Business West welcomes the release of the Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper

We welcome the Government’s Post-16 Education and Skills White Paper as a significant step toward building a world-class, employer-led skills system that supports growth, opportunity and productivity across the South West.  

As the Employer Representative Body (ERB) for four Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) - the West of England and North Somerset, Gloucestershire, Swindon and Wiltshire, and Somerset with Somerset Chamber of Commerce - Business West has already seen how employer-led collaboration can transform local provision.  

We look forward to working with Skills England, strategic and local authorities, colleges, universities, independent training providers and our members to turn these reforms into real impact for people and businesses. 

This White Paper provides the clearest national signals that the UK is moving toward a truly connected skills system; one where employers help shape the courses, pathways and opportunities that drive both productivity and inclusion. 

The Details 

The White Paper sets out reforms designed to simplify qualifications, strengthen employer engagement and create a joined-up system across further and higher education. Central to this vision is Skills England’s national coordination role, supported by the LSIPs and their integration into regional strategies. This is a model Business West has helped to shape and deliver since the programme’s inception in 2021. 

Business West, through its LSIP delivery and wider work, including the formation of Futures West, is aligning employers, educators and policymakers around shared missions: digital transformation, green innovation, inclusive growth and regional resilience. The White Paper’s emphasis on data-driven planning, modular lifelong learning and V-Level vocational reform directly supports this approach. 

Futures West will continue to act as a bridge between research, policy and practice - translating national strategy into regional action. Its current programmes focus on emerging technologies, the future of jobs and the “Quality-of-Life Economy that enables our regions to deliver their unique strengths,” providing insight that helps local areas respond to industrial change and future workforce needs. 

Our MD, Phil Smith, has shared his perspective “Our region is home to world-class universities, colleges and employers. These reforms are an opportunity to bring those strengths together around a single purpose; building an economy that works for business and for people. Business West will continue to champion practical, employer-driven solutions to the skills challenges that shape our future growth. 

As the Government targets two-thirds of young people achieving higher-level training by age 25, Business West and its members will play a leading role in ensuring the South West remains at the forefront of this national skills transformation.”