The devolution debate is often framed simply as the transfer of powers and funding to local government.
Yet, as cabinet secretary Antonia Romeo recently argued, successful devolution is about more than organisational change. It requires a fundamental shift in how government works, moving power and decision-making closer to communities, while ensuring public services have the capability, expertise and innovation needed to deliver better outcomes.
In skills and employment policy, greater local control over 16-to-19 education and employment funding presents a significant opportunity. Labour markets are inherently local, and the challenges facing employers, learners and communities vary considerably across England. Giving local leaders more power has the potential to create a more responsive and effective system. But successfully tailoring skills and employment provision to meet local needs will not only depend on transferring responsibilities; it will also rely on the people responsible for making it work.
Why local skills devolution matters
The government's ambition to give local leaders greater responsibility for skills and employability has a strong rationale. According to the Office for National Statistics, in January to March 2026, 1.01 million people aged 16 to 24 were not in education, employment or training (NEET), which was 13.5% of people in this age group. But the proportion of 16 to 24-year-olds who are NEET varies significantly across England. TUC analysis published in 2025 found NEET rates were highest in the East Midlands (21.1%), and lowest in the East of England (10.6%).
Regional differences in youth labour market outcomes broadly reflect wider economic disparities across England. Areas with higher NEET rates are often the same areas facing higher economic inactivity and fewer high-quality job opportunities. Equally, the economic opportunities available differ significantly between places, reflecting the industrial strengths, growth sectors and workforce needs of local economies. The skills needed to support offshore wind in the Humber or life sciences in the Oxford-Cambridge Growth Corridor cannot always be addressed effectively through a one-size-fits-all approach from Whitehall.
The opportunity presented by devolution is therefore significant. As the Local Government Association has argued, more integrated employment and skills services can create a more responsive system for learners and employers by aligning support more closely with local economic needs. Local Skills Improvement Plans (LSIPs) are founded on the principle of bringing together businesses, colleges, universities and public bodies to identify the skills required within local economies and shape provision accordingly. Giving local leaders increased powers may strengthen the ability of LSIPs to meet national, regional and local skills needs.
What effective local collaboration can achieve
Having previously worked in further and higher education across England, I have seen the positive impact of locally-led skills and employment initiatives on economies and communities.
During my time at the University of Northampton, the university's social impact work demonstrated how collaboration between education providers, employers, community organisations and local stakeholders can generate benefits that extend well beyond the campus. In 2022-23 alone, the university created more than £21.4m in net social value across education, community wellbeing, culture and environment, and enterprise initiatives. By helping graduates progress into employment and supporting the development of a skilled workforce, the university contributed to both the local labour market and wider economic prosperity, with graduate employment outcomes generating more than £4.6m in net social value through increased tax revenues and reduced welfare dependency. Furthermore, in 2023-24 £7m GVA was achieved through collaborations between UON and businesses.
Devolution needs resources as well as powers
However, recognising the benefits of devolution does not mean ignoring the challenges.
The New Economics Foundation has highlighted that devolution will only succeed if it transfers meaningful resources and decision-making power, rather than simply transferring responsibility. Local government has faced significant financial pressures over recent years, and there is a danger that devolving functions without sustainable funding could shift problems rather than solve them.
There is also a wider question about geographical inequality. While the government's ambition is to expand devolution, more than half of England's population does not currently live within a mayoral strategic authority with access to the fullest range of devolved powers. Areas without mayoral arrangements must not become disadvantaged simply because their governance model is different.
The Department for Education will therefore continue to have an important national role which devolution must not dilute. As more responsibility moves closer to communities, the department's role in maintaining standards, assuring quality, evaluating outcomes and ensuring fairness across England becomes even more important.
Expertise will make or break reform
If successful devolution is ultimately about people rather than structures, then the workforce responsible for designing, implementing and delivering these changes must be central to the conversation.
The government has rightly recognised the need for a more agile civil service, one that can respond quickly to changing priorities and deploy expertise effectively. Devolution can support that ambition by bringing policy expertise closer to the communities it serves. But agility must not be confused with simply moving functions between organisations or reducing capacity.
No decisions have been made about how any future changes affecting DfE functions would be implemented. However, if responsibilities are transferred to local or strategic authorities, the expertise of the existing workforce will be essential.
Civil servants in the DfE have developed specialist expertise and institutional knowledge over many years that is not easily replaced. Experience from previous transfers of public functions shows that change can be delivered successfully when trade unions are consulted from an early stage. While TUPE provides important employment protections, it does not preserve all aspects of civil service employment, making effective workforce engagement essential to retaining expertise, maintaining morale and identifying potential challenges before they affect service delivery.
In my role as a full-time officer for Prospect, I consistently hear from members that civil service status means far more than employment. For many, being a civil servant is closely tied to their commitment to public service, their professional development, and their ability to build a meaningful career over time. This is particularly true for members of government professions, such as badged analysts, who place great importance on the professional standing, career opportunities, and mobility that civil service status provides.
If reform results in staff moving outside the civil service, they should not be left feeling that their contribution is valued less, nor expected to accept that successful reform requires detriment through reduced employment protections, diminished career opportunities or weaker terms and conditions.
Measure success by outcomes, not structures
Local leaders taking on greater responsibility for skills and employability will need experienced professionals who understand how the system works. The success of devolution must not be measured by how many responsibilities move away from Whitehall, but by whether more people move into quality jobs, employers can access the skills they need, and local economies become more productive and inclusive, reducing inequality.
As Antonia Romeo has argued, devolution is fundamentally about changing how government works and delivering better outcomes for the people and places it serves. That ambition will only be realised if reform is matched by investment in capability and expertise. Protecting existing expertise and treating staff fairly are not barriers to reform. They are essential to its success.
David Conway is a full-time officer for the trade union Prospect and a former head of careers and employability at the University of Northampton