THE AUTUMN BUDGET & LCR SKILLS: A SIMPLE OVERVIEW
This year’s Autumn Budget has been announced, but what does it mean for skills and careers in the Liverpool City Region?
Rachel Reeves has announced this year’s Autumn Budget, but what does it mean for skills and careers in the Liverpool City Region?
The Budget affects almost everyone in one way or another, whether you’re just finishing school, looking to change careers, upskill in your current role, or running a business. In this post, we’ll look at some of the announcements that affect the skills and careers sector, and explain how new national policies could shape local job opportunities and training programmes.
The Youth Guarantee: A focus on young people
The biggest budget news for young people is the £820 million the government has announced for the Youth Guarantee programme. This will see unemployed 18-21-year-olds who have been out of work for 18 months, offered paid roleslasting for 6 months. This government funding will not only pay wages but also provide the support needed to help young people transition into long-term employment.
The Liverpool City Region has already been running a Youth Guarantee “trailblazer” programme locally. This new national funding will boost this local effort, helping even more young people take their first real step into long-term work.
Apprenticeship changes
- Fully funded apprenticeships for under 25s
Small and medium-sized businesses will no longer pay 5% of apprenticeship training costs for any apprentices they have under the age of 25. This should encourage employers to have more young staff on apprenticeships.
- The range of apprenticeship standards or programmes will be streamlined, which means that there will be fewer choices. But there are over 700 different apprenticeships, and it will be mainly those with little or no take-up that will be removed.
- Large employers will need to spend their apprenticeship levy (a tax large businesses pay into a dedicated account to pay for apprenticeship training for staff) within 12 months of paying it rather than 24 months.
Alongside funding these new initiatives, the government will introduce additional reforms to the structure and organisation of the apprenticeship system. We will explore these in further features.
Increased minimum wage
This Budget includes significant increases to the minimum wage, meaning many workers, including apprentices in the Liverpool City Region, will take home more money.
- National Living Wage (21+): Increases to £12.71 per hour (up 4.1%)
- 18-20-year-olds: Minimum wage increases by 8.5% to £10.85 per hour
- 16-17-year-olds & apprentices: Minimum wage increases by 6.0% to £8.00 per hour.
These increases will encourage more young people into work and help them and apprentices across the region earn a fairer wage.
Regional flexibility to meet regional needs
The Chancellor announced £13 billion of flexible funding for Mayors across England. This funding is intended to improve skills and businesses, as well as improve local infrastructure. As a result, the Mayor of Liverpool City Region will have the flexibility to work with local leaders to spend money where is most needed locally.
The government has also extended Business Rates Retention Pilot in the Liverpool City Region until 2029. This scheme lets LCR’s councils keep 100% of the tax collected from local businesses, rather than sending it to the national government. This means more money for our local area to invest in things such as skills training, local services, or infrastructure improvements.
Overall, there’s much in the Autumn Budget that should hopefully uplift skills development and employment opportunities in the Liverpool City Region, especially for young people. This boost takes the form of support for young people seeking paid work, more reasons for local businesses to offer new apprenticeship opportunities, an increase in wages, and more flexibility in how money is spent on skills and career development in our region, so it’s relevant to our needs.
