The central pledge of Labour’s election manifesto was to ‘kickstart economic growth’.
But one element holding that growth back is the lack of appropriate skills among our workforce, with 80 per cent of organisations reporting they struggled to recruit skilled talent last year.
To address this skills gap, we need to recognise there is a huge educational divide in the UK.
While the largest proportion of the population holds a qualification at Level 4 or higher (27.2 per cent), almost one in five adults in England and Wales have no qualifications, and a further 23 per cent only hold Level 1 or 2 qualifications.
This educational shortfall ramps up pressure on government finances through universal credit claims, given essential skills attainment reduces the likelihood of being out of work or education by half.
If ministers truly want to kickstart economic growth they must tackle this huge deficit in essential skills. Doing so will increase the supply of badly-needed intermediately-skilled individuals, and widen the pipeline for those able to progress to higher levels of education.
One way to achieve this is by supporting the creation not just of the technical excellence colleges that the government is planning, but also complementary institutions with a focus on essential skills. These provide the gateway to further learning and employment opportunities that could help overcome the impact of the recently announced 6 per cent cut in the national adult skills budget for non-devolved areas.
The creation of LSBU Group has tested this concept by repositioning Lambeth College to focus on gateway provision.
With an emphasis on essential skills, including English and maths, English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), adult education and special educational needs and disability education, the college offers programmes designed for people from a wide range of backgrounds so they can re-engage in education.
We’re providing progression routes into higher levels of technical or vocational education and – through links with local employers – good job prospects.
For example, health is one of the fastest–growing employment sectors in Lambeth and surrounding boroughs.
Lambeth College’s expertise in English and maths has enabled us to develop a Higher Development Award programme supporting clinical and non-clinical staff to progress in their careers, providing a pathway into nursing associate, allied health professionals or registered nurse roles.
The programme teaches management skills and, crucially, includes English and maths at Level 2. As a result, several hundred students have been able to achieve on programmes previously out of their reach, with at least half of those completing the course progressing onto nursing associate and other health-related apprenticeships.
In addition to the opportunity for immediate employment opportunities, because of Lambeth College’s position within LSBU Group, the curriculum has been designed so direct pathways exist for learners seeking to progress into local higher levels of education at London South Bank Technical College (levels 3 and 4) and London South Bank University (levels 5, 6 and 7), where the curriculum has similarly been designed in close partnership with local employers.
A network of local gateway colleges across the country would be well placed to serve those who have previously been failed by the education system or face some form of societal or economic exclusion.
With their focus on ensuring students develop essential skills for lifelong learning and vocational skills for employability, gateway colleges not only offer a chance to boost economic prosperity but enable learners to improve their wellbeing.
Such an ambition will never be possible without adequate funding within the adult skills budget and additional funding for 16-19 ‘catch-up’ learners who lack these qualifications.
If the government is serious about growing the economy, then investing in tackling our basic skills crisis should be the first step.
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