In 2023, seismic shifts in UK education and skills set the stage for an exciting year ahead. With 2024 marking the Edge Foundation’s 20th anniversary, and a general election also looming, now is the time to reflect on the sector’s achievements and aspirations for the future.Skills climbs the political agenda with emerging cross-party consensusIn 2023, leaders of both main political parties sought to prove their credentials when it comes to education and skills – be that Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s “silver bullet” to the productivity crisis, or opposition leader Keir Starmer’s catchphrase: “My dad was a toolkmaker”.Both parties announced a raft of fresh education and skills policies. While differing in flavour, they sought to tackle many of the same concerns and would affect everything from Early Years to Further Education, Higher Education and beyond.The government announced its intention to address the worrying long-term decline of basic numeracy skills needed for life and work, pledging to extend maths to 18, for instance, while Labour promised to address this at primary level, through ‘real world’ maths for all.This ambition is truly welcome – as is the consensus, at long last, that essential (and technical) skills are not for those less ‘academically able’, but required by every young person if they are to thrive in the modern working world..However, as the general election inches closer, and parties look for more dividing lines, we hope this consensus on education and skills will not be lost. We are also aware that new policy initiatives have a habit of shifting focus and funding from areas where progress is underway. We must navigate with care.As the main parties shape their election manifestos, we hope they take note of evidence such as the recently released House of Lords 11-16 report, which took on board evidence from our Executive Director and pointed to the need for a truly broad and balanced curriculum offer across secondary education, and that careers guidance must give equal status to the full range of post-16 pathways.Advanced British Standard (ABS)The promise of a baccalaureate-style post-16 education – the Advanced British Standard (ABS) – is hugely welcome. A long overdue move to bring ‘academic’, technical and vocational qualifications under one umbrella reflects the parity that has been achieved. It’s a positive sign that the ABS mirrors the Times Education Commission’s flagship policy, which attracted widespread support across education, politics, the arts, science, and business. The days of negative public opinion around ‘non-academic’ pathways are gone. Government policy is catching up.While the devil will be in the detail, the seeming cross-party consensus is once again encouraging. Should they win power, Labour has pledged to review the curriculum and assessment system, suggesting that a broader, baccalaureate-style qualification of some description could triumph regardless of the election’s outcome. Edge is well-placed to support. Our “Bacc to the Drawing Board” event in May stimulated timely discussion on the nature and objectives of a baccalaureate qualification, and we have new, valuable research to inform policy implementation.Skills developmentIn 2023, Edge also saw excellent work being done to bridge the skills gap, from corporate initiatives to education business partnerships. The greatest success stories invariably involve effective employer engagement. In 2023, employers told us they wanted shorter, more flexible courses and greater support around management capabilities, particularly for SMEs. In 2024, businesses of all sizes will therefore require ongoing support to help them to guide and shape the skills offer.Labour’s proposals to introduce a Growth and Skills Levy are also intriguing, but require careful consideration to avoid recreating the disincentives to apprenticeship uptake built into the existing levy. The party’s promise to establish a Skills England body to oversee the national...

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