Sixty per cent of work-based learning is inadequate, according to the Adult
Learning Inspectorate.
Its first annual report, released last week, claims that the standard of
adult education and learning provision in the UK is failing employers.
The report highlights ‘serious underachievement’ and says too few young
people receive the quality of training that will prepare them for employment or
address the country’s skills shortages.
Leadership and management training providers receive the most criticism,
with only one of 300 training organisations inspected judged as outstanding.
The report finds the best training is provided by employers training their own
staff.
On average only a third of young people embarking on a Modern Apprenticeship
achieve their qualification. The report found key skills, such as communication
and IT were the biggest single cause of young people’s failure to succeed with
a Modern Apprenticeship.
David Sherlock, chief inspector at the Adult Learning Inspectorate, said:
"We need more vocational training and better work-based learning. We must
not allow an apprenticeship system similar to those that work well in other
countries to flounder."
