GOVERNMENT WHITE PAPER PUTS BUSINESSES BACK IN CONTROL OF SKILLS TRAINING

The government has published its Skills for Jobs White Paper to help revolutionise post-16 education and reshape the training landscape

In a move that recognises that each region has its particular training and skills demands the White Paper, published in January, seeks to realign the whole system around employers, so that people are trained for the skills gaps that exist now and in the future, in sectors the economy desperately needs, such as construction, digital, clean energy and manufacturing. The government wants to encourage stronger collaboration with more employers and chambers of commerce.

It’s fair to say that over the past few years most of the region’s further education (FE) colleges have been ahead of the game on this one, investing time engaging with their local business communities, so the fact that the government wants to make this a more formal arrangement can only be positive.

For Jacqui Canton, Principal and Chief Executive, Abingdon and Witney College, the paper emphasises the importance of working closely with employers. “We are looking forward to building even further on the already extensive work that we carry out in this regard,” she said.

But such engagement takes investment and the FE sector is already asking where this will come from. Nicky Williams, Head of Skills at Business West, said: “The aspects around chambers being involved is a radical change. How much money will the government put behind this? is it a long-term plan? Colleges as well as businesses are under a huge amount of financial pressure and all are focused on recovery and survival.”

The question of funding might be answered when more details emerge in September on how the recommendations of The Augar report on post-18 education in England will be implemented. The report, commissioned in 2019 by Theresa May, recommended a shift in funding away from universities towards further education and vocational training.

Another central part of the White Paper is its ambition for a Lifetime Skills Guarantee. This, the government says, will offer tens of thousands of adults the opportunity to retrain in later life, and includes the chance for adults without a full level 3 qualification (A-level equivalent) to gain one for free in a range of sectors including engineering, health and accountancy.

Alongside this, the government will offer skills bootcamps. These are free, flexible courses of 12-16 weeks which it hopes will give adults the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with a local employer.

A Lifelong Loan Entitlement will make it easier for adults and young people to study more flexibly, says the government (though some college principals don’t agree). The loan will be used over their lifetime and to pay for course modules

The government hopes the measures will put paid to what more people now accept is an outdated view that a degree is the only route to career success, and that further and technical education is the second-class option.

The White Paper has attracted broad approval from business groups. The Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce’s chief executive, Louise Bennett, said: “Firms across our region and, indeed, all over the country are at the coalface on a daily basis and understand where there are skills shortages and what is needed to improve productivity.

“It’s clear that the future workforce is going to need constant training and upskilling to meet new challenges.”

FE College bosses are also largely in favour. Angela Joyce, CEO of WCG (formerly Warwickshire College Group), said: “The White Paper is a major step towards addressing years of underfunding for further education and will enable us to provide even more support for employers, individuals and our localities.”

Sara-Jane Watkins, College Principal at SGS College in Stroud, agreed. She said: “The White Paper presents many positive opportunities.

“However, full judgement is reserved until more details of the initiatives are made available outlining how the government will ensure that those with experience and success in the further education sector are to be involved, and funding is formally confirmed to support the ideas proposed.”

The White Paper itself is relatively quiet on the importance of lower-level skills and leisure courses for adults, according to Jacqui Canton at Abingdon and Witney College

“As a college we are committed to supporting every member of the communities we work with, whether they want to develop skills for work, to gain personal independence or simply to have some fun and learn new things.

FE Colleges genuinely do change lives and communities, and I was very pleased to see that the White Paper acknowledged the significant difference that colleges make to society.”

Measures in the Government’s Skills White Paper include:

• Business groups, including Chambers of Commerce, working alongside colleges to develop tailored skills plans to meet local training needs; supported by a £65 million Strategic Development Fund to put the plans into action and establish new College Business Centres to drive collaboration with employers.

• Giving employers a central role in designing almost all technical courses by 2030, to ensure that the education and training people receive is directly linked to the skills needed for real jobs.

• Boosting the quality and uptake of Higher Technical Qualifications that provide the skills many employers say they need which can lead to higher wages.

• Changing the law so that from 2025 people can access flexible student finance to train and retrain throughout their lives, supported by funding in 21/22 to test ways to boost access to more modular and flexible learning.

• Launching a nationwide recruitment campaign to get more talented individuals to teach in further education, and investing in high quality professional development including a new Workforce Industry Exchange Programme.