Employers
will have to contribute more towards the cost of higher and further education
by sponsoring courses, Charles Clarke has warned.
The
education secretary said planned university expansion could only be funded by
"co-payment" between the state and employers, according to the
Financial Times.
Yesterday
he launched a campaign aimed at persuading more companies to help design
vocational degree courses and sponsor students through them.
The
Government has pledged to find places on higher education courses for half of
all qualified young people – defined as those with two A-levels or more – by
the end of the decade.
Much
of the increase is planned to come from foundation degrees – higher education
qualifications, designed by businesses and universities and taught by further
education colleges.
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Course
fees paid by individual students would never provide enough to supplement
public funding, Clarke said, and more employers would be encouraged to take on
employees to study part-time and work in the business for the rest of the week.
