Monday, 19 December 2011: 42nd Edition
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In this issue: |
New Challenges, New Chances |
On 1 December the Government published the FE and skills system reform plan, New Challenges, New Chances and the accompanying skills investment statement, Investing in a World Class Skills System. The plan sets out the overall strategy for the remainder of this Parliament. Key measures include:
The skills investment statement sets out the adult FE and skills budget of £3.8 billion for 2012-13, confirming plans announced in autumn 2010. The Coalition principles of fairness and shared responsibility underpin this. Other announcements in the past month (detailed below) have stemmed from New Challenges, New Chances documents which, as such, will be the foundation of all Further Education and Skills policy going forward.
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Participation Strategy |
On 15 December, the Government launched Building Engagement Building Futures, its strategy to improve the engagement of 16 -24 year olds in education, training and work. This is a joint BIS/DfE/DWP strategy. The Government has already put in place radical reforms for school, vocational education, skills and welfare to make a real difference to young people’s lives. This is a huge challenge: 1.16 million 16-24 year olds are not in education, employment or training and some remain out of learning or work for long periods. Unemployment can have a devastating effect on their prospects. In its Plan for Growth, the Government set out how it will create economic growth and this strategy is about ensuring that young people can realise those opportunities as the economy picks up. Ministers are committed to: raising the participation age for all 16 and 17 year olds so that they are all in education or training by 2015; increasing the number of Apprenticeships for young people; reforming support for people with special educational needs; providing skills training for young adults and introducing personalised support through the Work Programme. Last month, the Deputy Prime Minister announced the Youth Contract for more information, click here to support our most vulnerable 16-24 year olds. |
Ministers Speak to the FE and Skills Sector |
Business Secretary Vince Cable and Skills Minister John Hayes both made major speeches at the annual conference of the Association of Colleges (AoC). Click here for Dr Cable’s speech. Click here for Mr Hayes’ speech. |
FE Choices |
As part of New Challenges New Chances the information previously under Framework for Excellence will be called FE Choices. In New Challenges New Chances we have committed to empowering learners and employers to make informed choices about learning and training. We want more transparent information to be available locally. We also want to make it easier to compare provider quality from one national website. The website will be branded "FE Choices: Helping you choose where to learn or train". The website and information will be easier to use and from April 2012 there will be improved access from the National Careers Service website. The second release of FE Choices data will be published in January 2012. We will continue to make centrally gathered comparative performance information publicly available for learners and employers to make their own judgements about providers. The same key indicators are being used but Learner Views and Employer Views have been renamed Learner Satisfaction and Employer Satisfaction. |
Driving Growth through Education and Skills |
On 29 November, Phase 2 Growth Reviews were published alongside the Chancellor’s autumn statement. The Growth Review on education and skills builds on reforms that are already being implemented across education and skills policy. It addresses feedback from employers about how the education and skills systems respond to their needs. More information can be found here
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£250m to give employers power over skills training |
Businesses will be given the power to design, develop and purchase vocational training programmes under a £250 million plan announced on 17 November by the Prime Minister. The plan is part of the government’s growth review and is being championed by the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES). UKCES and the government will issue a joint prospectus in the New Year and employers will be invited to bid for funding. Projects should begin later in the year. The competitive fund is to be backed by significant resources from existing skills budgets. Funding for 2012/13 will be up to £50 million, with an additional £200 million in the second year, depending on the quality of proposals and evaluation. The fund will test approaches, developing new ways to invest in skills and working with the further education and skills sector. It will be open to collaborative proposals from businesses of all sizes and from all sectors. Bids will need to show how public investment will leverage private, support Apprenticeships and commit to raising skills levels. Click here for more details. On 13 December UKCES published a report discussing the concept of greater employer ownership in detail. Here is the UKCES press notice. Click here for more details.
