The Government released its Skills for Jobs White Paper, on 21 January 2021, setting out a series of measures looking to transform post-16 education and training.
The White Paper details the Government’s blueprint for a ‘Lifetime Skills Guarantee’, which aims to ensure everyone will be able to gain the skills they need to progress in work at any stages of their lives. In the White Paper, the Government sets out the following key proposals:
- Business groups, including Chambers of Commerce, working alongside colleges to develop tailored skills plans to meet local training needs; supported by a £65 million Strategic Development Fund to put the plans into action and establish new College Business Centres to drive innovation and enhanced collaboration with employers.
- Giving employers a central role in designing almost all technical courses by 2030, to ensure that the education and training people receive is directly linked to the skills needed for real jobs.
- Boosting the quality and uptake of Higher Technical Qualifications – that provide the skills that many employers say they need and that can lead to higher wages – by introducing newly approved qualifications from September 2022 supported by a government-backed brand and quality mark.
- Changing the law so that from 2025 people can access flexible student finance so they can train and retrain throughout their lives, supported by funding in 21/22 to test ways to boost access to more modular and flexible learning.
- Launching a nationwide recruitment campaign to get more talented individuals to teach in further education and investing in high quality professional development including a new Workforce Industry Exchange Programme.
For the full Skills for Jobs White Paper please follow this link.