Tomorrow’s (n.b. 17/07/2024) King’s Speech will be the first opportunity to see how the new Labour government’s “mission-driven” agenda will be implemented. From a post-16 perspective, this is all about the strategy – set-out in broad brush strokes in the manifesto – to move towards a Tertiary system, with the promise of much greater coordination and collaboration between further, higher, and adult education. There’s no doubt that change on the scale envisaged will require primary legislation. But how far and how fast will new laws be introduced?
Before looking at what might be announced, there’s one important caveat: many of the “burning boats” in the post-16 sector don’t require legislation to fix them. On the FE side, halting the widespread damage being done to student progression by the current policy of BTEC defunding, and tackling the growing crisis of staffing shortages are top of the list; on the HE side, addressing the widespread financial crisis caused by the erosion of the value of student fees, and turning the international student recruitment taps back on, are the pressing priorities.
First and foremost, we can expect the announcement of a Bill to convert the apprenticeship levy into a “Growth and Skills” levy, something which will have an immediate impact on workplace training. This will hopefully enable shorter, more flexible training programmes to be funded alongside apprenticeships, and we welcome it, although we would urge the government to directly fund 16-19 apprenticeships to ensure this important vocational route for young people is kept open.
We can also expect legislation to establish Skills England as a national coordinating body, and to pave the way for the introduction of Technical Excellence status for colleges. Again, we broadly welcome these moves, although their impact on post-16 education will depend on the detail of exactly how they are to be implemented. We need less bureaucracy, not more; less complexity, not more.
The piece of education legislation which will no doubt attract the most publicity is the anticipated Bill to remove the current VAT exemption for private schools. Although not directly related to Tertiary education, it will be interesting to see how parents react, and whether the inevitable increase in school fees will drive more pupils into the public sector, including school sixth forms and sixth form colleges, which are already less well funded than most other parts of the system.
Beyond specific Education legislation, the King’s Speech is likely to contain a number of Bills which will have a direct impact on the education sector. A new law to unblock the barriers to house building has significant implications for improving the supply of skilled and qualified workers in the Construction sector, currently at critically low levels. Greater devolution of powers to local authorities will significantly increase their involvement in adult skills strategy and funding. Legislation to improve Mental Health services could help ease the pressure on colleges and universities faced with a sharp increase in students struggling with mental wellbeing.
But it’s the manifesto commitment to “bringing forward a comprehensive strategy for post-16 education” and “better integrate further and higher education” that promises to drive the biggest changes over Labour’s term in government. We are optimistic that this will include a commitment to expanding adult and lifelong learning, not least because the economic imperative to deliver higher growth and productivity requires much more to be done to incentivise and support skills training for working adults.
For that reason, we’d like to see:
A commitment to Implementing the Lifelong Learning Entitlement by 2026, not just based on loans, but on a co-investment system that combines contributions from learners, businesses, and government.
Creating a digital individual learning account to enable adult students to build up their qualifications over time at different institutions.
Introducing business Skills and Innovation Hubs and Specialist Skills Academies in selected areas and priority industry sectors to foster curriculum co-design and industry-expert teaching.
Creating a Minister for Lifelong Learning with cross-departmental responsibilities in education, business, and innovation.
What’s included in the King’s Speech will give us our first indication of whether the new government is prepared to move quickly and decisively towards Tertiary integration and lifelong learning. If Labour are to succeed in their mission to “break down the barriers to opportunity”, we believe both are essential, and sooner rather than later.
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