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Growth & Innovation Fund re-opening for business |
Business Secretary Vince Cable and Skills Minister John Hayes re-opened the Growth and Innovation Fund (GIF) for applications on 23 November. The GIF helps businesses develop skills solutions tailored to their needs. BIS will provide £34 million for 2012-13 and there is still £29 million available to bid for. With matched funding from businesses there will be around £60 million available this year. Comparable levels are planned for the next two years. The GIF is already supporting 15 projects. Following the first round several improvements have been made:
Click here for the press notice. Follow this link for more details
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Apprenticeships: Quality guaranteed, red tape slashed and a new cash boost for firms |
Business Secretary Vince Cable announced new measures at an apprenticeship summit for employers on 16 November to ensure more young people benefit from an apprenticeship, and to help employers gain the skilled workers they need to grow. Measures announced included the Government offer of a £1,500 incentive to small firms to take on their first young apprentice. Skills Minister John Hayes also spoke at the event which was attended by 100 delegates. Click here for the press notice. |
New Higher Level Apprenticeships |
On 1 December Vince Cable announced Government funding for apprenticeships up to degree equivalent. £18.7 million from the Higher Apprenticeship Fund will support the development of 19,000 Higher Apprenticeships in sectors including construction, advanced engineering, insurance and financial services. Around 250 employers, including Leyland Trucks, Unilever, TNT and Burberry will benefit. Skills Minister John Hayes said: “By reviving apprenticeships the Government has started to build a world class skills system to rival our country’s great reputation for academic excellence. We’ve driven up quality across the board, more than doubled the number of new advanced apprenticeships, created new routes into higher levels of practical learning and given employers more control of how the training budget is spent. We’re now targeting resources even more closely on the skills, firms and sectors that will lead to economic recovery.” The funding Is part of a £25 million fund announced in July 2011. A second round of bids to the fund will be invited early in the New Year. Nineteen partnerships of employers and training providers will receive £17 million and a further £1.7 million will support two ‘trailblazer’ projects in IT, science, engineering and manufacturing, delivering 6,000 Higher Apprenticeships. Click here for the press notice. |
New £1 billion Youth Contract |
Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg announced a £1 billion Youth Contract to tackle youth unemployment. Starting in April 2012, it will provide at least 410,000 new work opportunities over three years and additional support while expecting more from young people in return. The offer includes : wage subsidies worth £2,275; employers to take on 160,000 young people; 250,000 work experience placements, including service academy places; and 20,000 more £1,500 incentive payments for small and medium sized businesses taking on an apprentice. The new programme provides £50m to help persistently NEET 16 and 17 year-olds by getting them back to school or college, or into an apprenticeship or a job with training. The Youth Contract will be open to all businesses, including those that already employ large numbers of young people (like retail and construction) and emerging sectors (like the green economy and ICT). Click here for more information. |
2011 Skills for Life survey headline findings |
BIS has published the headline findings of the 2011 Skills for Life survey, which examines the basic skills of adults in England, following on from a baseline survey in 2003. The survey shows that there has been a substantial up-shift from Level 1 to Level 2 in literacy: 57 per cent of 16-65 year-olds with literacy at Level 2 or above in 2011, compared to 44 per cent in 2003, although there is no significant change in the overall proportion of people with 'everyday' literacy (i.e. Level 1 or above). On numeracy, there has been a small decrease since 2003 in the proportion of adults possessing 'everyday' numeracy (i.e. Entry Level 3 or above). In ICT, respondents performed best in emailing. Details of the headline findings can be found here. A full survey report will be published around Spring 2012.
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Government boost to UK life science industry |
A multi million pound package of support has been announced by the Prime Minister to support the UK’s life sciences industry. The industry is a world leader and is the third largest contributor to economic growth in the UK with more than 4,000 companies, employing around 160,000 people and with a total annual turnover of over £50 billion. Globally the industry is changing with more focus on collaboration, out-sourcing of research and earlier clinical trials with patients. The Government’s Life Sciences Strategy and a review of innovation in the NHS aim to meet this challenge and to attract further investment to the UK. The strategy includes a new £180 million catalyst fund and plans to develop, recruit and reward individuals working in the sector. There will be multiple entry points for careers and training will be designed to accommodate practical experience and mentoring. Click here for the life sciences strategy. |
Xmas Card Competition |
BIS Christmas card competition Thank you to all the colleges and learners who entered the BIS Christmas card competition. The competition generated a lot of interest and we received over a hundred entries! The standard of the entries was very high and the judges faced a tough challenge in ranking the top five for the shortlist. The final choice was made by Secretary of State Vince Cable and BIS Permanent Secretary Martin Donnelly. Dr Cable and Mr Donnelly chose two winners Ashleigh Robson, a student at New College Durham and Jack Donovan a student from Kingston College, Kingston. Well done to all. The winning cards...
Ashleigh Robson Jack Donovan Information on the runners up and highly commended entries can be found here
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FE and Skills eNewsletter: edition 42 (December 2011) |
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