East Midlands Mayor: What all six candidates have to say about skills and adult education
We've spoken to all six of the region's mayoral candidates ahead of polls opening next week.
Next week, we're heading to the polls to elect the first ever regional mayor for the East Midlands.
Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire will choose who will head up the new Combined County Authority on Thursday, May 2nd.
It follows a devolution deal that was signed with the Government, to divert some decision-making powers from Westminster up to the East Midlands.
The deal will provide £1.14bn in funding, spread over 30 years.
The candidates are Frank Adlington-Stringer (Green Party), Ben Bradley (Conservatives), Alan Graves (Reform UK), Matt Relf (Independent), Helen Tamblyn-Saville (Liberal Democrats) and Claire Ward (Labour).
All six have spoken to us, outlining their priorities.
Here's what they have to say about adult education and skills:
Frank Adlington-Stringer (Green Party)
Frank Adlington-Stringer was born in Chesterfield and is North East Derbyshire’s first-ever Green Party councillor.
We spoke with him about his plan to start a "Green industrial revolution" at Cromford Mills, near Matlock.
" Whether you're a Green voter or not, you can see that the economy is travelling in one direction and one direction only, and it's about time that we got ready for that future.
"That's why it's so important that we start with education and make sure that our people are ready for that future.
"I will invest in people and make sure that we have training that allows people to get involved in sustainable work, to link up with our manufacturers, that we champion apprenticeships, and that we have digital technologies at the heart of what we do.
"We must be thinking ahead of the game. People say that the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago and the second best time is to plant one now. Well, I say the same is true for taking action on the environment.
"We should have done this work a long time ago. The other candidates standing in this election have been part of governments that failed to do that.
"Now we have an opportunity to take back control here locally, send a message to London, elect a Green mayor, put our priorities on the map and invest in our people and make sure that we're ready to take advantage of this Green transition."
Ben Bradley (Conservative Party)
Ben Bradley was born in Derby and is the current leader of Nottinghamshire County Council and the Conservative MP for Mansfield.
We spoke to him about his plans to bring "major investment" to the region in his Mansfield constituency.
"The Mayor will have control over funding for adult education in particular, but actually it's more than that, because the Mayor will be able to bring together those partners, our colleges, our universities, anyone involved in that training space, to help develop better strategies.
"So, whether that is providing the skills for the local workforce, rather than to tick national priority boxes, making sure that whatever you're learning is more relevant to what's available in your community, or whether it's high-level skills.
"There's two levels to this really.
"One is really high-level quality skills in clean energy and manufacturing, all the priority sectors where we want to deliver more investment.
"And the other is getting people into work in terms of tackling economic inactivity, delivering basic skills, employability and training, how we support more people to be part of the workforce, and contribute and have that kind of rewarding life as well, where we've got real inequality challenges.
"Loads the Mayor can go at on skills and training, and I think that's the long-term game-changer, isn't it in terms of improving people's life chances."
Alan Graves (Reform UK)
Alan Graves became a Reform UK councillor in 2020, and was elected mayor of Derby in May 2023.
Speaking to us in Derby, he said his only priority is to abolish the position as East Midlands Mayor.
"The important thing about adult and skills is that we invest in people, particularly younger people, and it's important because they're the people that are going to be paying our taxes as we get older.
"And so investing in skills and investing in education is one of my priorities."
Matt Relf (Independent)
Matt Relf has been a councillor for Ashfield District Council for almost five years.
He is the cabinet member responsible for economic regeneration.
"The skills and adult education budget that's coming to the new combined authority, I think needs to be renamed to the Conservative Failed Schools Policy, because currently 90%of this is spent on getting 19 to 23-year-olds up to level two English and maths.
"Now that is a massive indictment of the current schools policy, not of schools, because I think they work incredibly hard within the constraints that they've got.
"But I've been talking to principals of colleges and of private skills providers on how we can change these things so that we can free up more of the funds within that adult skills budget, so that it can be spent on what it should be being spent on, which is about supporting people throughout their careers, so that they can continue to grow and change careers, grow and move up in promotion throughout their lives, so they can reach better and better, higher skilled jobs.
"And I've got experience of this with working across colleges in the area with skills programmes, so I know who to go and talk to from day one, I know how to get this moving so that we can get the job done."
Helen Tamblyn-Saville (Liberal Democrats)
Helen Tamblyn-Saville lives in Retford and owns a children's book shop.
She also stood in the 2019 General Election in Bassetlaw and works as a district councillor for Retford West.
"Education does not stop at the age of 18 when you leave school, and people should always have the opportunity to return to education, no matter what stage of their life they are at.
"As Mayor of the East Midlands, I would want to assess what the jobs for the future look like, especially as we transition towards a green economy."
"I will work with local businesses to take on more apprenticeships, to make sure that everyone who wants a better opportunity and trade can have one.
"Everyone deserves to have the best opportunities in life, and nobody deserves to be left behind."
Claire Ward (Labour Party)
Claire Ward was first elected as MP for Watford in 1997.
She moved to Nottinghamshire in 2010 and is now chair Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
"I want this region to be the best place to live, to work and to learn, and to do that we've got to have more jobs and better skills.
"So that means more apprenticeships for younger people, but also the right skills for everyone throughout their life.
So I'll work with colleges to make the best use of funding more courses that deliver the right skills for our region.
I'll offer a free skills audit linked to the NHS health checks to make sure that our people are fit and skilled for work.
"I'll invest in digital skills across the community to help people get access to work and to public services.
"I'll establish a green growth fund to support the skills needed for retrofitting and access to our new green technology.
"And I'll set up a good employment charter to recognise the businesses that have the best employment practices.
"All of these things will help us to be the best place to live, to work and to learn by making the most of the talent that we have here."
You can here more from the candidates in our news bulletins all this week.