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Skills for Growth

I thank my noble friend for his encouragement and for what he said about the value of training and the need for investment in skills by government and employers alike, especially transferable skills. That will be one of the key features of the new technician class of advanced apprentices that we are seeking to promote. I take my noble friend’s point about the need for capital expenditure. We are always seeking to unblock and increase this, even at times of constraint in public finance. It is right, as my noble friend emphasised, for the Government to focus support on the areas of the economy that will provide future growth and jobs. It is not about picking winners and losers, but about developing the skills that we need for the economy to succeed. It is about equipping people with the skills that they need in the key, high-potential areas of the future so that, just as my noble friend said, Britain remains competitive and the people participating in that success are able to command the sort of well paid jobs to which they aspire.