SKILLSDEVELOPMENT: POLICIESFOR ENHANCINGEMPLOYERECOSYSTEM THE Foreword Wearedeeplycommittedtoadvancingtheprofessionthattheworldneeds,developingprofessionalaccountantswhosupportorganisationsacrosstheUKandworldwide.OneofthemostsignificantchallengesfacingtheUKeconomyistheneedforskillsandtalent.Notonlydoesthisleadtoproductivitylimitations,butitrisksmakingtheUKalessattractiveplacetoinvestanddobusiness. Whileorganisationsacrossvarioussectorscontinuehighlightingthetalentcrunchtheyface,theUKhasalsowitnessedaproliferationofeducationpathwaysandskillsdevelopmentinitiatives.Theseeffortsundoubtedlyexpandopportunitiespresentedtoindividuallearnersandorganisations,buttheyalsointroducefurthercomplexity,whichcanhindereffectiveengagementwiththeskillstrainingsystem.Atthesametime,employersfaceanincreasinglychallengingtalentmarket,oftenunabletoattractindividualswiththeskillsandexperienceneeded,and,inmanycases,increasingemployeemobilityismakingitmoredifficultthanevertoretaintalent. Throughengagementwithkeypartners,stakeholdersandmembers,wehavedevelopedkeypolicyproposalstotacklethechallengethatthewideningskillsgapacrosssectorspresentstoeconomicgrowthandproductivity.Together,theseproposalswouldprovideatangibleincentivefororganisationstoupskillindividualstodelivertheskillsneededtogrowandprosper,whileenablingindividualstonavigatetheskillslandscapemoreeasilyandensuretheyidentifythecareerpathwaybestsuitedtotheirindividualgoalsandaspirations. Asanorganisation,ourfoundingmissionistoensureopenaccesstotheaccountancyprofessionandanentrypointforeveryone.Weremaindedicatedtonurturingthenextgenerationofforward-thinkingprofessionalswhowillshapethefutureoffinanceandmanagement,aswellasofferingeverytalentedpersoneverywheretheopportunitytoexperiencearewardingcareerinourprofession. AbdulGoffar DirectorACCAUK 2 SKILLSDEVELOPMENT:POLICIESFORENHANCINGTHEEMPLOYERECOSYSTEMEXECUTIVESUMMARY Executivesummary TheUKskillsandemploymentlandscaperesemblesnotsomuchacrossroadsasSpaghettiJunction–fastmoving,potentiallyconfusingandwithfar-reachingimplicationsforthechoicesmadebygovernmentsaboutthedirectionoftravel.Industriesfromprofessionalservicestomanufacturingfaceacriticaltalentshortage,exacerbatedbyan ever-wideningskillsgap.Expansionintherangeofeducationandskillsprovision,suchasTLevels(DfE2023a)andSkillsBootcamps(DfEn.d.),inadditiontomoreestablishedroutestoqualification,suchasapprenticeshipsoruniversitydegrees,hascreatedawiderrangeofchoicesforbothindividuallearnersandemployers. Oneoftheunintendedconsequencesofthisexpansionhasbeenaddedcomplexity–leavingbothemployersandindividualsstrugglingtonavigateupskillingopportunities,whicharekeytoeconomicgrowthandproductivity. Addressingthischallengerequiresafreshperspective,togetherwithpolicysupportfororganisationsseekingtoupskilltheirworkforce.Wemaketwopolicyrecommendationstofurthertheseaims. 1 IntroductionofaSkillsTaxCreditPilot.ThistargetedincentivewillempowerorganisationscurrentlyeligiblefortheEmploymentAllowancetobeginbridgingthegapstheyfaceindigital,sustainability andfinancialcompetenceskillsbyoffsettingupto£5,000ofthecostofselectedaccreditedtrainingfromtheirtaxliabilities.Byaddressingtheimpactofchronic under-investmentintraining,thisapproachwoulddriveeconomicgrowthandproductivity,theglobalcompetitivenessoftheUKasacountrytodobusinessin,andsupportindividualstaffretentionandgrowthwithinorganisations. Whileaboosttotrainingwouldbewelcomebyorganisationsacrosstheeconomy,additionalsupportisneededtostrengthentheentry-levelpipelineavailableforemployers.Toenablethis,wepropose 2 agovernment-ledbaselineassessmentofthecareerguidanceandsupportcurrentlyavailableinEngland.Inthecurrentlandscape,guidanceandsupportforindividualsandorganisationsisfragmented,withvariablequalityandavailabilityacrosssectorsandgeographies.Anassessmentwouldprovidethegovernmentwiththedataneededtoidentifygapsorweaknessesinprovision,improveunderperformingregionsandempowerindividualstoaccessnewopportunitiesinanenvironmentwithfast-changingskillsneeds. Forfurtherinformation: JoeFitzismons SeniorManager–PolicyandInsights,EEMA&UKACCA 3 Takentogether,webelievethistwo-stepapproachcouldhelpemployerstoimprovetrainingforexistingstaff,whilecreatingawiderpooloffuturetalent.Inadditiontoempoweringindividuals,thiswouldhelptheUKtoclosewideningskillsgapsacrossallsectorsandensureourcareersserviceiswellpositionedtotakeadvantageofthenewageofopportunities,fromdataanddigitaldevelopmentstothegreeneconomy. 4 SKILLSDEVELOPMENT:POLICIESFORENHANCINGTHEEMPLOYERECOSYSTEMINTRODUCTION Introduction Astheglobalbodyforprofessionalaccountants,atACCAwearecommittedtoofferingeveryoneeverywheretheopportunitytoexperiencearewardingcareerinaccountancy,financeandmanagement.Throughourqualificationsandlearningopportunities,wedevelopstrategicbusinessleadersandforward-thinkingprofessionalswiththefinancialbusinessanddigitalexperienceneededforthecreationofsustainableorganisationsandflourishingsocieties. Globally,weareathrivingcommunityofover247,000membersand526,000students(futuremembers),geographicall