What Could Devolution Mean for Skills?

With Andy Burnham’s commitment to the devolution agenda, Steph is joined on this episode by Dr Jamie Mackay, recently appointed Head of Skills at the Hampshire and Solent Combined County Authority, to discuss what impact devolution could have on the skills sector.Jamie explains the upcoming plans for devolved adult skills funding from next year, and its possible future influence over funding for 16–18-year-olds, as well as careers advice. Steph and Jamie also talk through regional challenges, how to address accountability and transparency and what a system wide support model could like. 00:53 Meet Dr Jamie Mackay02:30 What Are the Devolution Changes?04:38 Accountability and Transparency06:48 Working with Providers08:14 Regional Challenges11:02 Key Industries and Clusters12:31 Skills Gaps and Priorities14:48 System Wide Support Model19:17 Face to Face Careers Help22:07 Lifelong Learning And FE32:08 Measuring Success and Pathways35:11 Thanks and goodbyeGet in touch with the podcast by emailing [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Steph focuses on the town she grew up in – Middlesbrough - recently in the news headlines for all the wrong reasons. Steph talks about how her hometown shaped her and sets out what she believes are the deep issues taking hold in the communities and how change can be addressed.Joining Steph is Liz Edwards from Rubies, a grassroots girls’ charity supporting self-esteem, resilience, confidence and safety.Liz highlights the challenges she sees through her work and together Steph and Liz discuss solutions such as the need for role models, inclusive education and more positive narratives about the town.00:00 Middlesbrough in Focus01:06 Headlines and Hard Truths02:33 Why Skills Were Left Behind05:48 Meet Liz and Rubies08:43 What Girls Need to Thrive09:57 Fixing A Broken System13:37 Devolution and Accountability16:03 Technical Pathways and Industry Links20:26 NEETs and A Lost Generation23:35 Beyond Screens Building Confidence26:55 Long Term Change and Hope31:18 Final ThoughtsGet in touch with the podcast by emailing [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steph interviews Laura-Jane Rawlings, CEO and founder of Youth Employment UK, a not-for-profit started in 2012 amid one million young people not in education, employment, or training, a level once again hitting the headlines. LJ explains how the organisation captures and amplifies the “youth voice,” through their annual Youth Voice Census, which surveys 11–30-year-olds with nearly 200 questions about all aspects of their life. Steph and LJ discuss the key findings such as the impact that a lack of work experience is having, young people’s concerns over the cost-of-living and UK economy and shrinking entry-level jobs. With the much-anticipated results of the Milburn Review set to be released in the coming weeks, Steph and LJ also look at some of the potential ways to address the NEET issue including the need for employers and communities to take action, social value procurement, and a youth guarantee.00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro01:04 Why Youth Employment UK Exists02:50 Youth Voice Census Explained04:48 Key Findings - Young People Want to Work!05:53 Barriers to Work Experience 07:15 Broken Social Contract and Mobility10:00 System Failure and Milburn Review12:35 Who Must Act Beyond Government?15:33 Business Case for Hiring Youth17:44 Local Solutions Devolution and SMEs20:19 Social Value Procurement Ideas24:36 Milburn Input and Youth Guarantee27:30 Final ThoughtsGet in touch with us at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recorded on location at WorldSkills 2026 in Shanghai, Steph sits down with UK Skills Minister, Jacqui Smith, to celebrate the young people representing Team UK at the prestigious international event and talk about the Government’s plans to improve vocational opportunities for the next generation. Topics discussed include the need to boost awareness of skills pathways, how Andy Burnham’s announcements for new technical route for 14-year-olds will be delivered within schools, and what steps can be taken in response to the Milburn Review on NEETs. 