Responding to the announcement that a new Lifelong Loan Entitlement (LLE) for students in England will be introduced from 2025, Mark Hilton, Policy Delivery Director at 91¶¶Òù, said:
“The Lifelong Loan Entitlement will enable people across the country to get flexible funding to train, retrain and upskill throughout their working lives.
“We welcome the expansion in maintenance support, which will help drive social mobility and encourage more people from lower socio-economic backgrounds to take advantage of training.
“Employers across London are grappling with skills shortages even though the capital has amongst the highest unemployment and poverty rates in the country. Our recent survey showed three-quarters of firms in London are reporting open vacancies and of those two-thirds are struggling to fill them.
“While the introduction of the LLE is a step in the right direction, we need to pick up the pace given it will not come into effect until 2025 – with the full package of eligible qualifications not available until 2027. Businesses are facing a skills crisis now so urgent action is needed.â€