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Skills for Growth

My Lords, I join those who have welcomed the Statement. I speak with a declared interest as chancellor of one of the universities that has an active policy of seamless transfer from technical colleges. Having spent most of my life in the manufacturing sector, I welcome the Statement’s recognition that our training and skills must continue to evolve to meet the challenges of the new industries; for example, the carbon technical sector, as we seek to ensure that our environment is protected. It is a new sector that demands new skills and sets new challenges, and we need the training to deliver it. It is important to ensure that our skills base as it evolves is ready to deliver transferable skills, because transferability is a key element in maintaining skills to meet tomorrow’s challenges. Will the Secretary of State and the department consider encouraging employers to have annual skills audits so that we can keep abreast of the demands involved? What progress, if any, is being made to unblock the capital budgets of the technical colleges, which are raring to move forward so that we can deliver on the aspirations and needs of our economy and secure Britain’s competitiveness?