Sense & Instability 2016 Contents

1. Foreword 04 2. Introduction 06 3. Apprenticeships 09 4. Skills policy post-2014 14 5. Structural changes 18 6. Conclusion 22 7. Recommendations 24 8. Appendix 1: Behind the numbers 28 9. Appendix 2: Supporting quotes 30 The recommendations from our 2014 report

Greater coherence Better long-term between central planning for skills government, policy that is linked to policymaking and local long-term economic implementation. forecasts.

Greater scrutiny Better checks and of changes to skills balances to remove policy to deliver the risk of politics better taxpayer value influencing policy for money. decisions.

03 Sense & Instability 2016

1 Foreword Even though it doesn’t seem that long ago, much has changed since we launched ‘Sense & Instability: three decades of skills and employment policy’ in October 2014.

At the time, we were gearing up for a General Fast forward to today and for the first time in Election, and many were predicting a hung two decades, we have a Conservative majority parliament and another Coalition Government. Government in power. We expect to see a revival in The UK economy was strengthening, and youth grammar schools. Economic uncertainty is creeping unemployment had not long recovered from its in, as Britain prepares to leave the EU. And of peak of 20%. Academies and the EBacc were the course we have a new Prime Minister. flagship education policies, aimed as ever at raising But one thing that hasn’t changed is the continued standards in schools. focus on enhancing the skills system to fill skills At the tail end of 2014 and as election fever gaps and boost productivity. True to its word, when gathered pace, skills were very much at the top of the Conservative Government came into power, the agenda. In that period we saw something of an it maintained its commitment to achieving three ‘apprenticeships arms race’, with each of the main million apprenticeship starts by 2020. political parties trying to out-do the others in the Since then, it has also launched numerous initiatives hope that their pledges would win the hearts and that have the potential to shake up the skills minds of the voting public. system. The apprenticeship levy is transforming the way that apprenticeships are funded, and reinforcing the drive towards an employer-led system. The Post-16 Skills Plan, launched in the summer of 2016, aims to simplify the vocational route, and focus it on 15 core pathways. The Area Based Reviews programme aims to ensure that Further Education provision is based on the needs of individuals and employers in each area.

04 Back in 2014, we argued for change to be more It’s a case of two steps forward, one step back. considered, rather than upheaval for the sake of Because unless the Government hits the ‘pause’ it. Too often, we discovered then, new policies button and takes the time to reflect and consult, it had been introduced because a new minister or could be setting its skills initiatives up to fail, and Secretary of State was in place. Likewise, changes undoing its good work over the past few years. to the skills system were often misaligned with longer-term economic policy. That’s why we are recommending the following for the Government: That’s why we decided to produce this update to our original report – to look at the Government’s • To develop a consolidated, consultative recent initiatives and see whether progress has approach to Further Education and skills policy. been made and lessons have been learnt. • To ensure learning opportunities for youth There is no denying that change continues to be a and disadvantaged groups common theme throughout skills and employment • To focus on quality rather than quantity policy. Yet we are arguably seeing fewer, bigger changes and a more consistent approach to long- • To ensure greater ownership and term skills policy. This is definitely a step in the right engagement from employers. direction. Don’t interpret this report as a criticism of the skills However, many of the underlying barriers to system, or of the impressive work by ministers the successful implementation of policy reform over the past few years. In fact, I think we should identified in the first report remain. celebrate the progress that has been made. Firstly, we still see a high level of instability when it Apprenticeships are now firmly part of the national comes to who has overall responsibility for skills. conversation, and truly starting to be seen as a There have now been 65 Secretaries of State 01 valuable alternative to university. Employers are responsible for skills and employment policy in the taking more responsibility for driving the skills past three decades. The skills remit has passed agenda. And a simpler system is no bad thing if between departments 11 times, and is now back we want the number of employers and individuals within the Department of Education. engage with it. For all of this, the Government deserves praise. There has also been little improvement in learning from past failures. The Post-16 Skills Plan for Nevertheless, if we want a skills system that helps example, has been likened to the failed 14-19 us become more competitive and productive as Diploma initiatives. High targets continue to a nation, we have to get the implementation right. be set, despite the potential adverse effects of If we don’t, it’ll be back to square one, 30 years compromising on quality. Timescales continue to down the line. be rushed, meaning insufficient time to garner the necessary support of employers or educators; the risk of initiatives failing to be embedded properly persists; and there’s a lack of consideration for the longer-term impact of some of the changes in scope. And perhaps most worryingly, in some cases – again, taking the Post-16 Skills Plan as an example – consultation with the wider sector has been Chris Jones, minimal, meaning the Government is missing out Chief Executive of the on what could be valuable insight. City & Guilds Group

