The Skills Agenda

@thomasbewick.bsky.social

The Bluesky home of the popular Substack — The Skills Agenda https://open.substack.com/pub/tombewick

26 Followers | 28 Following | 71 Posts | Joined: 15.11.2024 | 1.7196

Latest posts by thomasbewick.bsky.social on Bluesky

Neoliberal skills policy failings laid bare Two new reports by think-tanks in Singapore and England challenge 'employer voluntarism', calling for a reboot of the entire skills ecosystem

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08.02.2026 19:44 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

EXCLUSIVE: Saudi Arabia makes bid for AI superpower status The inaugural ICAN conference at King Saud University in Riyadh announced 40 new academic partnerships that reimagine learning and work in the era of artificial intelligence

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30.01.2026 00:30 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

What the 'Davos elite' are saying on skills As the World Economic Forum gathers in Switzerland for its annual jamboree, a report from the group calls for more "human centric" skills

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23.01.2026 16:48 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Linking 'place' to productivity is a dead-end without confronting class inequality A new paper from the UK Productivity Institute champions placed-based policy as the antidote to post-industrial decline, but it obscures the real power dynamics for why these places are 'left behind'

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23.01.2026 16:47 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Too many over-50s are being failed by employment policy A recent report from the Warwick Institute for Employment Research is a wake-up call for more targeted support for a growing demographic in OECD countries

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17.01.2026 04:36 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

The New Artisan: Impact of AI on Jobs and Skills in 2026 Three clear trends are emerging in the adoption of AI tools, upending the centuries' old idea that it is occupational specialisation that drives productivity in the workplace

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15.01.2026 10:56 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

EXCLUSIVE: C&G insiders turn on trustees for 'unethical sale' Leaked documents reveal governing council was 'kept in the dark' about the sell-off. Allegations of bullying and intimidation at the privatised company emerge.

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04.01.2026 15:15 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

EXCLUSIVE: The Great Training Robbery How did a Monaco-based entrepreneur and a UK charity CEO get to privatise a once great public institution, City & Guilds?

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01.01.2026 22:13 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Skills Policy in Britain: A round up of 2025 It has been another hyperactive year for the training state. But doubts remain whether it adds up to a successful skills and jobs strategy to kickstart growth.

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18.12.2025 01:52 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Far from a NEET solution? To great fanfare the government has announced a £725 million package to tackle the 40% decline in youth apprenticeships. An historical analysis suggests it won't be anywhere near enough.

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08.12.2025 22:48 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

The Budget blindspot Ministers have no serious plan for improving workforce productivity, while going along with 40 years of failed supply-side Treasury orthodoxy.

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29.11.2025 15:37 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

The 'Great Apprentice Scandal' (Part 2) There are growing concerns about a slurry of recent reforms to English apprenticeship assessment. Changes that could signal a return to poorer training outcomes and the system marking its own homework

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21.11.2025 13:00 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

A declining graduate premium? With the gap narrowing between minimum wage rates and professional jobs requiring a degree, university courses face scrutiny like never before.

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14.11.2025 14:41 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Why the Chancellor needs to equalise tax Those who receive income from tenants and assets or work through limited companies have an unfair advantage over those who work via PAYE. The Budget is an opportunity to level the playing field.

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31.10.2025 14:23 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

The era of 'performative policy' From securing borders to delivering a skills revolution, top mandarins, many think-tanks and lobbying bodies have become redundant actors on a giant stage, writes Tom Bewick

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29.10.2025 14:55 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Labour eschews radical approach to skills reform With a blitz of technocratic tweaks and vague policy ambitions, Ministers opt to build on many of its predecessors' initiatives in a White Paper.

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22.10.2025 18:06 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

EXCLUSIVE: Top jobs at education department dominated by elites Since Labour took office the number of senior positions at DfE held by those who went to fee-paying-schools runs at more than twice the national average.

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17.10.2025 12:55 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Why this must be a Budget for skills In the absence of growth, Chancellor Rachel Reeves faces a serious challenge to balance the books. A proper reset of the country's skills investment model would help.

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08.10.2025 16:19 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

The rise and rise of bullshit jobs? Pointless employment appears to be endemic, yet simply calling for the 'death of the corporate job' is to misunderstand alienation in society, writes Tom Bewick.

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05.10.2025 13:09 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

80s Classic: Will the 'Youth Guarantee' beat YTS? Skills secretary, Pat McFadden, has been around long enough to remember Thatcher's Youth Training Scheme, but can he avoid its major design flaws?

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01.10.2025 12:14 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

'Skills Olympics' is a metaphor for Britain's managed decline Skills competitions sort out the wheat from the chaff when it comes to countries considered global productivity leaders. Sadly, the UK organisers can't even make gold.

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26.09.2025 10:34 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

'Privileged elites' still dominate Britain, a new report finds Social mobility charity, the Sutton Trust, finds little improvement since its landmark report of a decade ago.

