Skills | How does the Queen's Speech impact HR?

Yesterday, the Queen made her 67th appearance in the House of Lords, to deliver her speech to parliament outlining around 30 new bills that the Government intends to pass into law within the opening session – the previous Government session having concluded in April.

Whilst many of the 30 proposed bills identified by the Queen focussed on economic and post-pandemic recovery, some of the bills highlighted areas that will have a significant impact on working life and HR’s remit.

One of the most anticipated areas of the ten-minute speech, which was broadcasted on the BBC, was the mention of what the Queen called a ‘skills revolution’ within the UK, offering a ‘lifetime skills guarantee’ through what the Government is calling the ‘Skills and Post-16 Education Bill’.

This new legislation would take the form of loans for those looking to retrain and reskill, and retrain at university or college level, and will be "useable at any point in their lives,” reports from the BBC claimed.