Skills for Jobs White Paper will revolutionise post-16 education, reshape the training landscape and help the nation build back better
Landmark reforms that will transform post-16 education and training, boost skills and get more people into work, have been published today (21 January) by Education Secretary Gavin Williamson.
The government’s Skills for Jobs White Paper enshrines the Prime Minister’s new Lifetime Skills Guarantee, setting out a blueprint for a post-16 education system that will ensure everyone, no matter where they live or their background, can gain the skills they need to progress in work at any stage of their lives.
The Lifetime Skills Guarantee will offer tens of thousands of adults the opportunity to retrain in later life, helping them to gain in-demand skills and open up further job opportunities. This includes the chance for adults without a full level 3 qualification (A-level equivalent) to gain one from April 2021 for free in a range of sectors including engineering, health and accountancy. Meanwhile, Skills Bootcamps - free, flexible courses of just 12-16 weeks - are giving adults the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with a local employer. A Lifelong Loan Entitlement will also make it easier for adults and young people to study more flexibly, which can be used over their lifetime and for modules of a course.
The measures announced today will put an end to the illusion that a degree is the only route to success and a good job, and that further and technical education is the second-class option. Instead, they will supercharge further and technical education, realigning the whole system around the needs of employers, so that people are trained for the skills gaps that exist now, and in the future, in sectors the economy needs, including construction, digital, clean energy and manufacturing.
Measures include:
Overhauling the funding and accountability rules, so funding is better targeted at supporting high quality education and training that meets the needs of employers; and introducing new powers to intervene when colleges are failing to deliver good outcomes for the communities they serve.
The drive to place employers at the heart of the skills system comes as the Prime Minister launches a new Build Back Better Business Council. The new group will see business leaders work directly with government to fuel the Covid-19 economic recovery.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said:
BCC Director General Adam Marshall said:
Chief Executive of Association of Colleges, David Hughes said:
Higher education will continue to play a vital role in the education system, but recent figures show only 66% of working-age graduates are in high skilled employment. Furthermore, many of the skills that employers are demanding require intermediate or Higher Technical Qualifications – but only 4% of young people achieve a qualification at higher technical level by the age of 25 compared to the 33% who get a degree or above. Evidence also shows these qualifications can lead to jobs with higher wages.
The measures outlined today form part of the government’s Plan for Jobs which is protecting, supporting and creating jobs across the country and will help everyone to benefit from the opportunities available to them.
They will build on the significant action already underway to transform the post-16 landscape, as we level up and boost the nation’s skills through the new Lifetime Skills Guarantee. This includes rolling out pioneering new T Level qualifications, establishing a network of Institutes of Technology and continuing to work with businesses to improve the quality of apprenticeships and traineeships so employers and individuals can access the skills they need to succeed.
The measures outlined today form part of the government’s Plan for Jobs which is protecting, supporting and creating jobs across the country and will help everyone to benefit from the opportunities available to them.
They will build on the significant action already underway to transform the post-16 landscape, as we level up and boost the nation’s skills through the new Lifetime Skills Guarantee. This includes rolling out pioneering new T Level qualifications, establishing a network of Institutes of Technology and continuing to work with businesses to improve the quality of apprenticeships and traineeships so employers and individuals can access the skills they need to succeed.
To coincide with the publication of the White Paper, the government has published its interim response to the review of Post-18 Education and Funding. The interim response details immediate plans to rebalance technical and academic education and future reforms with the higher education Teaching Grant. The final conclusion to the Post-18 review will be set out at the next Comprehensive Spending Review.
The government is also launching its consultation on post-qualification admissions, which could see students receive and accept university offers after they have achieved their A level grades. The consultation aims to ensure a fairer higher education admissions system that provides a twenty-first century offer for all students.
The Independent Review of the Teaching Excellence and Student Outcomes Framework, led by Dame Shirley Pearce, has also been published today alongside the government’s response which sets out an ambition to raise quality in higher education.
So that learners have access to high quality buildings and facilities as well as world class education and training the government is investing £1.5 billion in further education colleges. Following an initial £200 million investment in September 2020, so colleges could undertake immediate remedial work, the next phase of the FE Capital Transformation Fund has been launched today. Further education colleges across the country are invited to bid for funding to upgrade buildings and campuses.
Charles Woodburn, Chief Executive, BAE Systems
John Boumphrey, UK Country Manager, Amazon, said:
Liv Garfield, Severn Trent Chief Executive, said:
Simon Murphy, CEO at Battersea Power Station Development Company (BPSDC) said:
Steve Murrells, Chief Executive of the Co-op, said:
Matthew Fell, Chief UK Policy Director, said:
Nick Mackenzie, CEO at Greene King, said:
Andy Wales, Chief Digital Impact and Sustainability Officer, said:
Leo Quinn, CEO of Balfour Beatty and founder of The 5% Club, a movement of employers committed to using earn and learn to build and develop the UK’s workforce, while tackling youth unemployment, said: