Call for action to secure skills for transport manufacturing

A new Transport Committee report has urged the Government to better support the transport manufacturing sector to nurture and grow the skills it needs to thrive, especialy around cleaner and more advanced technologies. 
  
The Committee’s report calls for action to seize the opportunities aligned to the Government’s legislative agenda on bus and rail services and cleaner fuels. It explores the skills needs of the transport manufacturing sector and suggests a series of recommendations to better attract entrants into the sector and support the retention and development of existing employees, especially women.  
  
There are widespread concerns among manufacturers as they confront skills shortages in parallel with the rising challenges of transitioning to cleaner and more advanced technologies. 
  
Evidence to the inquiry highlighted specific skills shortages across the aerospace, automotive, maritime and rail sectors, while the Committee heard that that “the journey to net zero has fundamentally transformed the skills required across the automotive and wider transport manufacturing industries”. 
  
To better help address the challenges faced by the sector, the report says that the Department for Transport should gather information from transport manufacturers on how well the UK’s vocational training system is delivering a robust pipeline of skills and should then share those findings across Government to inform further development of vocational training pathways.  
  
It calls for Skills England to consult on the benefits of a ‘competency passport’ that would harness transferrable skills within the transport manufacturing sector and help workers to move between roles. 
  
Elsewhere, the report acknowledges that the Government is seeking to re-balance funding to prioritise younger people but says that its removal of funding for level 7 apprenticeships for people aged 22 and older risks jeopardising the supply of experienced and highly skilled workers for the transport manufacturing sector.  
  
It concurs with a recent Education Committee report that calls for this funding to be brought back for all ages within the eight growth-driving sectors identified in the Government’s Modern Industrial Strategy.  
  
The report notes that there is broad support for the Government’s levy system among transport manufacturers, but notes that constraints imposed by Government on how that levy funding is spent is reducing opportunities to invest in growing skills. It calls for increased flexibilities in spending levy funding, but it also says that the Government should consider whether funding, under its new Growth and Skills Levy, should be withheld if employers fail to deliver against their own diversity targets.  
  
Transport Committee Chair Ruth Cadbury said: “The UK’s track record of manufacturing motor vehicles, buses, aeroplanes, trains and ships is something we can be proud of. But with the sector facing an array of challenges, how do we harness the talent we have and ensure that the sector continues to thrive? 
  
“Our report sets out a number of recommendations to ensure that we seize the new opportunities out there, especially in growth areas such as electric vehicles and alternative fuels."