The government is inviting bids for contracts worth up to £1 million from organisations to deliver training that increases “student and teacher confidence and ability” in GCSE maths and English resits.
The Department for Education put out feelers last October to gauge market interest in extra teacher training for FE resit staff.
Results for GCSE English and maths resits have struggled to improve, with less than a third of students passing the exams in post-16 education.
Last week, the DfE launched a tender, which runs until mid-April, for bids to deliver continuing professional development to “support the provision of English, maths and wider organisational working” for FE staff.
The DfE did not clarify the overall total of the grant pot, but it encouraged multiple organisations to bid for contracts between £200,000 and £1 million.
Bidders will have to propose how much they want for a two-year financial period starting June 1, 2025, and ending March 31, 2027.
However, funding for the second year will be subject to contractors supplying evidence that they are fulfilling the objectives and “ensuring value for money”.
Students must resit GCSE English and maths in post-16 education as a condition of their places being funded if they fail to achieve a grade 4 pass at school.
The DfE has funded multiple resit CPD programmes in the past, including through the Education and Training Foundation, White Rose Education, Lexonik and Mathematics Education Innovation
Tender documents show that for this round, the department twill accept applications from organisations able to cover multiple regions in England or nationwide.
But bidders have been encouraged to “prioritise regions with lower attainment rates for level 2 English and maths and/or high vacancy rates for English and maths teachers”.
The CPD will be online or in-person and could involve subject-specific training in topics such as improving algebra knowledge and developing reading comprehension.
The DfE will measure the success of the initiative across four areas, including requiring contractors to demonstrate 80 per cent increases in student and teacher confidence and ability in maths and English.
A principal, a union leader and members of education think tanks will next week answer questions on ‘new ways of doing FE’.
MPs on the education select committee will quiz experts for the first time on Tuesday for its wide-ranging inquiry on further education and skills.
The inquiry, which launched in January, covers 21 areas of interest, including teachers, funding, qualifications, attainment gaps and student mental health.
Appearing first next week will be Darren Hankey, the principal and chief executive of Hartlepool College, Rob Nitsch, the chief executive of the Federation of Awarding Bodies, Alice Gardner of the Edge Foundation and David Robinson, director of post-16 and skills at the Education Policy Institute.
They will be followed by Bill Watkin, the chief executive at the Sixth Form Colleges Association, Jo Grady, the general secretary of the University and College Union, David Hughes, the chief executive of the Association of Colleges and Imran Tahir, a research economist at the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
Committee members are likely to ask about T Levels, teacher pay and retention, SEND reforms and attainment gaps.
Launching the inquiry, committee chair Helen Hayes said the government was “a long way off” delivering parity of esteem between technical and academic education.
“In this inquiry, we will listen to both the education sector and figures from industry and public services to investigate how the DfE could design a new way of doing FE that helps young people into the careers they desire, serves vital sectors that struggle to recruit, and catalyses growth across the country.”
Since the government announced its functional skills flexibilities for adults we’ve seen a varied response across the sector. Disappointingly, some providers – both small and large – have seized the opportunity to stop delivering functional skills altogether, making functional skills tutors redundant even in cases where employers and apprentices still require those skills.
At HIT Training Ltd, we are seeing the opposite trend. None of our employer partners have asked us to stop delivering functional skills.
Instead, most are looking to us as sector specialists to make the judgement – ensuring apprentices have the chance to gain the skills they need now and for future career progression.
Several large employers have explicitly asked us to continue delivering functional skills as before. Their rationale is clear: functional skills are still essential for workplace performance, end-point assessment activities and long-term employability.
While we support increased flexibility, we believe the responsibility now lies with providers and employers to ensure apprentices still develop these vital skills wherever needed.
Essential skills
Functional skills qualifications are now an optional requirement for employers of adult apprentices, but their importance has not changed. Strong literacy and numeracy skills remain essential for both employers and apprentices, influencing workplace performance, career progression and long-term employability.