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18.09.2025 10:11 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

The class of students that educators don't want to fight for Fewer than 1 in 5 white working class boys in England achieve a strong set of GCSEs. Part of the problem is that educational leaders see no career advancement in tackling the issue, argues Tom Bewick

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12.09.2025 17:20 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

My new book can be ordered with a 25% discount directly from the publisher. policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/skills-polic...

10.09.2025 23:48 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Memo to McFadden What does Labour's new "super ministry" mean for welfare reform, skills policy and the future of work? Tom Bewick provides some unofficial advice to the minister.

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07.09.2025 20:41 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Starmer’s shake-up could be the gamechanger FE needs Starmer’s decision to move skills policy from DfE could be a winner for FE

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07.09.2025 14:51 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

On the Kerala trail... The first state in India to achieve universal literacy is on a mission to lead in the global skills race.

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03.09.2025 16:53 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Australia: scepticism hangs over latest skills reforms Federal Ministers have announced a new Tertiary System Advisory Council to shift the dial on joining up skills recognition and tackling sluggish productivity, but experts have their doubts.

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28.08.2025 11:46 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Is Artificial Intelligence destroying entry-level and mid-skill jobs? As the labour market faces one of its most subdued periods since the pandemic, Tom Bewick looks for hard evidence of whether AI-driven job losses are to blame.

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21.08.2025 13:50 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Reforming the Apprenticeship Levy Ministers appear to be in a muddle over one of the government's flagship policies to raise skills and productivity. Has a Labour-friendly think-tank just a found way through the impasse?

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14.08.2025 16:08 — 👍 0 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

@thomasbewick is following 19 prominent accounts

Matilda Gosling
@matildagosling

Independent social researcher and non-fiction author. Teenagers: The Evidence Base and Evidence-Based Parenting (both Swift Press) are out now.

Shane Chowen
@ukshane

Editor at FE Week - reporting on further education, skills and apprenticeships. Story tips: shane.chowen@feweek.co.uk

International Labour Organization
@ilo.org

We are the ILO, the UN agency for the world of work. Advancing social justice, promoting decent work, since 1919.

Warwick Economics
@warwickecon

The official BlueSky account for the Department of Economics at The University of Warwick

Machine Learning
@machinelearning

Interesting ML (machine learning) news, insights, learning opportunities, and more

Guardian US
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With 200 years of history and staff across America and the world, we offer a global perspective on US news. We keep our fact-based news paywall-free. Become a Guardian supporter: support.theguardian.com

Guardian Australia
@australia.theguardian.com

✍️ Contact and complaints: https://www.theguardian.com/info/2013/may/26/contact-guardian-australia?CMP=aus_bsky 📨 Newsletters: http://theguardian.com/emails?CMP=aus_bsky 📰 Contribute: http://bit.ly/gdnausupport

Byline Times
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The UK's only reader-funded, independent newspaper that truly sits outside of the established system. Subscribe for exclusive content in the Byline Times monthly print edition: subscribe.bylinetimes.com Visit our free daily news site: bylinetimes.com

The New York Times
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In-depth, independent reporting to better understand the world, now on Bluesky. News tips? Share them here: http://nyti.ms/2FVHq9v

European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
@europeanjournalists.org

- The largest organisation of #journalists in #Europe - Fighting for #PressFreedom and decent working conditions - Representing 295,000 journalists across 44 countries - Affiliated to the European Trade Union Confederation www.europeanjournalists.org

BJTC Journalism Skills, Training & Standards
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Industry accredited UK journalism courses, skills, HE qualifications & grants. Supported by ITV, BBC, ITN, AP, Global, Bauer, C4, Reuters, Sky & NUJ. 45 years maintaining #journalism standards & training in the UK. BROADCAST.DIGITAL.ONLINE bjtc.org.uk

Department for the Economy NI
@economy-ni.gov.uk

The official channel of the Department for the Economy. Managed by Press Office during office hours (Mon-Fri , 9.00am - 5.00pm).

Robert Reich
@rbreich

Berkeley professor, former Secretary of Labor. Co-founder of @inequalitymedia.bsky.social and @imcivicaction.bsky.social. Substack: http://robertreich.substack.com Buy my new book: https://sites.prh.com/reich Visit my website: https://rbreich.com/

Penguin Books
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We publish fiction and nonfiction adorned with the famous dignified but flippant logo.

Stanford University Press
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Stanford University Press has been publishing books across the humanities, social sciences, law, business, and other areas since 1892.

Princeton University Press
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Princeton University Press is an independent nonprofit publisher. Our books spark engaging discussions and present bold ideas from leading experts worldwide.

University of Oxford
@ox.ac.uk

Welcome to our official account 👋 Follow for the latest news, research and updates about life at Oxford.

FE Week
@feweek

Leading the way in further education, skills & apprenticeships news, views and investigations. Published by EducationScape

Association of Colleges
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The national voice for further education, sixth form, tertiary and specialist colleges. Our members educate and train 1.6m people each year. #LoveOurColleges aoc.co.uk