Greg Clark, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) delivered the industrial strategy white paper ‘Building a Britain fit for the future’ on Monday. The white paper provides a five-part structure setting out how the government will seek to coordinate policies to secure higher investment and productivity. These are – ideas (R&D and innovation); people (education and skills); infrastructure; business environment (finance, business support, inward investment); and places (regional growth). Across these five areas there are new policies, extra money and “grand challenges”. The grand challenges are major social needs which can give direction to private sector investment and help strengthen UK supply chains. The four grand challenges are: artificial intelligence and data economy; future of mobility; clean growth; and ageing society. The white paper takes stock of the economy and industry in the UK and attempts to place “big government” ideas at the centre of public policymaking as the UK prepares for a future outside of the EU. From a higher education perspective attention focuses on the skills and Research and Development (R&D) contributions.
Skills and training
- The Office for Students (OfS) has acquired labour market planning functions alongside regulation, accreditation and funding. According to the white paper the OfS will “address employer and student needs and expectations in the short, medium and long term – considering the skills gaps that exist today, and anticipating the demands of the future economy.”
- The government and the Royal Society and British Academy are “encouraging universities and employers to signal the value of level 3 maths qualifications” for entry to undergraduate courses.
- £30m has been ring-fenced to support the use of artificial intelligence and innovative education technology in delivering online digital skills courses. This is part of a £64m National Retraining Scheme.
Research, development and data
- A new £115 million “Strength in Places” fund will deliver industrial strategies for city regions with mayors and combined authorities to support collaborative programmes between universities, employers and LEPs.
- Universities will play a key role in developing innovation ecosystems, with specific measures and needs identified by science and innovation audits.
- Money has been ring-fenced for the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund and for R&D spending overall, with an extra £2.3 billion and a commitment to meeting the 2.4 per cent GDP target in 2027. In total, and with the addition of this extra money in 2021-22, the Industrial Strategy now totals £7 billion.
While many have deemed the announcements in the white paper as a step in the right direction, there is criticism that not enough is being done to provide reassurance about the future direction of higher education in the UK, alongside the need for further financial investment. The measures reported in the industrial strategy are not typically new to policy with many ideas having been prepared and publicly announced prior to the release on Monday.