Budget must encourage investment in skills and technology adoption, says CIPD

Ben Willmott, head of public policy at the CIPD, the professional body for HR and people development, said:

“The Budget will be a key moment for this new government to signal how it intends to deliver its ambition to boost growth and improve living standards. There is an urgent need for the government to work in partnership with employers to create policies that boost investment in skills, management capability and technology adoption across the economy.” 

Skills

“To help improve vocational training and tackle technical skills shortages, we are calling on the government to introduce an Apprenticeship Guarantee that would provide an apprenticeship at level 2 or 3 for all 16-to-24-year-olds with the necessary minimum qualifications.  

“Early and meaningful consultation with employers on the design of the new Growth and Skills levy will also be important to ensure it can help firms meet their skills development needs.” 

Innovation adoption  

“To encourage innovation and boost productivity, we’d like to see the introduction of a new £50m partnership fund that sector bodies can draw upon to improve management capability, skills development and technology adoption at an industry level.  

“We’ve also called for a review of publicly-funded business support as a first step towards the creation of accessible and high-quality business support services that can help more SMEs develop the capabilities needed to innovate and grow. 

“Additionally, the CIPD wants to see the government set up and fund ‘workforce productivity pilots’ in the public sector to help improve innovation and effectiveness.” 

Make work pay 

“To achieve its ambition to make work pay, the government must take further measures beyond the establishment of a Fair Work Agency in order to improve labour market enforcement and support employer compliance. Acas needs more resources to boost its capacity to advise and support SMEs to help them understand and comply with new laws as they are implemented.”