Effective communication, data handling and problem-solving are fundamental to job roles across all sectors, while many apprentices will struggle to move into supervisory or management positions without a solid foundation in English and maths.
Regardless of regulatory changes, most employers still expect their workforce to have a functional level of literacy and numeracy.
Then there is the social impact of the qualification. There are adults who for many reasons have not reached an appropriate level of maths and English, whether because of undiagnosed learning difficulties, life events or failings of the education system.
Having the skills and strategies to communicate effectively with family members and friends, better understand bills or having the confidence to search for better deals can be life-changing.
At HIT, we go beyond generic requirements by using our deep sector expertise to determine the minimum literacy and numeracy levels needed to complete each of the apprenticeships we offer. We work closely with employers to understand not only the skills needed to perform in a role, but also what will be required for future career progression within a business.
By embedding this understanding into our approach we ensure every apprentice has the best opportunity to develop the skills they need – not just to complete their apprenticeship, but to build a sustainable and successful career.
What needs to change?
The removal of functional skills as a mandatory requirement shouldn’t lead to a decline in skills development. If anything, it should encourage a more tailored and meaningful approach to supporting literacy and numeracy.
To ensure apprentices continue to develop these essential skills, the sector must remain committed to maintaining access to functional skills rather than using flexibilities as a reason to cut provision.
Employers and sector bodies now have greater responsibility in determining skills requirements, and providers must engage them early to ensure literacy and numeracy are not overlooked – for the apprentice, workforce requirements and their future career progression.
Additionally, Ofsted and the Department for Education should play a more active role in supporting providers to improve functional skills delivery.
Rather than focusing solely on pass rates, these bodies should assess how effectively providers help apprentices develop these skills in a way that is relevant and contextualised to their job role, ensuring training remains meaningful and impactful in the workplace.
Guidance, resources and best practice sharing will help providers strengthen functional skills delivery without unnecessary administrative burdens.
At HIT Training we will continue to work closely with employers, apprentices and policymakers to ensure functional skills remain a core part of quality apprenticeship delivery. Not because they’re required, but because they matter.
When University Technical Colleges (UTCs) launched in 2010 with their younger intakes and specialist vocational curriculums, they were hailed as the solution needed to propel young people to high-paying technical jobs and tackle skills shortages.
But the fanfare for UTCs quickly faded. Of the 58 launched over the years, 14 were forced to close amid stiff competition for learners from schools and colleges, and dwindling support from the local employers meant to back them.
Even Michael Gove – the education secretary who introduced them – concluded in 2017 the UTC experiment had failed.
But Kate Ambrosi, new chief executive of the Baker Dearing Educational Trust, the charity which represents UTCs, believes it’s time for a different story to be told.
Ambrosi joins at a time of acute skills shortages, which she believes UTCs can address by expanding their provision into mainstream schools.
She aims to achieve what her predecessor, Simon Connell, failed to do with the last government: persuade it to invest in their UTC ‘sleeves’ in schools proposals.
Ambrosi is quietly confident the current crop of politicians are more supportive than the last bunch were; Rachel Reeves, Bridget Phillipson and Jacqui Smith have all visited UTCs and appreciate their worth, she claims.
After all, Labour’s pre-election proposal of “transforming existing FE colleges into new specialist technical excellence colleges” with “additional investment from local businesses and improved links to local universities” seems to echo the vision behind UTCs.
Kate Ambrosi with skills minister Jacqui Smith
A turning tide
Since their inception, UTCs have had to battle the long-entrenched British inferiority complex that clouds technical education.
To combat this, Ambrosi says UTCs “make it clear” to parents they don’t restrict options, but offer “multiple routes” – including A-levels.
When an apprenticeship does not work out, the UTC “supports learners to find the route that does. So maybe there’s less risk than it felt previously”, she adds.
More than half of UTCs are over-subscribed and two more are in the pipeline to open – one in Southampton and another in Doncaster.
