It is reported that the NI Secretary of State says work will begin today among officials from HM Treasury, NI Civil Service & the NIO to look at Stormont budget pressures. This will continue over the summer. Hillary Benn says the outcome can’t be a ‘one off fix.’ Following yesterday’s talks at Hillsborough with the ministers of the NI Executive, Mr Benn says this is about establishing facts for an incoming Prime Minister.
While NI as a relatively small piece of the UK is easily overlooked in London or Manchester, the lack of a budget for the present financial year is already impacting on the lives and futures of people here in Northern Ireland. To take a comparatively minor example, it was reported this week that ‘the Department for the Economy is preparing to cut funding for skills due to the failure by the Executive to agree a budget.’
‘Training providers of the ApprenticeshipsNI programme have been given one month’s notice of the withdrawal of funding for a significant number of places. ApprenticeshipsNI is the flagship government funded training programme that allows people over the age of 16 to earn a wage while learning on the job and working toward qualifications. But it also supports thousands of existing employees to retrain in new skills.’
Speaking today, the ICTU Assistant General Secretary Gerry Murphy said
For workers, skills funding isn't just another budget line; it's a pathway to better jobs, higher wages, greater job security and the chance to progress throughout their working lives. Cutting investment in skills means cutting opportunity.
These proposals send entirely the wrong message. At a time when workers are being asked to embrace AI, digitalisation and the transition to a greener economy, reducing opportunities to learn, retrain and upskill simply doesn't make sense.
We have the lessons of Austerity under the last Conservative government, which made drastic cuts to capital spending a decade ago which are coming home to roost now with crumbling infrastructure such as water and sewerage delaying the building of new housing.
Likewise, skills ought to be seen as an investment in infrastructure. The Resolution Foundation (2026) estimates that apprenticeships generate £13–15 of public benefit for every £1 of public spending for apprentices aged 19–24, compared with £7 per £1 for apprentices aged 24 and over. Last year, there were 13,324 participants on ApprenticeshipsNI courses.
NIC-ICTU is calling for a proper multi-year budget settlement based on the real needs of NI, and specifically makes the following calls relating to skills
- Reverse the planned cuts to skills funding. Reducing investment during a skills shortage is economically counterproductive.
- Protect Apprenticeship funding for both new entrants and existing workers who need to retrain or upskill, rather than limiting support to first-time entrants.
- Provide a sustainable multi -year budget for skills. This would give training providers certainty.
- Maintain investment in lifelong learning & workforce development. Continuous upskilling is essential for productivity, economic growth and achieving the ambitions of the Executive's economic strategy
- Engage employers and trade unions in workforce planning. Recognising unions as partners in delivering workplace learning through initiatives such as the Union Learning Fund.
