Employers
will be encouraged to demand that students are taught particular skills at
schools and colleges under the Government’s five-year plan for education.
The
planned reforms, which will see £358bn extra invested in educational
establishments over the next five years, are designed to put employers in ‘the
driving seat’ to address the UK’s skills shortages.
David
Normington, permanent secretary at the Department for Education, told Personnel
Today, “Employers should become demanding customers. Many of them don’t think
they have the purchasing power to influence colleges, but collaboration is
vital.”
Much
of the extra investment in education will be focused on courses which are
closely tied to employers’ needs, Normington said.
“There
will be a heavy investment in apprenticeships and we also want vocational
training to be viewed on the same basis as academic courses,” he said.
However,
employers will have to contribute more towards the cost of higher and further
education by sponsoring courses, Charles Clarke warned earlier this month.
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The
education secretary said planned university expansion could only be funded by
‘co-payment’ between the state and employers.
