London Colleges’ Manifesto for the Mayor Young Tech Level People NVQ Specialist Adults College BTec Degree Foundation Land - based Degree College Apprenticeship Diploma Sixth Form College Study Programme Technical and A Level General Further Professional Education College Education Page | 1 Foreword London’s 50 further education, sixth form and specialist colleges educate around 500,000 young people and adults every year. They employ 15,700 people, including 8,100 teachers and lecturers, and have a collective annual turnover of £1 billion. There is at least one college in every London borough, providing learning across the capital, including the City of London. The Mayor of London, and the Greater London A role for the future is the place the Mayor Authority, have a significant role in making and will take in chairing the area based reviews of influencing policy affecting our students and colleges in London. This is a major undertaking, apprentices. This manifesto sets out a number which will affect education and training for years of recommendations, which if implemented, to come. The Mayor’s transport responsibilities will help colleges continue to provide excellent also affect our students with various concessions education and training to young people and ensuring they are able to afford to access adults across London. education and training. The Mayor chairs the London Enterprise Panel, Finally, it is also exceptionally important to the local enterprise partnership for London, emphasise the value of education, as a benefit which has a skills and employment working in itself. The Mayor should not lose sight of the group. The Mayor needs to ensure these bodies valuable work of colleges in improving the quality are working hard for London, leading change of life for many thousands of people in our city and using new funding responsibilities to make every year, aiding social integration and helping London a more highly-skilled city. communities. In addition, the Mayor, through his or her political On behalf of the colleges across London’s 32 influence, planning powers and responsibility for boroughs, I commend this manifesto to you. Transport for London (TfL), emergency services and multi-million pound procurement, can help Ian Ashman, Chair of AoC London and Principal of ensure that London’s employers can have a Hackney Community College significant impact on the level of skills training and apprenticeships in London. Page | 3 Summary of our recommendations Skills and employment Area reviews The next Mayor needs to ensure that there is a diverse adult education and training offer The next Mayor should ensure that the area reviews support colleges to continue to have the 1 and encourage individuals to invest in their own further education through Advanced 8 autonomy to deliver high-quality, technical and professional education to Londoners. Learner Loans. The next Mayor must ensure that the maximum amount of devolved funding is devoted to The next Mayor should examine the size and performance of all school and academy sixth forms 2 the front-line delivery of education and training for students. 9 in London with a view to no sixth form having fewer than 250 students. The next Mayor should lobby for adequate and sustainable funding of English for Speakers 3 of Other Languages (ESOL) and for an entitlement for non-English speakers to study Transport English for free. The next Mayor should commit to maintain current free travel arrangements for students The next Mayor should help colleges to employ teachers in hard-to-recruit sectors by 10 in London and look to further reduce the amount paid by students and apprentices for tube 4 providing specific support to these professionals as they look to meet housing costs in journeys. London. Apprenticeships The next Mayor should influence Ministers to ensure London gets its fair share of the levy 5 to support apprentices. The next Mayor should set a target and monitor the proportion of apprenticeships taken up 6 by London residents. The next Mayor should engage with employers to ensure the training offered to new 7 apprentices is high-quality. Page | 4 Page | 5 Skills and Employment 1 The next Mayor needs to ensure that 2 The next Mayor must ensure that the 4 The next Mayor should help colleges to there is a diverse adult education and maximum amount of devolved funding employ teachers in hard-to-recruit sectors training offer and encourage individuals is devoted to the front-line delivery of by providing specific support to these to invest in their own further education education and training for students. professionals as they look to meet housing through Advanced Learner Loans. costs in London. Any new devolved funding system, controlled The Mayor needs to ensure that adult by London, must be simple, coherent and Every young person who fails to achieve a education and training, including non- ensure colleges can retain their ability to GCSE grade A* to C in English and maths is accredited learning, is maintained, stabilised respond to the needs of local people and required to continue these subjects in their and enhanced. This provision was once employers. post-16 education. Colleges support the need considered the jewel in the crown of the to ensure all young Londoners are qualified London education system and it should not 3 The next Mayor should lobby for in English and maths but need to employ be squeezed out by apprenticeships, which adequate and sustainable funding of many new teachers to make it a reality. The are only available to those in full-time work. English for Speakers of Other Languages difficulty London colleges, and other education More and more people will need to retrain as (ESOL) and for an entitlement for non- institutions, have in recruiting qualified they will be required to continue working into English speakers to study English for free. teachers in English and maths and a number their late 60s and 70s. The opportunities to of vocational sectors is becoming more learn new skills must be available to all, across Colleges play an important role in the Prevent pronounced. the whole of London. Loans are available for agenda, ensuring balanced debate, freedom of people aged 19 and over to help them finance speech, protecting the welfare of students and their courses. The Mayor should work with fighting extremism. However, the integration colleges to encourae individuals to invest in efforts of colleges have been undermined by their own further education. the national cuts to budgets for ESOL courses. 11% of London college students are on ESOL courses, compared with 4% nationally. This education is essential for non-English speakers to be able to engage in their local communities and find sustainable employment. Page | 6 Page | 7 Apprenticeships 5 The next Mayor should influence and tech skills, and have a focus on helping Ministers to ensure London gets its fair Londoners improve their skills and increase share of the levy to support apprentices. productivity. The Government has set a target of three 7 The next Mayor should engage with million apprenticeships by 2020 and increased employers to ensure the training offered the funding available to £900 million by to new apprentices is high-quality. the end of this Parliament. In April 2017, the Government will also introduce an We estimate that between 6,000 and 7,000 apprenticeship levy on larger employers set employers in London, in both the public and at a rate of 0.5% of an employer’s pay bill. private sector, will have to pay the levy. We recommend that the Mayor undertake his This means that the levy will only be paid on or her own assessment and use the data to any pay bill in excess of £3 million and that engage with employers. less than 2% of UK employers will pay it. The next Mayor should influence Ministers to TfL, the Greater London Authority, the ensure London gets its fair share of the levy to Metropolitan Police Service and the fire support apprentices. service, along with the rest of the public sector, will be legally obliged to employ apprentices 6 The next Mayor should set a (2.3% of their work force) but the Mayor target and monitor the proportion of should insist these organisations treat this apprenticeships taken up by London as a minimum rather than a target and work residents. with colleges so they can provide the high- quality training for the apprentices. In addition, Colleges welcome the Government’s initiatives the Mayor should use his or her extensive and look forward to working with the new procurement and planning powers to influence Mayor to ensure London plays a full role in the take-up of training and apprenticeships meeting the three million target. These new and recruitment of local Londoners. apprenticeships should focus on the areas the capital needs most, for example construction Page | 8 Page | 9 Area reviews of colleges The Government has initiated a set of area reviews across England. There will be four sub- A quarter of young people in London drop out regional reviews in London. London (west) and London (central) are included in wave 2, which of school after completing their first year of A started in March and the latter two, London (east) and London (south west) included in wave Levels, belatedly realising it was not the option 3 (scheduled to start after the Mayoral election). An overarching London Area Review Steering for them. The London Ambitions Careers Offer Group, chaired by the Mayor of London, will oversee the sub-regional reviews and ensure that is an excellent initiative and one which colleges the recommendations are co-ordinated. fully support. The Mayor should strongly encourage all schools and colleges to commit to delivering the overall objective of enabling 8 The next Mayor should ensure that 9 The next Mayor should examine the young people to make informed choices.