See Appendix, page 28

05 Sense & Instability 2016

2 Introduction In autumn 2014, the City & Guilds Group published the report Sense & Instability: three decades of skills and employment policy 01, examining how changing policies had affected the skills landscape.

Policymaking post-2014 Two years on from this, it is evident that many of the underlying issues that were identified remain. While the recent reforms to skills and employment policy build on some principles that are theoretically sound and have sector support, many of the changes have either lacked sufficient detail or have been introduced on rushed timescales. Certain changes, such as efforts to improve public perception of vocational education and increase employer engagement in training, have indicated a step in the right direction. Yet other policies have pointed towards stagnation or – in some cases – a reversal of effective and forward-thinking policymaking.

06 This report will consider recent policy Ongoing concerns about the quality of developments in apprenticeships and in skills apprenticeships also raise questions about policy post-2014, as well as a number of structural whether apprenticeships are appropriate as changes, and review the objectives of reforms the main solution to meeting the economy’s or planned reforms and the sector and business skills needs. Moreover, a majority of the reforms response. It will also endeavor to draw conclusions introduced since 2014 have focused on FE and from this and make a series of recommendations skills training for young people. The significant for how policymaking in the sector should proceed. reduction in funding for older and unemployed In the course of the review, three patterns in learners suggests that adult training is not seen particular are identified as having emerged as a priority, despite ongoing concerns around that risk undermining successful policymaking skills gaps at all ages. in the sector. The first is a reduction in learning The third obstacle is that many employers opportunities for young people in Further and other stakeholders have raised concerns Education (FE), with access to college-based about the ongoing reforms. For any policy learning under threat from college mergers initiative to be successful, support from industry or closures resulting from the Area-Based bodies is paramount, but feedback regarding Reviews launched in 2015. At the same time, the apprenticeship levy suggests that some there are concerns around whether changes to employers are yet to be fully convinced – or funding could, in the long-term, impede young indeed fully aware – of the usefulness of the people’s abilities to access apprenticeships, Government’s scheme. Criticism of the area- particularly those from deprived backgrounds, based reviews and other initiatives also warns of a disproportionate number of whom belong to a disconnect between central departments and ethnic minorities. The concern is that this will colleges in terms of how to tackle some of the exacerbate the already low levels of access to pressing challenges of the day. apprenticeships among this cohort. The second challenge also relates to apprenticeships, and their domination of FE and skills policy. Until the introduction of the Post-16 Skills Plan 02 earlier this year, the Government’s apprenticeship scheme framed the skills policy environment, and there is a question mark over whether this trend will continue.

01 Sense & Instability: three decades of skills and employment policy, the City & Guilds Group, 13 October 2014 02 Post-16 Skills Plan, DfE and BIS, 8 July 2016

