UK to spend £3b on Training to Cut Reliance on Foreign Workers

Britain will spend a record £3 billion to train 120,000 workers, the government said on May 27, 2025. The plan aims to fill labour shortages and cut reliance on foreign workers.

The Department for Education said the new scheme will “refocus the skills landscape towards young, domestic talent”.

Training will target key areas including construction, health, engineering, and digital roles.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “The open border experiment is over.”

The government hopes the move will ease political and economic pressure by tackling both unemployment and high net migration.

More than one in five working-age Britons are not working or looking for work. Official figures show the inactivity rate is now 21.4%, up since the Covid pandemic.

The government says its new strategy prioritises people who are out of the workforce. Funding will be used for apprenticeships, bootcamps, technical colleges, and lower-level vocational training.

Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the £3 billion package is a core part of Labour’s ‘Plan for Change’.

She said: “This investment will open up new opportunities for people across the country.”

The plan includes:

• 13 new Level 2 all industry construction courses delivered through the Free Courses for Jobs programme.
• £14 million of devolved skills funding, taking 5,000 adult learners through training.
• 10 Technical Excellence Colleges in construction are opening up in September 2025.
• From January 2026, funding will be diverted away from master’s apprenticeships.

Employers have long said they struggle to hire enough staff locally. Industry groups warn that new visa rules may damage the economy unless training efforts deliver quickly.

One trade body said the UK still faces “urgent labour shortages” in older industries like care and manufacturing.

In response, the government said it would raise the Immigration Skills Charge by 32%. This is expected to fund up to 45,000 additional training places.

The aim is to “upskill the domestic workforce and reduce reliance on migration”.

The training package follows Labour’s clampdown on immigration. The government has already restricted skilled worker visas to graduate-level jobs and imposed tighter rules on citizenship.

It has also lowered English language requirements for some visa holders and introduced stricter residence conditions.

These changes have already had an effect. Net migration fell by nearly 50% in 2024, according to government figures.

While businesses say training won’t fix shortages overnight, ministers are confident the approach will reshape the labour market.

A spokesperson said the programme will “boost resilience and economic independence” by investing in the country’s own workforce.