00:00 Welcome to WorldSkills00:15 Inside the Shanghai Arena02:22 Why Skills Matter03:52 Making WorldSkills Known06:17 New Technical Route at 1407:47 Ofsted and Accountability09:19 Funding and Employer Links11:12 Devolution and Local Jobs13:35 Milburn Review on NEETs14:37 Joining Up Government Skills17:09 What Success Looks Like18:02 Apprenticeship Levy Reforms19:23 Thanks and GoodbyeGet in touch with us at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steph meets former apprentice, Adam Stockwell, Founder of iMaintain, an AI-driven reliability management platform for manufacturing – soon to be worth £100m. Adam shares how his own experience on the shop floor fixing equipment in automotive manufacturing prompted the idea, when he realised that a knowledge sharing tool could help resolve issues much faster than waiting for access to an engineer. Steph finds out how Adam approached designing the platform, what it was like pitching to venture capitalists and why he believes AI training is vital for the future of the manufacturing sector.  00:00 Welcome and Guest Introduction01:04 What iMaintain Does02:36 Real Shop Floor Problem03:29 From Idea to Funding05:17 Early Traction and Pilots06:50 Advice for Would Be Founders08:16 Why an Apprenticeship?09:27 Challenges and Growth11:48 AI Skills and Job Fears15:08 Future Work and UK Scaling19:20 Final thoughtsGet in touch with us at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Recorded live at Teagle Machinery in Truro, Cornwall, the first-ever Vocational Celebration Day shines a spotlight on vocational training across the UK.Steph McGovern, a former apprentice herself, chats to apprentices from all around the UK to celebrate and promote the value of the ‘hard hat’ and all those taking forging their careers using a vocational pathway. Apprentices from sectors including engineering, HR, data science, transport planning, banking, sales and more share their journeys, challenges, and ambitions.In the studio, Steph also chats to Niki Storey, Group Strategy & Transformation Director at Enginuity and Alexia Williams MBE, Technical Lead at Rolls-Royce and an Enginuity Trustee, about the importance of vocational skills and why Vocational Celebration Day was created. Steph also meets Carrie Childs from the Cornwall Careers Hub, who shares how their work is helping to reduce NEET rates across the local area.  Hosted at Teagle Machinery Ltd, Steph meets some of the apprentices on-site who make up 20% of the company’s work force and chats to Richard Berryman, Manufacturing Director at Teagle, about ways they are encouraging the apprentices to take on new responsibilities, including taking over parts of the factory on Fridays. Messages of support also come from the Skills Minister Baroness Jacqui Smith, Enginuity’s CEO Ann Watson MBE, EAL’s Managing Director Alison Parkes, and Phil Smith CBE, Chair of Skills England.Plus, there’s a special performance from Adam Lyons & ‘The Paintshop Boys’ To watch the episode in full visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTauncd43LI00:00 Welcome to Vocational Celebration Day00:45 Inside Teagle Machinery01:32 Meet the Apprentices02:23 Message from Ann Watson MBE, CEO of Enginuity04:55 Why Vocational Matters with Niki Storey and Alexia Williams MBE11:19 Amazon Apprentice Olivia Lane15:45 Audience Apprentices’ Stories19:11 Factory Flashdance Moment with Adam Lyons & ‘The Paintshop Boys’21:02 Apprentice Ambassador Network in London26:33 Message from the Skills Minister, Jacqui Smith29:27 Teagle Apprentices in Action33:45 Cornwall Tackles NEETs35:48 Careers Skills and Networks38:56 Apprentice Ambassador Network in the West Midlands43:23 EAL Backs Vocational Routes45:42 Apprentice Ambassador Network in the North East51:45 Message from Phil Smith CBE, Skills England53:46 Apprentice Ambassador Network in the North West59:50 Lloyds Banking Group Apprentices in Edinburgh01:02:06 Closing Thanks and Celebration SongGet in touch with us at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steph interviews Dame Ruth Cairnie DBE, Chair of Babcock International Group, patron of the Women in Defence Charter, member of the CBI Board and venture capital investor with a distinguished international career in the engineering sector.Dame Ruth talks about Babcock’s role as an international defence contractor and major UK employer, contributing an estimated £4.3bn to the UK economy, and shares her thoughts on skills, culture, and teamwork, outlining the wide range of workforce needs - Babcock will require around 8,000 more UK hires over the next five years - and how company is approaching its talent recruitment.Steph and Dame Ruth also discuss shifting perceptions of defence needs and a change in the understanding of nuclear initiatives, the role of the UK Nuclear Skills Charter, the importance of diversity, retention and progression within the workforce and the community initiatives Babcock are championing to support their talent supply chain. 