Interested in lifelong learning? So is the next Government.

The recently-published manifestos show that upskilling is as vital as ever.

Last week we gave you our tips for hitting your career goals in 2020. Regardless of where you are in your upskilling journey, keeping an eye on politics can be a great way to get some more confidence in the decision you’ve made. Firstly, it will give you an indication of future job creation areas. It will also help you to navigate resources e.g. are there education schemes or funding solutions to ease your transition into the workplace?

After their respective manifesto launches, here’s what political clues we’ve gathered on upskilling and tech jobs in the UK over the next few years.

Lifelong learning is here to stay

Multiple parties mention upskilling and lifelong learning as a focal point for the next government.

Labour and the Lib Dems place a particular emphasis on this by introducing plans to make it easier to learn new skills throughout one’s working life. Standout policies for us:

Labour wants to introduce a National Education Service, which would provide cradle-to-grave education for all and would cover tech and digital skills, as well as other forms of education.

The Liberal Democrats want to tackle the digital skills gap by introducing a £10 000 skills wallet to fund courses throughout your life. A Lib Dem government would ‘top-up’ your fund, contributing £4000 at age 25, £3000 at age 40 and £3000 at age 55.

The Conservatives explicitly highlight the link between upskilling to access in-demand jobs and their policies emphasise providing businesses with the talent they want to operate successfully. They outline a raft of measures to close the skills gap including new Institutes of Technology across the UK, apprenticeships, and a new Skills Fund.

The Scottish National Party emphasises the importance of learning the necessary skills to benefit society by linking new skills for the sake of the environment.

It’s great to see so much attention being paid to the importance of learning throughout your professional life. When you’re deciding what you’d like to learn next and why, think about how to balance making the most of government and non-government resources so you are in control of your own success.

In their own words

Conservatives: We will create a new National Skills Fund worth £3 billion over the next Parliament. This fund will provide matching funding for individuals and SMEs for high-quality education and training. A proportion will be reserved for further strategic investment in skills, and we will consult widely on the overall design.

Labour: Labour will create a National Education Service to provide support and opportunity throughout your life [including] free lifelong learning, giving you the chance to reskill.

Liberal Democrats: We are embracing the future, championing flexible lifelong learning that gives people the power to follow the path that best suits their ability…

In our second election-related article, we’ll delve deeper into the different tech skills and industries being prioritised in each party’s manifesto.

If you are interested in studying a new tech skill like the ones above, Knoma can help you kickstart your lifelong learning process and get ahead of the game. Get in touch about our finance options.

References

Conservative Manifesto — https://vote.conservatives.com/our-plan

Labour Manifesto — https://labour.org.uk/manifesto/

Liberal Democrats Manifesto — https://www.libdems.org.uk/plan