Following the changes proposed in the Leitch Report, the government has launched a consultation on changes to further education – proposing that employers should be in the driving seat.
The proposals include:
- Enabling employers to determine the content of qualifications and advise on curriculum design
- Allowing employers to choose their preferred further education providers
- Learner accounts for adult learners which will give them purchasing power via entitlements to learning
- A new, free career service for adult learners to give a ‘skills health check’
- Comparable activity for 16-19 year-olds, which will encourage broad programmes of learning, particularly diplomas.
Higher and further education minister Bill Rammell said: “Our proposal is simple – place the power to choose in the hands of the individual and the employer, and empower and enable the best of providers to engage and excite more learners and employers.
“A new ambition for world-class skills has been set in the Leitch report last month and echoed in the chancellor’s pre-budget report. We have to raise our game if we are to continue to compete in an increasingly competitive global context.
“The Leitch report made bold recommendations for radical change. We need to be imaginative in our response, with government, employers and individuals taking increased responsibility and building on recent successes.”
