue to introduce measures to implement this model.^[118]

Currently 16 to19 education is not a devolved function to strategic authorities in England.^[119] However, soon after Andy Burnham became prime minister in July 2026, his government announced that mayors of strategic authorities would be given power over the 16 to 19 skills budget. The announcement stated the government would empower mayors to:

[…] offer a high-quality locally tailored technical or vocational route from age 16, underpinned by control of the budget for 16 to 19-year-olds. It should build on the new regionally-shaped technical and vocational pathways from age 14 that mayors will develop, with an expectation that mayors source high-quality work experience. […] We will give mayors the powers, flexibility and accountability to bring together education, employment, health and local support into a clear route for young people, so that no one falls through the cracks.^[120]

The statement also said the government would devolve employment support to mayors to “ensure provision reflects local need, including giving local areas the power to procure and provide tailored and specialised support for the long-term unemployed”.^[121]

Responding to the announcement, the Lifelong Education Institute welcomed the “fundamental shift towards a more place-based education system”.^[122] It argued “bringing together responsibility for 14 to 19 technical education, 16 to 19 funding and adult skills creates the opportunity to think about post-16 education as a single system”. The Association of Colleges also welcomed the proposal but stressed that the plans should be piloted before a wider roll-out and called for a strong national framework.^[123]

Pepe Di’Iasio, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, also expressed concern about the policy’s implementation and cited concerns about there being “very little detail”.^[124] He stressed that school and college leaders had “already raised concerns about the timescales and workload implications of delivering the prime minister’s new reforms, on top of a mountain of policy changes already underway”.

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