AICPA & CIMA, together as the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, identified areas in which the UK government could drive productivity improvements, a press release said.
In a new report, AICPA & CIMA compare UK skills policy to a number of competitor countries, to identify potential areas for future UK policy development. The research examined skills policy in Singapore, the Republic of Ireland, Australia, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland.
The report highlights the potential for the government to work more closely with existing skills providers in the UK and equip the workforce with high-end relevant skills for decades, the release said.
AICPA & CIMA revealed examples in which government policy could be better aligned with this goal, to raise the UK economy’s productivity level.
Andrew Harding, FCMA, CGMA, chief executive–Management Accounting at AICPA & CIMA, said the UK runs the risk of falling further behind global competitors due to not keeping up with the skills required in the modern marketplace.
“Putting in place policies which deliver these skills would result in a significant improvement in productivity, which is vital for generating real economic growth and the improvement in living standards,” he said.
The proposals in the report include:
- Make the new Lifelong Loan Entitlement available for courses provided by professional bodies.
- Increase investment towards STEM-specialised institutions.
- Create an insurance scheme for small- and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) to underwrite the costs to the business where an apprentice fails or drops out of the programme.
These proposals would benefit the UK economy in the following ways:
- Lifelong Loan Entitlement available for courses provided by professional bodies: “Beginning in 2025, individuals will have access to the Lifelong Loan Entitlement, which will grant them the right to borrow enough money to cover the cost of four years of postsecondary education,” the release said.
- Increased investment toward STEM-specialised institutions: The UK can learn from Singapore’s approach of establishing STEM-specialised institutions, the release said, to attract talent, foster cutting-edge research, and drive innovation.
- Apprentice insurance scheme for SMEs: Covering the cost of an apprentice failing or dropping out would give SMEs more incentive to take on apprentices and allow the company to become more productive while upskilling their employees.
“Professional bodies representing skilled workers from many different fields play a key role in developing and maintaining these skills,” Harding said. “I want to see the government work more closely with bodies like ours to tackle skills gaps in emerging areas such as AI, and to support employers as part of an integrated industrial strategy to address productivity woes.”
— To comment on this article or to suggest an idea for another article, contact Steph Brown at Stephanie.Brown@aicpa-cima.com.