A new approach to skills which will see more young people accessing ‘gold standard apprenticeships’ has been hailed as a ‘game-changer’ following its release this week.
The new reforms to post-16 education, backed by £800 million of additional Government investment, will unlock opportunities for young people and drive growth across the country, and comes in the week when a Staveley-based Construction skills hub won praise in parliament.
The Construction Skills Hub in Staveley is a great example of the value of new Technical Excellent Colleges. Just this year, 68 young people have started a new construction apprenticeship. This was recognised by the Education Secretary when Toby Perkins spoke in parliament about the fantastic work the Hub is doing locally to create opportunities for young people.
The government Skills White Paper includes new V-level qualifications which demystify the wide range of options available to young people for both them and for future employers. The Government will also re-introduce maintenance grants removed by the Conservatives, sustainably funded by a levy on international students, to allow British students from the lowest income households to attend university.
Also announced were five more new Technical Excellence Colleges to help people get into specialist jobs in priority sectors like clean energy, engineering and construction.
Earlier this month the Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson MP, also announced that every eligible young person who has been on Universal Credit for 18 months without earning or learning will be offered guaranteed paid work through a new Youth Guarantee.
Labour’s renewal of the post-16 system will mean that around 2 in 3 young people will be holding or participating in higher-level learning – academic, technical or on an apprenticeship – by age 25.
Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson said: “Technical and vocational education is the backbone of this country’s economy and central to breaking the link between background and success, helping hundreds of thousands of young people get the skills they need to get good jobs.
“But for too long it has been an afterthought. Young people have been left to navigate an overcomplicated landscape and repeatedly labelled as ‘failures’ by a system that has held them back from all-important English and maths grades.
“Through our Plan for Change we are turning the tide. Our reforms are building a post-16 education system that truly matches young people’s aspirations and abilities, delivering the opportunity and growth our economy needs.”
Toby Perkins, MP for Chesterfield, said: “I am delighted that this Labour Government is doing more to support more young people into apprenticeships and further education.
“Apprenticeships are a gold standard of education – they need to be available as a route for straight ‘A’ students, rather than being seen as something that kids who aren’t doing A Levels do.
Boosting in skills and training opportunities will be essential to meeting the economic challenges we face and enabling people at every stage of their lives to learn, retrain and progress at work.”
You can read the full Skills White Paper here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/post-16-education-and-skills-white-paper
