As a nation we’ve become complacent in recent years in terms of nurturing home-grown talent and training the next generation in practical skills. We’ve also put less value on these skills, compared to academic qualifications. A result of this, coupled with the UK’s exit from the EU, is that we are now facing huge labour shortages in industries including construction, where previously a large portion of the labour pool came from Europe.

Reform is required in education, with more value placed on teaching practical skills, while the facilities also need to be in place to make this teaching possible. I therefore welcome with open arms the government’s Jobs for Skills white paper which aims to address this issue through a number of initiatives and reforms as well as £1.5bn of capital funding to improve the condition of further education colleges.

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