Employers have a critical role to play in training young people as part of the government’s education initiative, according to government skills minister Phil Hope.
Speaking exclusively to Personnel Today after the publication of a Green Paper, which proposed all young people should remain in education or training until the age of 18, Hope said: “It’s a huge challenge for all of us to provide good quality training, and a major part of this is getting employers engaged in the process. We would very much like to know [employers’] views and what routes of training they can offer to young people.”
The Raising Expectations Green Paper proposed that, from 2013, young people should work towards accredited qualifications at school, at college or in ‘on-the-job’ schemes.
Hope said the new system would help simplify training methods for employers by accrediting employer training and linking qualifications to specific sectors.
“Essentially, there will be three main routes for young people to train: a diploma, an apprenticeship scheme, or the conventional route of A-levels and university,” he said.
Richard Lambert, director-general of the CBI, welcomed the proposals as a “necessary step”.
He said: “With nearly half of all businesses dissatisfied with school-leavers’ literacy, numeracy and employability skills, raising the education and training leaving age should ensure more young people succeed in the workplace.”
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