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro00:27 What Babcock Does01:45 Why Skills Matter03:04 Roles and Career Paths04:53 Early Careers Pipeline07:02 Supporting SMEs Supply Chain08:25 Nuclear Skills Push09:55 Defence and Nuclear Perception Shift11:59 Community Skills Partnerships14:28 Making Careers Tangible16:12 Skills Gap Challenges16:43 New Routes into Trades19:52 Pre Apprenticeships and NEETs21:45 Immigration and Resourcing23:04 Diversity and Inclusion25:05 Ruth Career Journey27:23 Facing Bias and Advice29:03 Final Takeaways and Wrap UpGet in touch with us at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A recent report from SQW, a leading UK-based consultancy specialising in economic and social research, which was commissioned by Enginuity, estimates the skills gap is costing the sector about £5.2bn each year. Steph is joined by Cathryn Moses-Stone, Senior Policy and Public Affairs for Enginuity, and entrepreneur and former SME managing director James Greenham, to discuss this new research and dig into the realities that this economic impact is having on manufacturing and engineering SMEs.00:00 Welcome and Guests00:42 Why Measure the Skills Gaps?02:35 The Reality of Hiring as an SME04:58 The £5.2 Billion Black Hole06:23 Productivity and Apprenticeships07:45 SME Constraints10:12 Navigating Skills Reform12:48 Grants and R&D Tax Credits14:07 Fixing Vocational Education14:52 Networks and Final TakeawaysGet in touch with us at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steph is joined by Phil Smith CBE, Chair of Skills England, and Ann Watson, CEO of Enginuity, to discuss Skills England’s recently published Annual Skills Report which sets out the key challenges facing England’s skills system and actions for how they can be addressed.They also chat about the industrial strategy’s growth sectors, potential opportunities over the next 5–10 years, pathways for moving between sectors and how to tackle the NEET challenge of about a million young people who are not in education, earning or training. 00:00 Welcome00:17 What is Skills England?03:58 How Job Titles create Gender Bias06:12 Work Experience Changes Minds08:05 Manufacturing Hidden in Plain Sight09:17 Skills England Annual Report Insights12:07 Essential Skills in the AI Era14:24 Creativity and Hands On Learning15:48 Skills Classification and Passports16:34 The NEETs Challenge16:58 Recognising Hidden Strengths20:09 AI Confidence Story23:38 SME Skills Struggles27:55 Skills England WishlistGet in touch with us at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Steph chats with Kathryn Marshall, Senior Apprenticeship and T Level Manager at Lloyds Banking Group, to challenge the misconception that apprenticeships are mainly for engineering and manufacturing. With Lloyds Banking Group employing over 1,300 apprentices across more than 30 disciplines, Kathryn explains the breadth of roles on offer such as audit, digital, data, software engineering and cybersecurity.Kathryn dispels the myth that you need maths qualifications to work in banking, revealing the only role where A-level Maths is a requirement, and sharing which skills matter more than subjects studied.Steph and Kathryn also discuss the way AI is impacting jobs, as Kathryn outlines how Lloyds’ AI Academy is helping its 60,000 colleagues and the ways their youth outreach is aligning with their purpose of ‘helping Britain prosper’.  00:00 Apprenticeships Beyond Engineering01:24 Routes into Banking Careers02:29 Actuarial and Audit Explained06:28 School Outreach and Awareness07:20 Digital and Tech Apprenticeships10:00 Who Thrives as an Apprentice11:01 Networking and Squiggly Careers14:01 Standing Out in Applications20:13 Family Journeys and No False Starts23:31 AI Academy and Future Skills25:31 Purpose and Community Outreach27:13 Key Takeaways and GoodbyeGet in touch with us at [email protected] Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.