The
Learning and Skills Development Agency has welcomed a select committee skills
inquiry as further evidence of the Government’s commitment to training as a
major part of education policy.
The
Education and Skills Select Committee is currently investigating training and
skills policy, but in the future it will also look at Modern Apprenticeships.
The
LSDA has advised the committee that greater employer engagement should be
considered for the education of 14-19-year-olds, with companies advising the
authorities on work-related aspects of the curriculum.
Employers
should also offer more work placements and taster opportunities for youngsters
to help prepare them for the workplace.
Submitting
evidence to the first part of the committee’s year-long investigation, said
LSDA chief executive Chris Hughes.
"We
are delighted the select committee has decided to look into skills and is
making the connections between emerging policy on 14-19 education and the
skills strategy. This inquiry could help ensure that these areas of education
policy are sufficiently joined-up."
The
LSDA’s submission argues that:
•
vocationally-orientated programmes can greatly enhance student engagement with
learning, but it is expensive to deliver and likely to require substantial
investment to secure quality provision.
•
a credit-based qualifications infrastructure, as proposed in the skills
strategy, should underpin any reforms in 14-19 education.
•
stronger recognition of achievement at foundation level would help motivate
lower achieving young people and encourage them to continue learning.
•
employer engagement should be considered in 14-19 education as much as it is in
the skills strategy. A range of activities could help to engage employers,
including advising on the work-relatedness of curriculum materials and offering
work placements and taster opportunities for students.
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