07 Sense & Instability 2016

Cycle of change Innovation and Skills (BIS) to the ’s (DfE) remit. It continues to be a Recent policy changes suggest that lessons concern that some policy proposals do not have from past successes and historic failures have time to take effect in practice before they are not always been incorporated into current subject to further revisions; a recent example thinking around education and skills. Some includes the granting of additional powers to reform proposals, such as the Post-16 Skills Plan, the Institute for Apprenticeships before it is include initiatives similar to those that have even operational. The outcome is a sector that been tried unsuccessfully in the past, such as the is continuously and rapidly changing, yet is 14-19 Diplomas introduced by the last Labour constantly in a position of catching up. Government. While the principles may be sound, it remains to be seen whether implementation Together, these issues suggest the possibility of these new reforms will succeed where earlier that the sector is falling back into a trap of poor attempts have failed. implementation. It is unclear whether the recent decision by Prime Minister to move Other issues include a continued lack of long- the responsibility for FE and skills to DfE will have term vision and the absence of a consolidated the effect of energising the sector, or whether it approach to change; as this report will explore, could lead to a reversal of ongoing reforms and some reforms appear to have been announced policies. One thing that is certain is that it will with limited consideration of their possible be some time yet before the sector gains some effects or how they relate to other priorities and stability. commitments. This report will explore these issues in greater Significant and ongoing political tinkering in the detail, examining the implications of policy Further Education system, identified as a problem developments around apprenticeships and skills in the 2014 report, also remains a key issue. policy, and of the recent structural changes, to 3 4 Following on from the Wolf and Richard reports draw conclusions about the state of the sector in 2011 and 2012, the Post-16 Skills Plan is the two years on from the original Sense & Instability third independent report into FE and skills in five report, and identify recommendations for avoiding years, while responsibility for skills has once again the mistakes of the past. changed department, moving from Business,

03 Review of Vocational Education – The Wolf Report, 3 March 2011 04 The Richard Review of Apprenticeships in England, 11 November 2013

08 3 Apprenticeships One of the major policy changes introduced in the summer Budget 2015 05 will see the funding structure for FE adjusted in order to encourage greater employer investment in training.

Government co-funding in workplaces was removed from 2016/17 06 and an apprenticeship levy for large employers is to be introduced in April 2017.07 These initiatives were intended to ‘reverse the long-term trend of employer underinvestment in training’, as well as ensure necessary access to funding in order to achieve The Government the Government’s vision of delivering three million apprenticeships by 2020.08 aims to achieve 3 million apprenticeship starts by 2020.

05 Summer Budget 2015, HMT, 8 July 2015 06 Letter, Minister of State for Skills, 15 December 2015 07 Proposals for apprenticeship funding in England from May 2017, DfE, 12 August 2016 08 Summer Budget 2015

09 Sense & Instability 2016

The apprenticeship levy is equivalent to 0.5 per The Government’s 2016 Enterprise Bill detailed cent of an organisation’s annual pay bill, offset by plans to establish an Institute for Apprenticeships, a £15,000 levy allowance. The levy will therefore designed to be an employer-led body to ‘support apply to employers with an annual bill of more employer-led reforms and regulate the quality of than £3 million.9 Funding proposals published apprenticeships’.15 in August 2016 indicate that employers that are too small to pay the levy will have 90 per cent of Sector viewpoints the apprenticeship training costs covered by the Government, responding to concerns that small The drive for employer engagement in the employers will not benefit from the scheme as development of apprenticeship standards to much as larger ones.10 ensure that apprenticeships meet the needs of businesses and the economy has been widely Additionally, in order to simplify the funding supported. However, some have called for FE and system, the Skills Funding Agency (SFA) began a trade union representatives to be represented in 11 consultation in August 2016 on introducing upper the Institute for Apprenticeships.16 limits to apprenticeships funding; these proposals were updated in October 2016.12 The announcement of the apprenticeship levy has also been met with mixed responses from Following on from the launch of employer- employers and training providers. While some have led Trailblazers in 2013, intended to develop said that the levy will benefit young people and apprenticeship standards to ‘step up the drive encourage companies to change their approaches for quality as well as quantity,’ the Government to recruiting and training employees,17 others have published the 2020 Vision for apprenticeships in voiced concerns that the levy system will not be 13 England in December 2015. This announced successful in resolving skills shortages or improving that employer-designed standards will replace the number and quality of apprenticeships.18 frameworks, stating that these would act ‘as the Several industry bodies - including the ‘shop window’ for the apprenticeship, setting out in Confederation of British Industry (CBI),19 the simple terms ‘the knowledge, skills and behaviours Institute of Directors 20 and the EEF 21 – have called needed for an apprentice to be competent and for the Government to delay the introduction of the capable in their role.’ levy due to economic uncertainties for businesses The 2020 Vision also outlined plans for ‘rigorous following the EU referendum result. They have and holistic end-point assessment… to contended that a delay would give businesses demonstrate [apprentices] can combine and apply sufficient time to prepare and to ensure they deliver the knowledge, understanding and skills they have a high-quality apprenticeship offer. gained to real work requirements and assessments’. There are also concerns around ensuring the end- This is a shift from the existing model of continuous point assessment process is effective, not least 14 assessment. in light of analysis from FE Week revealing that there are no approved awarding organisations for more than half the new apprenticeship standards, prompting concerns of a lack of clarity and too much regulation.22

