There is a real risk to the long-term economic prosperity of the UK
if we do not get the introduction and implementation of T Levels
right, leaving the UK with fewer engineers, builders, electricians,
and fewer workers with the right skills across most industries.
Technological change, globalisation and Brexit will
increase the numbers of employers struggling to find skilled
people, holding back their success and the country’s chances of
strong and inclusive economic growth.
The Government responded to this growing need by
announcing its flagship skills policy – T Levels and new Higher
Technical Qualifications for adults. Both will be delivered by
colleges in partnership with employers.
These are genuine and positive attempts to give young
people and adults the skills they need to have successful
careers, and colleges are working hard to help to design and
implement them. However, colleges have serious concerns about
their viability, based on current funding levels. Successful
delivery requires teaching staff with specialist industry
expertise, up to date equipment, and smaller class sizes; all of
which require more funding.
A key aspect of T Levels is the specialised teaching
and training they will offer, relevant to today’s workplaces.
Even using funding projections from the Department for Education,
colleges will not be able to afford to offer the range of
specialisms required, because they cannot afford to attract and
retain staff. This proves especially difficult in key skills
shortage sectors such as engineering and construction, where pay
is already at a premium.
As it stands, even if every place is filled (reaching
100% efficiency) on specialist courses such as engineering,
construction and science, they will be operating at a significant
loss. If we do not get this right, the skills gap will continue
to grow, and the country will have fewer engineers, builders,
electricians, and fewer workers with the right skills across most
industries. There is a real risk to the long-term economic
prosperity of the UK.
For young people, the base rate funding per student
has been stuck at £4,000 per year for the last five years – with
the sector seeing 12% real terms cut to per student funding for
16-18-year olds and a 45% real terms cut to adult education. For
T Levels and Higher Technical Qualifications to be viable,
government needs to introduce a base rate increase of £1000 per
student as a minimum.
The Government has the opportunity to do this as part
of this year’s Comprehensive Spending Review. There is already
growing consensus across Westminster that the Chancellor needs to
prioritise college funding as a matter of urgency. Earlier this
month, 165 MPs for four major parties wrote to urging him to invest in
colleges as a means of investing in the
country.
David Hughes, Chief Executive, Association of
Colleges said:
“The introduction of T Levels and Higher
Technical Qualifications will offer new and better opportunities
for thousands of young people and adults, giving them the skills
they need to get on in life. They will help employers find the
skilled people they need to be successful. It is vital that the
Government gets their implementation right, and funding is
central to that.
If we are serious about securing the UK’s
economic long-term success, we need to focus on improving skills
and productivity. These new qualifications have the potential to
do just that, but only if we invest properly in
them.
Adequate funding is needed for colleges to be
able to attract and retain the right staff and have the right
equipment; current funding levels do not support that so they
cannot be delivered. I urge the Chancellor to listen to the calls
from MPs from his own and other parties and make this a priority
in the upcoming Comprehensive Spending
Review.”
-ENDS-
Notes to editor:
1. Over
half (58%) of small to medium-sized businesses (SMEs) across the
UK are warning that the country risks being ‘left behind’ if the
Government doesn’t address skills gaps through education, whilst
6 in 10 tell that they’re finding it harder to find skilled staff
than they were five years ago, according to recent research
conducted by Mortar London. https://www.aoc.co.uk/news/smes-fears-future-skilled-workforce-colleges-best-placed-support-them
2. About
T Levels (from gov.uk):
a. T
Levels are new courses coming in September 2020, which will
follow GCSEs and will be equivalent to 3 A Levels. These 2-year
courses have been developed in collaboration with employers and
businesses so that the content meets the needs of industry and
prepares students for work
b. T
Levels will offer students a mixture of classroom learning and
‘on-the-job’ experience during an industry placement of around 3
months
c. The
first 3 T Levels will be available at selected colleges and
schools (providers) across England in September 2020. This means
pupils who entered year 10 in September 2018 will be the first to
be able to study them.
d. For
more information, including a full list of T Level subjects
visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/introduction-of-t-levels/introduction-of-t-levels
3. Higher
Technical Qualifications were announced by the Secretary of State
for Education in his speech at Battersea Power Station in
December 2018, where he pledged to invest more in technical
education and colleges, as part of the national infrastructure
for skills. https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/damian-hinds-technical-education-speech
