UCU welcomes launch of Skills England

The union was responding to the government's launch of Skills England.

UCU general secretary Jo Grady said: 'We welcome proposals for unions to provide strategic oversight of the post-16 skills system. Our members are the experts in skilling up students, and it is high time to reset relationships between government and educators.

'The government now needs to make sure there are enough college teachers in place to reskill England. At the moment, colleges face a recruitment crisis because teachers in further education earn £9k less than their counterparts in schools. Reskilling England will therefore require significant investment.'