09 Apprenticeship levy – employer owned apprenticeship training: Government 16 Row over make-up of new policing body, FE Week, 20 February 2016 response, BIS, 25 November 2015 17 Employer views on the apprenticeship levy, CIPD, June 2016 10 Views sought on plans to boost apprenticeships, DfE, 12 August 2016 18 CBI response to the government’s consultation on the introduction of an 11 Proposals for apprenticeship funding in England from May 2017 apprenticeship levy, 21 August 2015 12 New apprenticeship funding to transform investment in skills, DfE, 19 Take more time to get apprenticeship levy right, CBI, 12 August 2016 25 October 2016 20 Government must listen to the concerns on apprenticeship levy. 13 English Apprenticeships: Our 2020 Vision, HM Government, IoD, 12 August 2016 7 December 2015 21 Industry and charities join forces to delay the apprenticeship levy, 14 English Apprenticeships: Our 2020 Vision, HM Government, EEF, 5 August 2016 7 December 2015 22 No approved assessment organisation for over half of new apprenticeships, 15 Enterprise Bill: Institute for Apprenticeships, BIS, 26 February 2016 FE Week, 12 October 2016

10 Analysis There are also concerns about whether the current reforms will succeed in delivering the skills required The Government has taken a number of steps by the economy. The Government’s productivity regarding apprenticeships that contribute towards plan, published in July 2015, noted the need for stability: the continued focus on an employer-led improvements in professional and technical skills system; the creation of a sustainable funding model in order to address the productivity shortfall, such as the levy; and the creation of the Institute for highlighting apprenticeships as a key part of this Apprenticeships to oversee apprenticeship quality. but also calling for a broader professional and The fact that the Institute for Apprenticeships will technical education system.27 oversee the implementation of the Post-16 Skills Plan is also an important step towards alignment. Until recently, however, the policy environment has been dominated by the apprenticeship scheme. However, it’s still a key priority to ensure that An Ofsted report published in October 2015 found apprenticeship reform can address the current that the two million apprenticeships delivered weaknesses in the system in order to deliver the since reforms began in 2010 have not adequately skills needed by the economy, and to generate matched the skills needed by the economy. The support from employers. The City & Guilds Group, report also noted serious concerns about the alongside several other industry bodies such as the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) 23, the CBI 24 quality of many apprenticeships being delivered, and the Institution of Engineering and Technology pointing to the fact that inspectors observed (IET) 25, has urged the government to prioritise apprentices in the food production, retail and raising the quality of apprenticeships, as opposed care sectors ‘who were simply completing their to focusing on the quantity. apprenticeship by having existing low-level skills, such as making coffee, serving sandwiches or Employer attitudes to the levy remain a concern. cleaning floors, accredited’. 28 It is worth noting that A report by the CIPD found that the apprenticeship these occupations have been excluded from the levy has low levels of support among employers, 15 routes outlined in the Post-16 Skills Plan. 29 with just 38 per cent of those set to pay it supporting the principle, compared to 45 per cent Criticism of the current apprenticeship system opposing it. 26 The report also found that less than a also raises doubts about whether the ongoing third of those employers have calculated how much reforms will succeed in positioning apprenticeships paying the levy will likely cost their organisation as a prestigious path to skilled employment for each year, suggesting that a large number of young people, as outlined in the government’s employers have been slow to assess the full extent 2020 vision. 30 of the plan. Equally, many employers surveyed by the CIPD indicated that they perceive the initiative to be disruptive to their existing workforce development strategies and do not believe it will have a positive impact on their business. Lack of willingness among employers to engage with Government initiatives has been a key factor in past failures; in order for the current reforms to be successful, employers will need to be convinced that the proposed changes will provide added value to their business.

