Last week, the government published a White Paper called Skills for Jobs: Lifelong Learning for Opportunity and Growth.
This is a subject very close to my heart. I am a Further Education Ambassador and committed to top-quality college education. For me, people should have the option of choosing high quality education and training that are linked to jobs.
We have a skills deficit in this country. For example, around two-fifths of skills gaps (38%) involve a lack of digital skills. We have too few people qualified to higher technical levels than many of our competitors. This is leading to a skills shortage that is holding back many of our businesses and innovative industries.
The white paper wants to provide the advanced technical and higher technical training and education the nation needs in a way that suits people. The government also wants to clamp down on low value qualifications and improve teacher training.
There is a real ambition to build on the government’s existing £2.5 billion apprenticeships programme and it wants employers at the centre of post-16 skills because this education and training needs to meet their needs.
I am very much in favour of a local approach too. SGS Stroud college is fantastic and there is so much talent across the teachers and students. The idea of Local Skills Improvement Plans, led by business organisations to ensure employers’ skills needs are met locally, is a bottom-up solution. In Stroud this could mean a greater focus on green technology, construction and digital training.
The Growth Hub with the GFirstLEP is already situated at SGS college.
I visited a few months ago and while it was sad to see it unused due to Covid, the facilities are excellent. This will help to bring employers into the college and in turn, assist with employer focused courses.
The government has also committed itself to better funding the FE sector - something it must do otherwise these ideas will not get off the ground.
The pledge to simplify funding and give colleges more control over their budgets, a boost to recruiting in FE and more certainty over funding levels is most welcome too.
These are some of the highlights in a lengthy document but after years of me campaigning on social media with ‘Further Education Friday’, I feel super pleased the government has listened to me and others.