Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether he has made an assessment of the key skills that the UK work force will need over the next (a) 10 and (b) 20 years; and if he will make a statement.

The UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) commissioned a series of long-term projections of labour market and skills demand called ‘Working Futures’. The most recent study (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-labour-market-projections-2014-to-2024), published in 2016, covers the UK’s anticipated skills demand up to 2024. Following the closure of UKCES, the Department for Education is currently commissioning the next set of Working Futures projections.

The department will also be publishing the results from the latest Employer Skills Survey this summer. The survey gathers information on the types of skills that employers need now and over the next 12 months.

In addition, the Skills Advisory Panels programme is being rolled out across England. The programme is working with Mayoral Combined Authorities and Local Enterprise Partnerships to give them the capability and tools to produce high-quality skills analysis so that current and future skills provision better meets employer demand at the local level.