The further education and skills sector is ‘an engine that has been left to run on fumes’, according to a report published by a group of cross-party MPs.
The Education Committee has urged the government to radically step up investment into FE and vocational education in a report published today (23 September).
The report concludes that the sector has been “starved” of funding and overlooked for more than a decade, despite repeated statements from successive governments on the importance of vocational and technical education to the economy.
Committee chair Helen Hayes said: “Fifteen years of real terms funding cuts and stagnant pay have left colleges struggling to recruit and retain teachers who earn far less than their peers in schools.
“Far from receiving the parity of esteem it’s been promised in the past, FE continues to be treated like the Cinderella of the education system.”
New pay review body
One of the core recommendations of the committee’s report is the establishment of a new statutory pay review body to make recommendations on staff salary increases in FE.
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Typical salaries of teachers in FE are now around 15% lower than those in secondary schools, which has contributed to a crisis in recruitment and retention, as well as a feeling among FE staff of being undervalued.
As well as a new statutory pay review body, the committee recommends that MPs end VAT status on FE colleges, as they cannot recover VAT incurred on expenses.
Another possibility to increase funding would be to set up a “student premium” for disadvantaged students, similar to the “pupil premium” they have in schools.
It also suggests that new funding takes into account the prevalence of special educational needs and disabilities, as well as local levels of deprivation.
Apprenticeship reform
The committee noted that the decline in take-up of apprenticeships since 2017 had been driven largely by the “complexity and inflexibility” of the apprenticeship levy.
The current government has sought to address this by promising a more flexible Skills and Growth Levy, which the committee hopes will make apprenticeships more accessible.
The report recommends that the government create a streamlined application and reporting process tailored for businesses, a similar suggestion to that made by the Recruitment and Employment Confederation and Edge Foundation earlier this month.
Foundation apprenticeships, which are shorter courses aimed at attracting young people into critical sectors, should be broadened to cover “everyday” sectors such as hospitality, retail, and care, which often serve as key entry points to the workforce.
Hayes added: “The government has recently taken steps to reverse the decline in apprenticeships – a key pathway to equipping young people and adults to prosper, and to delivering the skills employers need.
“But more work is needed at pace to get apprenticeships back on the agenda of employers around the country by simplifying funding and making them more accessible.”
T Levels and alternatives
The report also concludes that T Levels, a technical qualification equivalent to three A Levels, should get a “bigger push” to become established, and that plans to remove funding from Level 3 Applied General Qualifications, such as BTECs, are scrapped.
One option is to consider establishing “modular” T Levels, equivalent to one A Level, that would enable students to undertake a mixture of academic and technical subjects.
The report also recommends the government launches a national awareness campaign for T Levels targeting students, parents and employers, with their purpose communicated clearly from the start of secondary school onwards.
Role of Skills England
The report further looks at the role of Skills England, the government’s flagship skills body set up shortly after the election last year.
With some bodies such as Make UK and the CBI expressing concern that – as an executive agency rather than non-departmental government body – Skills England has limited independence, the committee would like its role to be reviewed.
The way in which Skills England collects data, engages with employers, and communicates with the sector must also be significantly improved, the committee added.
Hayes said: “Skills England was welcomed as a good idea on paper by leading voices in British industry, but doubts have crept in over its independence from government.
“We are clear that if an independent review finds that Skills England doesn’t have the autonomy it needs to assert genuine influence, then it should be established in law to guarantee its powers.”
Devolving skills funding
A final recommendation of the report is that responsibility for 16- to 19-year-old skills provision is devolved to strategic authorities as part of the government’s planned English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill.
Although the government’s Youth Guarantee supports 18 to 21-year-olds with access to education and opportunities and can avoid more people becoming Neet (not in employment, education or training), this should be expanded to 16- to 24-year-olds, it suggests.
Currently, there is a “patchwork” of different layers of government addressing different local skills issues, the committee said, and this should be addressed through a Skills Co-ordination Board to make it easier for employers to get involved.
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