23 BCC: Quality not quantity is key to apprenticeship success, 27 Fixing the foundations: Creating a more prosperous nation, BCC, 22 October 2015 HMT, 10 July 2015 24 CBI boss calls for ‘radical re-think’ over apprenticeship levy, PRW, 28 April 2016 28 Apprenticeships: developing skills for future prosperity, 25 Government’s transport apprenticeship drive must focus on quality not quantity, Ofsted, 22 October 2015 warns IET, Training Journal, 29 January 2016 29 Post-16 Skills Plan, DfE and BIS, 8 July 2016 26 Employer views on the apprenticeship levy, CIPD, June 2016 30 English Apprenticeships: Our 2020 Vision, HM Government, 7 December 2015

11 Sense & Instability 2016

A majority of apprenticeships have been taken Recent proposals to introduce upper limits to up by individuals over the age of 24; where youth apprenticeship funding are also at odds with the apprenticeships are being delivered, they are commitment to making apprenticeships accessible more likely to be in sectors characterised by low to young people of all backgrounds. 33 The new pay and poor career progression, such as health flat rates would replace the previous system, and social care, business administration, and which funded apprenticeships at different rates for hospitality and catering, as the Social Mobility and learners of different ages and individuals living in Child Poverty Commission has noted. 31 The CIPD deprived areas, although supplementary payments has also pointed out that a majority of the new are to be made available for employers and training apprenticeships places in the last few years have providers supporting younger apprentices, young been at intermediate level, which typically yield care leavers and young adults with additional poor earnings. Accordingly, it suggests that unless learning needs. more apprenticeships are made available at level 3 The decision to introduce upper limits to and above, it will be difficult to achieve equivalence apprenticeship funding has raised concerns in the perceived value of academic and technical that this will negatively impact social mobility routes.32 and progression, and disproportionately impact individuals living in deprived areas,34 including people from ethnic minorities.35 Other concerns that had been raised included that the proposed changes would result in funding for The Government has taken 16 to 18 year old apprentices being cut by around a number of steps regarding a third; 36 with this figure predicted to rise to up apprenticeships that contribute to 50 per cent for young apprentices in the most towards stability. However, deprived areas. Conversely, in many cases funding for apprentices over the age of 24 is likely to it’s a key priority to ensure increase substantially.37 However, the Government’s that apprenticeship reform latest policy paper on apprenticeship funding, addresses the current released in October 2016, aimed to simplify the system and put in place steps to ensure that the weaknesses in the system. same level of funding will be provided regardless of where someone lives. This will last for one year while a review is conducted to understand the best ways of supporting individuals from all backgrounds. 38

31 Response to apprenticeships inquiry, The Social Mobility and Child Poverty 35 Ethnic minorities will be hit hardest by apprenticeship funding cuts, Commission, 21 March 2016 experts warn, TES, 22 August 2016 32 Employer views on the apprenticeship levy, CIPD, June 2016 36 Britain’s young and poor are being hit yet again – this time on 33 English Apprenticeships: Our 2020 Vision, HM Government, apprenticeships, Guardian, 5 September 2016 7 December 2015 37 Funding rates cut by up to 50% for the most deprived 16-18 apprentices, 34 ‘Apprenticeship funding cuts are wrong, pernicious and will be a disaster’, FE Week, August 19 2016 TES, 22 August 2016 38 Apprenticeship funding from May 2017, 25 October 2016 39 Written evidence submitted by the Centre for Vocational Education Research, LSE, March 2016

