LABOUR PARTY OUTLINES SKILLS AND APPRENTICESHIPS POLICY

The British Cleaning Council attended a panel discussion recently about the Labour Party’s skills and education policy vision.

Company Secretary Simon Hollingbery attended the event in Westminster, which featured speakers including Labour’s Shadow Minister for Education Toby Perkins MP along with senior education sector figures.

There was a discussion about the Apprenticeship Levy which is highly relevant to the cleaning and hygiene sector.

Labour is proposing allowing businesses to spend levy funding on anything associated with training and skills, such as building a new training centre.

The audience heard that more levy funding should be spent on Levels 2 and 3 and that a review of the Apprenticeship scheme to allow candidates who had followed the A Level route was needed.

Labour also proposes a review of the work of the Institute for Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE).

Simon Hollingbery and Deputy Chair Delia Cannings are pictured here representing the BCC at the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE) Facilities Management Seminar 2023. Simon Hollingbery told the audience about the work of the APPG for the sector while Delia Cannings then made the case for respecting the cleaning industry, reflecting on the paucity of acceptable standards and advice provided to the industry and poor regulation during the pandemic, culminating in the proliferation of pop-up companies, with education and training being a key factor.