CEL Policy Update No. 2
Posted: 12 October 2007
Extract from news briefing by the Centre for Excellence in Leadership (CEL), covering the period 19 to 26 September 2007.
Guardian: Government skills program is making limited headway; ALP says Train to Gain itself is flawed
A report in The Guardian on Sept. 18 said that the Government's £32 million advertisement campaign to encourage take-up of skills courses is having little impact. Only 9,000 people called the Train to Gain hotline that was included in the ads. Chris Baker, the chief executive of the Learning and Skills Council, which mounted the ad campaign, disputed these figures, saying that 80,000 people had accessed the companion website after the ads.
The report also noted that Train to Gain itself seems to be underperforming, spending only £174 million of its £268 million budget this year. The Association of Learning Providers (ALP) argues that Train to Gain is too wedded to Government targets for Level 2 qualifications. ALP chief executive Graham Hoyle says that Train to Gain should provide support for a wider range of courses, and allow funding for courses that only provide part of a qualification, rather than a full certificate.
Northern Ireland employment minister visits pilot training programme
The Northern Ireland Employment Minister, Reg Empey, visited a training scheme in Limavady to examine the progress of the Next Step pilot programmes. The Next Step initiative is designed to provide personalised support to the unemployed, aiding them to achieve necessary qualifications and job placements. The programme is aimed both at benefit recipients and those not on welfare. The programme is being tested in four locations, and may be rolled out province-wide next year.
Schools Minister: Diplomas are key to Britain's success in skills economy
The Schools Minister, Jim Knight, hailed the new 14-19 Diplomas as a crucial tool in ensuring the UK's continued competitiveness in the world economy. Knight said that, by 2030, there would be only 600,000 jobs for unskilled workers in Britain, while the UK would need 4.6 million new skilled workers. Knight said the new Diplomas provided an appropriate mix of practical and academic education, and praised the new qualifications for “overcoming the artificial and unhelpful divide between academic and practical learning.”
Some 40,000 students are expected to sign up for the new diploma programmes, which will begin in the autumn of 2008.
NIACE to study drastic decline in adult learners
The National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE) inaugurated a commission of inquiry on Sept. 25 on into falling numbers of adult learners, according to an article in The Guardian. The article notes that 1 million fewer adult learners are taking adult education courses now than there were two years ago. The commission will examine the direct and indirect benefits of adult education. The commission will be chaired by Sir David Watson, a professor at the Institute of Education of the University of London, and is expected to report in 18 months.
DCLG releases guidance for new round of local area agreements
The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) released on Sept. 18 a guidance note for the new round of local area agreements (LAAs). The LAA system is being re-structured as part of Whitehall's reforms to local government, as announced in the “Prosperous and Strong Communities”
White Paper last year.
The new LAAs are drafted by local councils, but ultimately agreed by a local strategic partnership (LSP), which incorporates other public-sector agencies, local businesses, district and parish councils, voluntary organisations, schools and colleges. The new system also gives the LSP the power to select its own goals from an overall national list of indicators, which the Government sees as part of a process of devolving greater decision-making power to lower levels of government. Speaking to this theme, Communities and Local Government Secretary Hazel Blears said, “More local decision-making is the key to better services and greater public satisfaction and will show what local democracy in action can do.”
Controversy over Pathways to Work contractor
Several charities are crying foul over the Department for Work and Pensions' awarding of a contract to WorkDirections UK, a subsidiary of an Australian company. WorkDirections UK was one of six companies awarded a contract to deliver programmes under the Pathways to Work initiative, which provides training to people with disabilities to help them into employment.
WorkDirections UK's competitors are claiming that it had an unfair advantage, as it had received guidance that it did not have to provide Transfer of Undertakings (TUPE) safeguards and thus could offer a lower bid than voluntary organisations. WorkDirections' Australian sister company, WorkDirections Australia, has been criticised in that country for underpaying staff.
Ben Margulies
Policy Research Officer