12 Whatever the outcome of the review, it is key Key findings that there is greater transparency around the pricing of apprenticeships to ensure that funding • Proposals to increase collaboration between bands and caps are accurate, based on costs and employers and colleges on the development representative of what is needed on the ground to of standards are positive, and may help to best serve different cohorts. ensure that qualifications deliver the skills that employers need – providing bureaucracy is Employers and training providers also need to kept to a minimum. ensure that apprenticeships focus on developing • The Government has more to do both skills that can add value to organisations to generate support from employers for specifically and to the economy as a whole. the apprenticeship levy and to convince Research by the School of Economics organisations about the usefulness of this has found that almost all apprentices over the funding for their workforce development age of 25, and a majority of those aged 19 processes. to 24, worked for the same employer before enrolling on the apprenticeship scheme. Yet • Apprenticeships delivered since the scheme only a small proportion in the study had used began in 2010 have not adequately delivered the apprenticeship scheme to gain entry into the skills needed by the economy. 39 employment or to move to a new job. • Young people are underrepresented in apprenticeships; where available, youth apprenticeships are more likely to be in sectors characterised by poor pay and career progression. • The Government’s review into how Employers and apprenticeship frameworks are funded should training providers focus on ensuring transparency so that funding need to ensure that bands and caps are accurate, based on costs, and do not disadvantage people because of apprenticeships focus their background, or where they live. on developing skills that add value to organisations and the economy.

13 Sense & Instability 2016

4 Skills policy post-2014 The Post-16 Skills Plan, published in July 2016, indicated an important directional change in policies related to young people.40 Building on the findings of Lord Sainsbury’s independent skills review 41, the document outlined the Government’s plan for technical education.

In October 2016, the Technical and Further Education Bill 2016-17 42 was introduced to the Commons, building on the measures set out in the plan which was developed in response to an independent report from an expert panel chaired by Lord Sainsbury. Broadly, the reforms outlined in the plan aim to facilitate a system that can support learners in securing employment, as well as meet the skills needs of a changing economy. They also aim to improve the alignment of technical education routes with academic options. The plan suggested abolishing the current system of there being thousands of qualifications, in favour of the creation of a common framework of 15 routes across technical education. It proposed that each route would bring together occupations that share training requirements, with two-year college- based programmes, aligned to apprenticeships, established at the beginning of each route. In order to reduce confusion among learners, the plan suggested streamlining the number of technical

40 Post-16 Skills Plan, DfE and BIS, 8 July 2016 41 Report of Panel on Technical Education, BIS, 8 July 2016 42 Technical and Further Education Bill 2016-17 Parliament.co.uk, 27 October 2016

14 The lack of consultation could mean the Post-16 Skills Plan is doomed to fail.

qualifications available, with only one technical from businesses and educators that the existing level qualification available for each occupation or provision in schools was failing to deliver the cluster of occupations within a route. guidance needed by young people.46 According to the plan, each of the 15 routes The CEC acts as an umbrella organisation for other will have only one awarding organisation, and bodies working in the sector, with a network of some routes will be delivered primarily through coordinators working across clusters of around apprenticeships. Other changes outlined 20 schools to provide information about possible include expanding the remit of the Institute training providers and employers in the local for Apprenticeships to oversee the framework area. 47 In July 2016, it was also discussed whether and make this the principle body responsible responsibility for the National Careers Service for technical education. National Colleges and (NCS) should be transferred to the CEC. 48 Institutes of Technology will also be created to provide education in STEM subjects and other In line with the Government’s employer-led important economic areas. approach to FE and skills, recent policy changes aim to further extend employer engagement, The Post-16 Skills Plan follows the Coalition which could help to more closely align skills and Government’s decision to introduce a new measure jobs. Building on the approach developed in for 16-19 school and college performance tables, the apprenticeship Trailblazers programme, the starting in September 2014.43 The Technical Post-16 Skills Plan proposes putting employers Baccalaureate (TechBacc) Measure aims to in charge of developing standards across all recognise the achievement of students completing technical education, including college-based advanced technical qualifications, and to provide 49 a barometer for qualifications recognised by qualifications. Together with education experts, professional and industry bodies as being of employers will be invited to advise the Institute high quality. Under the new proposed framework for Apprenticeships on the knowledge and skills unveiled in summer 2016, qualifications included required to meet occupational standards in each within the TechBacc measure will come from of the proposed routes. one of three categories of technical and applied With regards to adult learners, there have been 44 qualifications available for 16 to 19 year olds. continued cuts to the adult skills budget. In July Other policy changes related to young people 2015 a letter from the SFA announced a further in recent years have included the creation of the 3.9 per cent cut to adult skills and discretionary Careers and Enterprise Company (CEC), which is learner support allocations for colleges and tasked with advancing careers awareness among training providers in 2015/16 50. Earlier that year young people between the ages of 12 and 18 the Association of Colleges (AoC) warned that and connecting them with employers.45 The CEC 190,000 adult education places would be lost in was established in response to repeated warnings 2016 due to cuts. 51

