Adult Education and Training Funding
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Published on Eurydice (https://eacea.ec.europa.eu/national-policies/eurydice) This article covers public funding for education for adults aged 19+, and for apprenticeships, traineeships and youth training programmes, which are available for young people from the age of 16. It also covers funding for 16- to 19-year-olds following general or vocational education courses in further education (FE) colleges [1]. The funding of general and vocational education for 16- to 19-year- olds in school sixth forms [2] is covered in the article on ‘Early Childhood and School Education Funding [3]’. Northern Ireland’s six further education (FE) colleges are at the centre of provision. Programmes are also delivered by private training providers and employers, often working in partnership with the FE colleges to offer a wide range of academic, vocational and leisure / recreational courses for adults. Policy for funding adult education and training, further education [4], and employment and skills programmes in Northern Ireland falls within the remit of the Department for the Economy (DfE) [5]. Public funding is made available for adults to: gain nationally recognised qualifications help them improve their essential skills (literacy, numeracy and ICT) help them improve their skills to make a successful transition into the labour market or to progress to higher level education or training undertake apprenticeships and gain recognised qualifications in the workplace. Depending on the learner and type of programme, some adult learners are entitled to full government funding, which means that no tuition fees are charged, while some programmes are partly government funded. Other learners, or their employers, have to meet the full cost of their programmes. Financial support for adult learners is provided through further education awards and grants, and loans [6], and through Education Maintenance Allowances (EMAs) [7]. Main funding principles The funding of adult education and training falls within the remit of the Department for the Economy (DFE). Funding is provided in accordance with policy objectives for the further education sector and for employment and skills set by the Northern Ireland Executive [8]. Funding priorities Further Education Means Success [9], the (2016) Northern Ireland strategy for further education, sets out a dual role for the system of further and adult education: taking a pivotal role in developing a strong and vibrant economy through the development of professional and technical skills supporting social inclusion by providing those with low or no qualifications, or other barriers to learning, with the skills and qualifications needed to find employment and become economically active. To fulfil this role, further education (FE) colleges are expected to work collaboratively with other organisations in the public, private, voluntary and community sectors to deliver services to learners, employers and communities to maximum effect. The aim is to achieve the strategic objectives of: supporting regional economic development and providing the skills necessary for the knowledge-based economy increasing participation and widening access to those previously under-represented in the sector improving the quality of provision and enhancing standards of performance. According to this 2016 study on the Economic Impact of Northern Ireland’s FE Sector on the Economy [10], of the almost 130,000 people studying in Northern Ireland’s FE colleges in the 2013-14 academic year: 83% were taking FE courses, including in the essential skills of literacy, numeracy and ICT 9% were taking higher education [11] courses the remaining 8% were studying on other courses such as recreational or leisure courses. Funding for FE colleges and their partner organisations comes from government grants, other education contracts, and tuition fees. In the 2013-14 academic year, the FE sector had a total income of £254 million (€231.36 million*), of which: government grants accounted for 71% other education contracts accounted for 16% tuition fees accounted for 7%. Other income was earned from the delivery of services such as residences and catering and conference business. *Exchange rate used €1 = £0.91, 15 December 2020. Mechanisms for allocating public funds Recurrent block grant funding for FE colleges Further education (FE) colleges in Northern Ireland receive recurrent funding for the provision of further and adult education from the Department for the Economy (DfE) in the form of a block grant. A new outcome Based Accountability (OBA) funding model is being introduced in line with the draft Programme for Government (PfG) [12] and the January 2016 strategy for further education, Further Education Means Success [9]. The new funding model is focussed more on impact and is intended to: support colleges to deliver the strategy and work with other providers of further and adult education in delivering it support a sustainable further education sector align with the funding models for other DfE programmes, in particular apprenticeships and youth training (e.g. Training for Success) (see the subheadings ‘Funding for apprenticeships’ and ‘Funding for employability programmes’ below). Funding for apprenticeships The Department for the Economy (DfE) provides some support for costs associated with apprenticeships. Apprenticeships are programmes for individuals (aged 16+) to gain technical knowledge, job-specific skills, practical experience and professional qualifications for their immediate jobs and future careers. Apprentices are new or existing employees. The employer pays their salary and funds the costs of their on-the-job training. The DfE makes a contribution to the off-the-job training costs. Off-the-job training is provided by approved training providers. For apprentices aged 16-24, the DfE pays the full cost of the off-the-job training. It also pays the full costs of the off-the-job-training for apprentices on higher level [13] (4 to 6) apprenticeships. For those aged 25 and over, the DfE provides 50% of the off-the-job training costs for apprentices undertaking apprenticeships in priority sectors such as business services specifically ICT; financial services; food and drink manufacturing; advanced manufacturing; advanced engineering health sciences; and the creative industries. The UK-wide Apprenticeship Levy, introduced in April 2017 to assist in funding the cost of apprenticeships, applies to employers in Northern Ireland with an annual pay bill of more than £3 million (€3.34 million*). The Levy is charged at 0.5% of the employer’s pay bill and employers receive an allowance of £15,000 (€13663.13*) to offset against their Levy payment. The DfE provides further information [14] on apprenticeships and the Apprenticeship Levy. The DfE intends to introduce a new system of government-funded traineeships for 16- to 24-year- olds. These will be Level 2 [15] qualifications, intended for young people who have not yet secured employment, or who are undecided about their preferred occupation or career. Since these were introduced in Spetember 2020, apprenticeships will only be available from Level 3 [16]. *Exchange rate used €1 = 0.91, 15 December 2020. Funding for employability programmes The Department for the Economy (DfE) also funds a range of programmes intended to develop skills for employment. Training for Success, through which the DfE funds approved training providers to provide training programmes for young people aged 16-17 (or up to age 22 if they have a disability, or aged 24 for those who have previously been in the care of the public authorities). Training for Success supports the dual policy objective for further and adult education of developing occupational knowledge and employability skills, at the same time as addressing essential skills barriers. It aims to contribute to a rise in the population with Level 1 [17] and Level 2 qualifications, and enable young people to gain the skills and vocationally related, professional and technical qualifications to gain employment or progress to further training. Essential skills courses aim to improve skills in reading, writing, speaking, listening, working with numbers, and use of computers and technology. Bridge to Employment is a pre-employment, customised training programme to help unemployed adults (over the age of 18) to gain the skills to compete for new employment opportunities. Steps 2 Success is a mandatory employment programme for those aged 18-24 who have been unemployed and claiming benefits for more than nine months, and those aged 25+ who have been unemployed and claiming benefits for 12 months or more. The individually tailored programme aims to help build the skills and experience needed to find and keep a job. The Assured Skills Training Programme is open to adults who are unemployed or under- employed, to graduates [18] and to those with experience who would like to change direction in their career. It provides customised training to give participants the skills needed to compete for new employment opportunities. Further information is available from the DfE training programmes [19] page. There is also the Work Experience Programme [20], aimed at developing the employability skills of those who are unemployed. It provides short work placements of between two and eight weeks with local employers. Capital expenditure The Department for the Economy’s Further Education Capital Projects Team [21] works closely with further education (FE) colleges to maintain, develop and improve college campuses / premises across