When Labour came to power last July, the only show in town was economic growth. Despite all that has happened since, growth remains at the heart of the government¡¯s Plan for Change.

But the context is sobering as the UK has experienced significantly slower productivity growth than comparable countries have over the decade and a half-plus since the global financial crisis. That is a function of under-investment, notably in skills.

Cue the creation of Skills England, which is designed to help to address some of the current deficiencies of the skills system in England. These have been well rehearsed and include a fragmented and incoherent system and insufficient investment in training and education on the part of employers.

Skills England has a wide-ranging remit including the responsibility to engage properly with regional strategic authorities. There will also be close working with the Migration Advisory Committee, as well as other parts of government through the Industrial Strategy Council.

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For universities, there is always the concern that politicians and policymakers ¨C and, indeed, the wider public ¨C see skills as the preserve of further education and private training providers. But the first Skills England report, published last autumn, acknowledged that universities play a vital role in educating students in a wide range of skills that fuel our economy.

It also noted that universities generate the research and knowledge that will create new skills requirements in the future. And, as large employers, they have significant ¡°skin in the game¡± in the places where they are located.

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Partly through supplying a newly skilled, and upskilled, workforce, they will be at the forefront of addressing ¡°megatrends¡±, such as an ageing population, the possibility of automation and augmentation, and growth in ¡°green¡± and clean energy and specialised construction jobs.

So this is a moment for universities in England to be on the front foot. Visible engagement with skills will clearly support the government¡¯s ambitions for higher education, which include driving economic growth, promoting national capability and delivering regional impact.

Vice-chancellors in particular have a crucial role in emphasising the role of universities in the skills system. In addition, some institutions will see an opportunity in offering more apprenticeships and other shorter-course training and education that is directly targeted towards employers.

Vice-chancellors can also demonstrate that their institutions are responsive to current local needs ¨C and thus supportive of the economy ¨C at the same time as they prepare their students for roles likely to emerge in the future. Or, as the Skills England tagline has it, Better Skills for Better Jobs.

A good place to start will be in analysing carefully the this month, which offer deeper analysis of the skills needs across the eight Industrial Strategy sectors, plus construction and health and social care, and how the skills needs in these sectors are likely to change over time.

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It is important, too, that universities are influencing regional thinking about skills requirements and are able to speak with one voice on the role they can play in challenging the perception of a skills system that is top-down and insensitive to local circumstances.

Indeed, being able to do that on skills and other issues was one of the reasons that five institutions came together recently to form . Already, work is under way to map skills requirements in the region and identify the contribution that universities can make, not least against the Mayor of the North East¡¯s regional growth priorities.

And while the government may have ended funding for apprenticeships at (master¡¯s), there is also an opportunity for universities to develop apprenticeships at levels 5 and 6, or indeed at lower levels, that address skills needs ¨C as well as other on-the-job training.

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Universities have a key role to play in offering different kinds of specialist postgraduate courses?that are undoubtedly still needed and wanted by employers. To do that will require pace, nimbleness and responsiveness. In that respect, there are lessons here to learn from further education.

A desire to diversify in this way led the University of Sunderland last year to buy Gateshead-based training provider Access Training, which was already offering apprenticeships and other on-the-job training. With the strength and brand of a university behind it, Access Training has now increased the amount of work it can do with regional employers.

The relationship between the employer-funded (which replaces the previous apprenticeship levy) and the Lifelong Learning Entitlement (ultimately repaid by graduates) is another area where universities can contribute their thoughts because they will be on the front line when it comes to managing employer and individual needs.

All this points to the need for universities to be involved in the skills system at all levels. They must demonstrate the pivotal role they play as anchor institutions in generating the improved productivity and greater levels of growth that our county needs now and in the future.

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is vice-chancellor and chief executive of the University of Sunderland and vice-chair of Skills England.