In 2019, only half of UTCs were rated ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted (compared to three-quarters of secondary schools). Following pressure from Baker Dearing, Ofsted and the Department for Education recognised that Progress 8 and EBacc were not appropriate accountability measures for UTCs and their bespoke curriculums.
Now, UTCs are almost on a par with their mainstream counterparts with over 80 per cent getting at least ‘good’ Ofsted ratings, compared to 84 per cent of secondaries overall.
Ofsted accepted that destinations were a more suitable measure of UTCs’ success, and on that front they are faring well.
Of their 20,000 learners, only 5 per cent become NEET (not in education, employment, or training) when they leave, compared to a 13 per cent national average, while 20 per cent start an apprenticeship, compared to a 5 per cent national average.
Changing times
The last 12 months have been a period of change for Baker Dearing. While Connell was replaced by Ambrosi (his former deputy), the charity’s grandee founding father, Lord Kenneth Baker, relinquished his chairmanship to Stephen Phipson, the CEO of Make UK.
Ambrosi and I meet in London for coffee just before one of her regular meetings with the “really hard-working” 90-year-old Lord Baker, who remains Baker Dearing’s honorary life president and is still “very much our voice” in the House of Lords.
Baker’s original concept of UTCs to serve 14-19 year olds has been adapted to meet local realities; six UTCs are now 11-18 schools.
But Ambrosi says extending their age groups has been challenging, as “a UTC is not set up for 11 year olds”.
“You have to refurbish and change things significantly to meet the needs [of younger learners] ….They tend to have less outdoor space.” Ambrosi does not expect any more UTC schools to be created, aside from the two already in the pipeline.
This week she visited the WMG Academy for Young Engineers campus in Coventry. Like many UTCs, its name gives no clue to its UTC status. But WMG is “exactly the model” that UTCs were intended for, because the 14-19 college was set up by and as part of Warwick University to meet the needs of the region’s automotive industry.
Universities have helped design UTC curriculums and sit on their governing boards but while universities still sponsor UTCs, almost three-quarters of the schools are today run by multi-academy trusts.
MATerial gains
Aston University Engineering Academy is the latest UTC to join a MAT, the Aston University STEM Education Academy Trust, along with a new mathematics school for 16-19 year olds and a jewellery skills training centre.
Ambrosi commends some MATs for being great UTC caretakers, allowing them to maintain their raison d’être and not “putting any pressure on them to be anything else”. The model is particularly effective when the MAT has a range of schools and can channel its pupils into the provision most appropriate to them.
Ambrosi says the “biggest change” UTCs have undergone in recent years is bringing in learners at year nine rather than year 10, giving them an extra year to “build the skills needed for their speciality”.
With design and technology teaching in mainstream schools now “quite depleted”, UTCs find their learners come in from schools without having experienced “opportunities to build their expertise with the tools and way of thinking that’s required”.
Lord Baker
Baker Clause
While FE colleges have opposed the establishment of UTCs in some areas, local schools have been reluctant to promote UTCs in case their brightest pupils enrol.
Lord Baker tackled the problem head-on by introducing the ‘Baker Clause’ as an amendment to the Technical and Further Education Act 2017 (enhanced by the 2022 Skills Act), requiring schools to allow other providers access to their pupils and discuss non-academic pathways with them.
Ambrosi points out that UTCs are intended to be “regional specialist” colleges, “drawing in from far afield just one or two from each school” rather than taking a lion’s share of a school’s learners. “Those local ecosystems get used to it and stop being difficult”, she says.
UTCs’ recent success in marketing themselves to school pupils means that instead of having dwindling numbers, many are over-subscribed.
Aston UTC in Birmingham is expanding into a new building, while London Design and Engineering (LDE) UTC in Newham is building an extension having been “over-subscribed since it opened”.
But Ambrosi says the Education and Skills Funding Agency was “absolutely not” generous with per-head funding for UTCs, so although they were ostensibly built for an average of 600 students, they average about 500 and that “feels about right” for many.
The chief executive of one MAT whose UTC was at 50 per cent capacity told us this was “more than enough”.
