This one matters

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I usually write short posts, but not this time. This is so important.

I’ve worked in L&D for a long time, and a tension between FE, HE, and workplace learning (WPL) has always been there. Each has its own purpose, but they’re rarely aligned. At best, they cooperate. At worst, they compete.

That’s why I’ve been watching the launch of Skills England (SE) with both anticipation and concern.

For those unfamiliar: Skills England is a new national body, launched in late 2024 to unify the UK’s fragmented skills system and lead a decade-long plan. It sits, initially, within the Department for Education and is designed to coordinate government, employers, training providers, and unions in identifying skill gaps and shaping provision.

It sounds promising. But look a little closer and there’s a major problem.

⚠️ The Core Problem: Education-First vs Performance-First

Let’s start with mindset.

The fact that Skills England is positioned within an education department immediately frames it through a traditional, education-first lens. That lens isn’t built for modern workforce realities.

A March 2025 CEDEFOP report makes this clear. It states that workplaces are primary learning environments. The report calls for a shift away from institutional vocational education and towards work-based learning as a generator of skills, not just a place where skills are applied.

This is crucial. In the UK, with tight budgets across public services and SMEs, we must embed learning into the work itself. We can’t afford to treat it as something separate.

Early signs from SE suggest a focus on centrally designed qualifications, such as apprenticeships and foundation programmes. That may work for some, but it risks ignoring what actually drives performance in real working environments.

We’re heading into a clash between education-first policy and performance-first practice. And to be clear, I will always back performance. Policy should support practice, not lead it.

CEDEFOP’s European perspective is more balanced. It treats workplace learning as co-equal with formal education. But this only works if L&D professionals keep performance in the spotlight. Think productivity, retention, workforce agility. These are the real outcomes that matter.

If you work in UK L&D, now is the time to act. Talk to your Head of HR. Speak with your CPO. Understand how this shift could affect your workforce plans. Because right now, there’s a risk that workplace learning gets sidelined unless we put ourselves into the conversation.

🔍 Where We Must Intervene

1. Workplaces Are Learning Spaces

Workplaces are not just consumers of training. They are creators of capability.

This doesn’t mean every organisation must become an apprenticeship provider. But it does mean we need to use our expertise in L&D, OD, talent and workforce planning to lead on defining what works.

If Skills England reverts to an outdated model where learning is something that happens away from the job, we’ll lose ground. It’s up to us to ensure learning is built into roles, culture, feedback loops and day-to-day workflow.

Ask yourself: How is learning embedded in your workplace today?

2. SMEs Need Agility, Not Bureaucracy

In the UK, 99.8 per cent of businesses are SMEs. They do not need long, qualification-based programmes that take months to build and even longer to deliver. They need just-in-time, contextual learning that fits their reality.

Workplace learning has always been better at responding to demand than supply. But our systems need to reflect that. We need modular, pull-based offers that people can access when they need them.

Move past the idea of learning ‘academies’. Forget credentials for the sake of it. Build solutions based on tools, behaviours, and knowledge that genuinely solve business problems.

Start by listening to your workforce. Then deliver at their pace.

3. Informal Learning Must Count

We continue to undervalue informal learning. Tacit knowledge, sector-specific skills and broader capabilities like communication and leadership are often ignored by formal systems.

But these are the skills that drive actual performance.

We need to shift focus from certificates and CPD hours to meaningful outcomes. A performance-led approach that evaluates improvement is more valuable than measuring attendance.

Until Skills England and other bodies build this into their systems, we must lead by example.

4. Employer Involvement Can’t Be Tokenistic

Too often, workplace learning professionals are brought in at the end. We’re told, “Here’s the policy. Now make it work.”

That’s not co-creation. And it won’t work here.

We need genuine co-creation. Not box-ticking consultation. Shared ownership from the start.

Look at Finland. Sector-led models, shared delivery, and co-designed standards. That is what works.

In the UK, employer groups, chambers of commerce, CIPD, LPI and others need to demand real influence. Not after the fact. From the beginning.

Where are those voices right now?

5. Managers Multiply Impact

CEDEFOP is clear: learning succeeds when line managers enable it.

It was encouraging to see this mentioned in oral evidence to the Education Committee from SE, AELP and others. But we are still failing our line managers. We expect them to support learning without giving them the tools or support they need.

L&D must prioritise manager capability. That includes coaching, feedback, delegation and ongoing development. No national curriculum can replace that.

Done well, this kind of support multiplies the impact of everything else we do.

6. Local Insight Matters

Labour market intelligence must reflect reality on the ground. If Skills England focuses too much on national averages, it will miss vital local context.

Workplace learning often fills this gap already. It’s grounded in regional needs.

For example, in health and social care in the South West, the problem isn’t just a skills shortage. It’s transport. Housing. Public services. These impact recruitment and retention far more than a training course ever could.

Strategic workforce planning has to reflect this. And L&D should be at the table when it does.

✅ So What? What You Can Do

This isn’t just another policy shift. It’s a critical moment for UK workplace learning.

Now is not the time to wait. Here’s what you can do:

✳ Immediate Actions

  • Respond to Skills England consultations with real examples from your organisation.
  • Pilot modular, performance-focused programmes and explore whether they can be supported by the new Growth and Skills Levy.
  • Measure what matters. Focus on internal performance gains, not just course completions.
  • Advocate for recognition of critical core skills and informal learning in qualifications frameworks.

📈 Strategic Priorities

  • Monitor partnerships between sector bodies, training providers, and employer groups to help co-create relevant training.
  • Design integrated pathways that combine national provision such as apprenticeships or bootcamps with in-house learning.
  • Push for simplified systems and more flexible approaches, particularly for SMEs and areas like AI, green skills and data where change is constant.

This isn’t business as usual.

Workplace learning is at a crossroads. If we want it to survive, we have to shape what comes next.

Let’s not get left out. Let’s move from shopkeepers, and engineer what works.

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