University Alliance welcomes the Government’s Skills Plan published today. It is essential that the UK has a skills system that gives both young people and adults the opportunity to gain the skills they need throughout their lifetime. This is the only way to ensure employers have the skilled workforce they need.
Maddalaine Ansell, Chief Executive of University Alliance, said:
“As the Skills Plan concludes, it is essential that high quality technical and professional education has the same prestige as the world-class academic education offered by our universities. Co-designing and co-delivering courses with employers is key to achieving this.
“Alliance universities have a strong history of working with employers to provide both academic and technical and professional education. We also have considerable experience in helping students entering with vocational qualifications to succeed on academic courses and can help ensure the proposed bridging courses truly help people cross from one path to the other.
“We welcome the expansion of the Institute for Apprenticeships to include technical education. Not only will it ensure the development of a coherent technical and professional education offer, but it will also allow technical qualifications which meet national standards to be eligible for government-backed student loans. This increases their attractiveness to both students and employers. Recognising that employers have already developed a wide range of technical and professional education with universities, we call for the Government to allow the apprenticeship levy to be used to fund not only apprenticeships but other kinds of employer-sponsored courses.”
ENDS
Notes to editors:
The Government’s Skills Plan was published by BIS and DfE today (8 July) and contains the outcomes of the Sainsbury Review of Professional and Technical Education. Professor Steve West, Vice-Chancellor of University of West of England (UWE Bristol) and Chair of University Alliance was a member of the Independent Panel on Technical Education chaired by Lord Sainsbury. Read Professor West’s blog about the Skills Plan here.
