Welcome to the Enginuity Policy Team’s policy update for February 2026. Our monthly update is designed to keep you informed about key developments in skills policy. This edition shares insights into recent government announcements and their implications for our sector, helping you stay ahead of changes shaping the skills landscape.

UK and England

The government announced £80 million for student skills investment to boost the UK defence industry

This is the largest single investment within the £182 million Defence Industrial Strategy skills package, and will enable universities and colleges to offer more places on key courses.

Skills Minister Jacqui Smith indicated that defunding of BTECs and other applied general qualifications in the transition path to V-Levels could be delayed further

Smith acknowledged that colleges had raised “substantial concerns about the pace of transition” and assured leaders she had “no intention of putting young people’s futures at risk” before suggesting the defunding timeline could be changed.

Government announced new apprenticeship measures ahead of National Apprenticeship Week

New pilots to match ‘near miss’ applicants with similar apprenticeship opportunities in their area set to be rolled out later this year. Comes alongside new online platform to give young people clear, accessible information about apprenticeships and career outcomes. 

Government pledged to ‘fast track’ apprenticeships reforms for skills boost in growth sectors

This would include 1) faster approval process to update apprenticeships and develop short courses; and 2) tackling bureaucracy to cut apprenticeship approval times from 18 months to as little as 3 months as government continues drive to help more young people onto apprenticeships.

An FE Week exclusive revealed that an initial 'tight group' of short courses will be fundable through the reformed growth and skills levy from April

Employers will face no cap on the amount of levy funding they can spend in this group of as few of eight short courses – seven of which are in engineering and construction. 

Mobile Jobcentres were rolled out in six new areas to deliver employment support 

Following pilots in the Scottish Highlands, North and Mid Wales and Greater Manchester, the number of Jobcentres on Wheels will triple, providing enhanced support in six new areas, with a view to explore rolling out the scheme more extensively after testing its impact.

The Times revealed that ministers are considering delaying plans to increase the youth minimum wage

Labour committed in their election manifesto to remove "discretionary age bands" and increase the wages of 18 to 20-year-olds so they are paid the same as those over 21. Ministers are reviewing this promise in response to business groups telling ministers they are “pricing a generation of young people out of the workplace”.  

The Office for National Statistics published new data on young people not in education, employment or training (NEET)

Around 957,000 young people were NEET in the last quarter of 2025, revealing that there has consistently been over 900,000 young people not earning or learning throughout the last 12 months.

Scotland

The Scottish Funding Council published the annual College Statistics Report, revealing that student numbers at Scottish colleges are continuing to fall

The total student headcount decreased by more than 4% from 218,145 in 2023/24 to 209,285 in 2024/25, while the number of enrolments fell by 3.1% to its lowest in the past decade. The SFC suggested the declines are largely driven by a reduction in part-time students. 

The Scottish Budget Bill was passed

The Budget Bill sets out funding of almost £68 billion and includes free tuition fees for young Scots; an almost £15.7 billion record settlement for local government to support services including social care and education; and significant extra funding for universities and colleges.

Wales

Medr published a Summary of the Apprenticeship Programme in Wales consultation outcome. Here are some key points:  

• Overall, stakeholders supported the proposed all‑age apprenticeship programme. 
• Employers and learners called for clearer communication, simplified information, and improved support systems, including mentoring and digital one‑stop‑shop resources. 
• Respondents stressed the need for a more agile, flexible programme that adapts to labour‑market needs, includes green/digital content, and recognises prior learning. 
• There was strong support for improving parity of esteem for apprenticeships, strengthening outcomes measurement, and expanding Welsh‑medium and inclusive provision. 
• Stakeholders highlighted implementation needs flexible funding, clear accountability, better use of technology, stronger FE/HE links, and improved assessment and framework management.

Next steps for this consultation:

• Feb-April 2026: Medr will continue to engage with employers to understand demand for apprenticeships, opportunities for innovation and how employer base could be expanded for broader engagement and participation.
• March-Mary 2026: Medr to engage with learners to better understand what works well and opportunities for improvement pre-, during and post-apprenticeship.
• May 2026: Consultation on proposed new apprenticeship funding model.
• September 2026: Programme specification and grant commissioning documentation to be published.
• August 2027: New apprenticeship programme will commence.

What’s coming up in March

• A public webinar for all audiences where the policy team will set out findings.
• Enginuity’s policy team will attend WIG/DWP roundtable with the civil servant responsible for the growth agenda, as well as an APPG for skills roundtable with Minister Jacqui Smith.
• Enginuity will speak at the LWI “No Train, No Gain” webinar on training to support job mobility and movement into high skilled work.
• Enginuity’s policy team will attend the APPG for Manufacturing Inquiry report launch.

Enginuity's second SME snapshot survey will be launched, comprising the following events:

• Two private briefing sessions for civil servants from various departments on the embargoed results of the SME snapshot survey.
• A private roundtable with SMEs who have participated in the survey to discuss and analyse insights.

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