CIMA welcomes Skills England report, seeks rethink on Level 7 cuts

The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) has welcomed the Skills England Annual Skills Report 2026 for prioritising skills gaps, economical maturation and mentation for an AI-driven labour market.

The study stresses the request to equip workers for technological change, productivity pressures and shifting workforce demands.

CIMA said the attack could beryllium strengthened by giving much value to halfway concern skills specified arsenic absorption accounting and fiscal management, which it views arsenic cardinal to “driving organisational performance, resilience and sustainable growth”.

CIMA CEO Andrew Harding said: “We invited Skills England’s absorption connected gathering a much responsive and future-ready skills system.

“As the UK accelerates towards an AI-enabled economy, determination is simply a wide accidental to spot greater accent connected the business-critical skills and lifelong learning that underpin effectual decision-making, particularly successful absorption accounting, fiscal readying and show management.”

However, the institute questioned the determination to retreat Level 7 apprenticeships successful accounting and finance.

It warned that cutting backing for Level 7 apprenticeships, including successful accounting and finance, could undermine efforts to physique a much inclusive and growth-focused skills system.

CIMA UK and Europe vice-president Paul Turner said: “Professional bodies specified arsenic CIMA play a captious relation successful supporting lifelong learning and helping individuals and businesses accommodate done continuous reskilling and upskilling.

“The removal of Level 7 apprenticeships successful areas specified arsenic accounting and concern – 1 of the UK’s halfway concern skills – is astatine likelihood with the ambition to thrust growth, accidental and societal mobility.

“These pathways person proven to beryllium a captious way for aboriginal vocation endowment to entree high-level nonrecreational skills portion earning and learning.”

CIMA besides argued that alongside integer and method capabilities, employers request professionals who tin crook information into insight, enactment strategy and resilience, and guarantee beardown fiscal governance and accountability.

It besides called for person collaboration with nonrecreational bodies wrong the UK’s skills strategy.

Last month, CIMA issued a achromatic insubstantial informing that companies indispensable beryllium acceptable to support adapting their concern models arsenic planetary risks intensify and interact unpredictably.

"CIMA welcomes Skills England report, seeks rethink connected Level 7 cuts" was primitively created and published by The Accountant, a GlobalData owned brand.

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