43 The Technical Baccalaureate Performance Table Measure, DfE, 47 Letter from Claudia Harris of the Careers and Enterprise Company, 16 December 2013 ASCL, 13 July 2015 44 Technical and applied qualifications for 14 to 19 year olds, DfE, 48 MPs back widening role of new Careers & Enterprise Company, 16 August 2016 19_Qualifications_Technical_Guidance.pdf FE Week, 5 July 2016 45 New careers and enterprise company for schools, DfE, 10 December 2014 49 Post-16 Skills Plan, DfE and BIS, 8 July 2016 46 CBI chief warns over poor careers advice, BBC, 19 June 2013 50 Changes to funding allocations for 2015 to 2016, SFA, 20 July 2015 51 Colleges say ‘swathe of cuts’ threatens adult education, BBC, 25 March 2015

15 Sense & Instability 2016

Sector viewpoints monopoly situations are less likely to cater for a kaleidoscope of different needs. The Post-16 Skills Plan received approving responses from representatives of businesses, It is interesting to note that, unlike recent greeted as a ‘step in the right direction’ by the proposals for the introduction of grammar Institute of Directors (IoD). 52 Particularly well schools, the Post-16 Skills Plan did not go through received were plans to increase collaboration a formal consultation process prior to publication between colleges and employers on standards,53 of the white paper, 60 reflecting a more top-down and to ensure learners develop a broader and directional policy environment compared to knowledge base before specialisation.54 other areas. Sector bodies such as the AoC have called for a full consultation to be conducted The FE sector’s response to the changes proposed that allows for a two-way dialogue around the has been more mixed. While the proposed proposed changes.61 alignment and improved clarity between technical and academic education routes has generally It is worth noting that the plan was published been well received,55 there are concerns that the under the previous leadership, and there have move to make young people choose between since been a number of changes, including the academic and vocational routes at the age of transfer of responsibility for skills to DfE. However 16 risks further institutionalising existing divides Theresa May’s Government has indicated that it between the two.56 There has also been criticism intends to progress with these reforms, and the of the absence of additional funding for specific Bill will begin to implement them. initiatives proposed in the plan, such as the commitment to guarantee work placements for all Analysis learners, as well as of the underrepresentation of creative arts and sports 57 within the proposed new The Government’s long-term plan is to routes. Likewise, there is also a notable absence of bring together full-time technical FE and many typical job roles within the retail sector in the apprenticeships, which could provide a proposed framework. sustainable model in the long-term. However, the proposed reforms suggest that the lack of Another concern is that the removal of existing organisational memory at political and official qualifications as part of the rationalisation to levels, as well as the failure to learn from past 15 routes will limit choices for learners, 58 with the successes and failures, remain key challenges to technical routes outlined in the plan covering effective policymaking in the sector. fewer than half of all available occupations. The Federation of Awarding Bodies (FAB) has There are both similarities and differences also raised concerns that the streamlining of between the new qualification reforms and the qualifications and awarding bodies is anti- short-lived 14-19 Diplomas introduced by the competitive and therefore not in the interests Labour Government, which were available in 14 of learners (or society); 59 their argument is that employment sectors or ‘lines of learning’. 62

 52 UK will fall behind without reforms to technical education, IoD, 8 July 2016 59 FAB Proposals for the implementation of key recommendations in the Report of the Independent Panel on Technical Education and the 53 Response to DfE technical skills overhaul announcement, CBI, 8 July 2016 Post-16 Skills Plan, FAB, July 2016 54 Reforms announced for technical education, CITB, 8 July 2016 60 Technical and profess