The inquiry, which is grant funded by the Further Education Trust for Leadership, aims to create a vision for the skills system by looking at what structures we need to respond to local and national needs and how to future proof this.

The project was scoped on the basis that the FE and skills system has seen significant policy reform over recent decades, but we need to know what needs to improve for the development of an overarching vision which will join everything together in a coherent way. This inquiry draws inspiration from the Skills Commission’s Guide to the Skills System and the lack of joined-up systems thinking in policy change over the past decades in the FE and skills sector.

Skills receive relatively less attention and funding than other parts of the education system and so have suffered with initiatives which are often designed and implemented without taking into consideration how these fit into the wider ecosystem.

Therefore, this inquiry will explore what a skills system – which is responsive to local needs and future social and economic priorities such as the local Industrial Strategies and the devolution agenda – could look like and how it can be developed.

The project is generously supported by the Further Education Trust for Leadership and has engaged a high-calibre steering group from across the sector.