As jobs evolve and AI reshapes the labour market, aligning education with real-world skills is essential to close the productivity gap and future-proof the workforce, says Frances Haque

We have long talked about the growing divide between what we learn at school and what the economy needs. The difference now is that the consequences are becoming harder to ignore.

Wednesday’s Spending Review reconfirmed that “growth” remains the buzzword of 2025. Delivering it will take more than capital investment and infrastructure projects. It needs a workforce – trained, adaptable and ready to step into the new, evolving jobs the labour market requires.

The Labour Government has made promising early moves, prioritising training through a £3bn apprenticeship budget and £1.2bn per year for upskilling, new Technical Colleges, the growth and skills levy, and recent establishment of Skills England. The next step is delivery – ensuring training aligns closely with businesses’ changing needs.

At Santander we have a privileged window into the changing nature of jobs and skills across our........

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