Drive to boost skills of workers
March 22, 2005
The government is setting out how it will reinforce attempts to improve adult skills in England.
Free advanced level vocational training for adults to acquire higher technical skills is likely to be tried.
A pilot scheme that has given people free GCSE-level training is deemed a success and is to go nationwide.
But colleges say the real issue is a lack of funding, making education for many adults and employers "a disaster waiting to happen".
Lack of basic skillsA government White Paper on skills, due on Tuesday, is also expected to confirm plans for a network of "skills academies" in different sectors, in partnership with employers.
Government figures suggest that 15 million adults lack basic skills in numeracy and five million in literacy.
There have been improvements since 1997 and the percentage of the workforce educated to the equivalent of two A-levels - "Level 3" in the national qualifications framework - is said to have risen from just over 43% of the workforce to just over half.
But businesses say they are still suffering from a skills shortage.
In January, the director general of the Institute of Directors, Miles Templeman, said government policies were failing to remedy the UK's shortage of skilled workers.
Some 25,000 16-year-olds a year were leaving school with no GCSEs, he said, and the skills shortage last year had left 135,000 vacancies unfilled.
In a survey of 6,000 businesses, published last month, the British Chambers of Commerce said the number of firms finding it hard to recruit skilled workers had risen by 50% in a decade.
Pilot schemesThe government, in its last Skills White Paper in July 2003, called 21st Century Skills - Realising Our Potential, introduced pilot schemes giving people free access to Level 2 courses - equivalent to GCSEs.
It now says these have helped some 130,000 low-skilled adults to get training either at work or at their local college or training provider.
As announced by the chancellor last December, it is going to roll these out across England.
It also said it would create opportunities for adults to gain qualifications in technician and higher craft and trade skills - in regional or sectoral shortage areas.
A weekly adult learning grant has been provided for those aged 19 to 30 studying for their first Level 3 qualification of this kind, to spend on books, equipment and travel costs.
It is thought the government is now going to try to provide greater support for vocational training of this sort, using taxpayer funding matched by employers.
'Failures'
The chief executive of the Association of Colleges, Dr John Brennan, said its members shared the vision of improving skills.
But he added: "Without proper funding the strategy will fail. The White Paper fails to address the real story about adult skills - the failure to persuade employers to invest more in learning."
This raised the prospect of funds being diverted from other learners, course fees rising at 10-15% a year "regardless of ability to pay", fewer concessions for pensioners and working adults, and some courses being withdrawn.
A spokesperson for the DfES said: "It is not true to say that there is a lack of funding. Total funding for 16 to 18-year-olds and adults in Further Education will have risen by over £1 billion between 2002/03 and 2005/06.
"And, in the budget last week, the Chancellor announced new Further Education Capital investment of £100/£250m for 2008/09 and 2009/10, supporting the transformation of our colleges and reversing a generation of under-investment.
"Improving our national skills base must be a joint endeavour between government, employers, trade unions, universities, colleges and other training providers."
The director of training strategy for the Construction Industry Training Board, Sheila Hoile, said: "As far as we are concerned in construction, it's absolutely critical that we have a robust FE system, without which we do not have a construction industry."
In line with the previous skills strategy, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) said it had signed three deals with Sector Skills Councils - involving Skillset for the audio visual sector, Semta for engineering and CITB-Construction Skills.
With them it would re-examine the effectiveness and suitability of existing qualifications.
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