With nearly 60% per cent of people in our region not educated beyond an A-level-type qualification, Labour will today announced plans to ensure everyone has access to education and training throughout their life to end skills shortages and “allow our economy to rise to the opportunities of the future”
Stephen Morgan said:
“People in the South East have been denied adult education –so often it’s costly or difficult to access. That’s why the next Labour government’s going to throw open the door to lifelong learning.
Our economy is transforming so rapidly, and governments have got to step up and support workers in these turbulent times.
That’s why we need a government that makes it as easy as possible for us to build the skills we’ll need in the future. It’s why we need a government that’s for the many not the few.”
Britain has a severe skills shortage, particularly in higher technical skills. According to the CBI, two thirds of businesses worry they won’t be able to fill skilled posts. The Conservatives have slashed funding for further education and skills training by 47 per cent and overseen a 25 per cent decline in adults enrolling in education.
Angela Rayner, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, said:
“Labour will throw open the door for adults to study, whether they want to change career, are made redundant or didn’t get the qualifications they needed when they were younger.
For many, adult education is too expensive, too time-consuming or too difficult to get into.
People have been held back for too long. We will make free education a right to ensure we have the skills we need to allow our economy to rise to the opportunities of the future.
In a speech this week, Labour’s Shadow Education Secretary, Angela Rayner pledged to put vocational education on a par with university degrees and deliver a radical expansion of lifelong learning to make sure “no one is shut out of education.”
The party says its plans are vital to meet the changing nature of industry – ensuring automation doesn’t leave people without work and we have the skills we need to tackle the climate emergency.
