Education and visa system | CIA Manifesto 2024 | Our focus

One million job vacancies across the UK economy 鈥撀爓hich is over 16% higher than pre-pandemic levels 鈥撀爏hows how difficult it is for companies to find people.聽Specialist production and support roles in the chemical聽sector such as instrument technicians, engineers and聽quality control roles are increasingly hard to fill despite聽salaries at unprecedented levels.

Additionally, from聽time to time chemical plants need major overhaul and聽production has to be ceased. At times many hundreds聽of contractors are utilised in overhaul duties. Finding聽such contractors has also become increasingly difficult聽and overhauls have had to be postponed.

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Evolve the Apprenticeship Levy into a more聽flexible apprenticeship and skills levy, enabling聽employers to invest their levy funds to support聽upskilling and reskilling through specific,聽shorter training interventions. Improve the聽apprenticeship system to increase and widen聽participation by removing the functional English聽and maths skills requirement which would be聽better supported by relevant training outside of聽apprenticeships. Make the apprenticeship levy聽transferable for use across the UK.
Invest more in training provision to raise the聽standard and consistency of delivery in all聽parts of the country.
Deliver a globally competitive immigration聽system that enables UK employers to attract聽international talent where key roles cannot be聽filled easily through domestic skills by reducing聽the administrative burden and costs of Skilled聽Worker visas, ensuring the UK is internationally聽competitive in both cost and processing聽time, reforming the operation of the Shortage聽Occupation List to ensure the immigration聽system can better respond to industry needs.
Change is needed within education providers聽to ensure qualifications, standards and the聽curriculum are fit for purpose. This should be聽based on a strategic assessment of where聽and how skills are needed.