17 November 2011

Introduction

The FE Minister was as passionate as ever when he came to address the annual gathering of the FE world in conference this week. But it seems we’ll have to wait a little longer before the Government announces the detail of some of the changes it has in mind for the sector following its recent consultation. Shorn of detail perhaps but never of heroic references , W.B. Yeats, Miranda and R.A. Butler amongst others were all summoned up to support his faith in FE, the Minister was forced to rely on what he called ‘tasters’ to whet the collective appetite

The context

Over the summer, the Government released a number of important papers on the sector. Grouped together under the title ‘New Challenges, New Chances,’ these papers reflected current Government thinking on areas like the future shape of the FE sector, the introduction of FE loans and the nature of Adult and Community Learning. Seen very much as a ‘roadmap’ for FE for coming years, these papers have gained additional significance as the economy has continued to limp along. For many people, it’s the FE sector with its extensive skilling and training programmes that will be key to any recovery

So what were the main ‘tasters’ announced?

In all, the Minister listed nine:

• Sharpening up local responsiveness through a new ‘innovation code’. The issue here is the key role colleges play in local communities and the need to strengthen FE’s position within these as indicated by the recent ‘Colleges in the Community’ Commission
• Speeding up and de-regulating the qualification system. This is not just about cutting red tape, it’s about giving employers greater sway and ensuring speedier to market provision
• Giving colleges greater flexibility, and a little bit of money, in developing provision for the most disengaged young people
• Developing a model of 3 year budgets for colleges to help with planning and stability
• Supporting the growth of HE in FE evidenced recently by the volume of bids for ‘margin’ places received from the FE sector, potentially a developing model of HE
• Further simplification and support for apprenticeship growth but with an emphasis on and indeed review of, quality. Results of the bids for higher level framework provision will be announced shortly
• The introduction of a bursary for FE initial teacher training, important in the context of recent funding announced for school teacher bursaries and the Government’s emphasis, let alone that of the inspectorate, on teaching quality
• The development of a global strategy for FE, interesting in the context of global skill trends but also given the changes in visa arrangements
• Confirmation of the launch of the independent review of professionalism in FE, an issue that has bubbling around for some time and important to the future of the workforce

When might the full response be announced?

Most bets are on mid December, following the Chancellor’s Financial Statement

© Steve Besley, Head of Policy, The Pearson Centre for Policy and Learning 2011.