- Skills and Post-16 Education Act to level up and drive
economic growth across the whole country
- Green skills prioritised, careers advice in schools boosted
and essay mills services criminalised in new legislation
- Measures build on the government’s transformation of further
and technical education, so everyone can gain the skills they
need to get well-paid jobs
New laws have been passed today through the Skills and Post-16
Education Act that will help transform the skills and training
landscape and level up opportunities across the country.
Skills to support the growing green economy will be prioritised
to create a workforce for jobs now and in the future, and schools
will be required to make sure all children get to meet people
that provide technical education routes such as apprenticeships,
T Levels or traineeships – opening their eyes to a wide range of
careers.
The legislation will help economic recovery and growth by making
it easier for people to get the skills they need to secure
well-paid jobs in industries with skills gaps, such as health and
social care, engineering, digital, clean energy and
manufacturing. It will also give more people the opportunity to
get jobs in their local areas, by requiring employers and
colleges to work together to identify the skills needed within
communities.
The unethical practice of essay mills will also be criminalised
to tackle companies that actively facilitate cheating and
dishonest behaviour by providing students with essays for money.
The Act underpins the government’s transformation of post-16
education and skills as set out in the Skills for Jobs White
Paper and will help level up and drive growth across the
whole country.
Minister for Skills said:
“The Skills and Post-16 Education Act will transform the skills,
training and post-16 education landscape and level up
opportunities across the country.
“This legislation will make sure everyone can gain the skills
they need to progress into a rewarding job, and businesses have
access to a pipeline of talented, qualified employees for their
workforces – boosting productivity.”
Key measures introduced by the Act include:
- embedding employers in the heart of the skills system by
placing a legal requirement on colleges and other providers to
work with employers to develop skills plans, so that the training
on offer meets the needs of local areas, and people no longer
have to leave their hometowns to find great jobs;
- making sure all pupils meet providers of technical education
so that they understand the wide range of career routes and
training available to them, such as apprenticeships, T Levels or
traineeships, not just the traditional academic options;
- prioritising green skills so the training on offer across the
country meets the needs of the growing green economy and helps
gets more people into jobs;
- supporting the transformation of the current student loans
system so from 2025 learners can access a flexible loan for
higher-level education and training at university or college,
useable at any point in their lives;
- introducing new powers to intervene when colleges are failing
to deliver good outcomes for the communities they serve;
- making it a criminal offence to provide, arrange or advertise
essay mill services for financial gain to students taking a
post-16 qualification at institutions in England including
colleges, universities and sixth forms; and
- creating a unified skills system that builds from quality
gains achieved with apprenticeships and T Levels by ensuring all
technical qualifications match up to employers’ high standards.
Employers in eight
trailblazer areas across the country have already been
working with local training providers to create skills plans that
align to what local communities need. These plans are now being
rolled out across the country, opening up more opportunities for
people to gain the skills they and businesses need to succeed.
The new measures build on the work already under way to boost
skills and get more people into better jobs, including working
with employers to create more apprenticeship opportunities,
establishing a network of Institutes of Technology and rolling
out new T Levels.
Jennifer Coupland, chief executive of the Institute for
Apprenticeships and Technical Education (IfATE), which leads with
implementing the government’s employer-led technical education
reforms, said:
“Following passage of this landmark legislation, we can look
forward to creating a unified skills system which is simpler to
understand and employers and learners can really trust.
“IfATE has empowered employers to drive up the quality of
apprenticeships and roll out exciting new T Levels. The time is
now right to extend the employer-led reforms across technical
education.”
