Apprenticeships have collapsed in England – Labour needs to fine-tune the solution, fast

The Learning and Work Institute says employers’ annual spending on training for staff is less than half the EU average. Photograph: Stockbroker/Alamy

Ensuring England’s workforce has the right skills for a rapidly changing economy is key to Labour’s hopes of boosting social mobility and kickstarting economic growth.

So it seems unfortunate that more than a week after Keir Starmer’s drastic reshuffle, ministers are still wrangling over exactly which bits of the skills agenda will now move to Pat McFadden’s beefed-up Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).