STudents from four of Activate Learning Education Trust’s UTCs at a recent exhibition
Roll up your sleeves
With oversubscribed UTCs resulting in “some young people choosing a UTC but not being able to go”, Ambrosi believes the time is ripe for UTC sleeves to make their mark.
The concept of launching 14-19 UTC sleeves in schools to provide vocational pathways developed with the help of employers was first put to ministers in 2021. Since then, local skills improvement plans have helped UTCs match their sleeve proposals to the needs of their local economies.
At least 12 schools have expressed interest in the model but so far only one has opened. Struggling Bristol Technology and Engineering Academy was taken over by next-door Abbeywood School 2022, but Baker Dearing is “still developing” the provision to get employers there “more engaged”.
Another sleeve is being developed with a school in Barrow, Cumbria, funded by BAE Systems. But elsewhere funding is a sticking point, with the DfE so far reluctant to provide the capital investment needed to develop schools’ design and technology facilities.
T Level capital funding has helped some schools and UTCs “enormously”, says Ambrosi, but “if they’ve missed that particular train then they can’t invest”.
Kate Ambrosi in a meeting
Curriculum concerns
Funding has also proved challenging for UTCs because they cannot access the funding uplifts available for post-16 providers of distinctive technical curriculums, despite employing a disproportionate percentage of more expensive STEM teaching staff. So to balance budgets, UTCs offer fewer humanities and language subjects than most schools.
The Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bill includes a clause requiring academies to provide the national curriculum, which could have disastrous consequences for UTCs.
Baker Dearing has warned the DfE that if the clause is applied without an exemption for UTCs, “almost all UTCs would become financially unviable and most would be forced to close”.
Ambrosi’s team spent a “large chunk” of their time last year impressing on the curriculum and assessment review the importance of continuing to allow them to pursue a vocational and technical curriculum from age 13-14 onwards.
After the review’s interim report was published this week, stating that it is “ensuring curriculum is consistently achieving depth and breadth”, Ambrosi said that she remained “concerned about the implications for UTCs of this review”.
Robotic dogs at one UTC, gifted to Activate Learning Education Trust for its UTC learners
T Level teething troubles
Ambrosi’s team were also busy last year responding to the post-16 rapid review, which proved challenging as UTCs struggled to reach an agreement over whether they supported T Levels or not.
T levels were “probably modelled around the UTC-style curriculum”, and their rigour “reflects” the fact that UTCs have always run longer school weeks, says Ambrosi.
But there are concerns about T Levels’ “lack of flexibility.” If a young person “does really well in year one and then has some difficulty in year two, there’s no fallback from that,” whereas a BTEC route can be more easily redirected, she adds.
And there are lingering issues with universities “questioning” the maths content of engineering T Levels, with maths A Level remaining “the standard” for engineering-related degrees.
This leaves T Level learners without that A Level then having to do a foundation year and “another year of fees and rent” just to get onto their degree – despite T Level students having shown skillsets “way beyond those normally demonstrated”.
Ambrosi cites similar issues with some degree apprenticeships. But the new government has been “very open” to helping with these issues.
Getting employers on board with providing T Level work placements has also had its challenges. Media UTCs have found it particularly tough to line up placements because so much of the sector is subcontracted.
Meanwhile, big employers such as BAE Systems and Amazon are keen to run a national scheme providing placements to UTCs.
And the 30 NHS trusts that UTCs work with have had temporary funding for T Level placement coordinators made permanent – enabling learners at Mulberry UTC, for example, to spend a day a week on the wards at St Bart’s Hospital in London.
Doncaster UTC
Alumni aid
UTCs are also in stiff competition with colleges for engineering teachers. UTCs recruit many vocational teachers from FE and upskill them to work with younger cohorts.
Often, those teachers are attracted to UTCs by their “amazing” facilities – Brook 6th Form & Academy in Dagenham, east London, boasts a manufacturing line, robotics centre and hydraulic and pneumatics training suite, for example.
Ambrosi says some UTCs have developed a “fantastic” model of recruiting alumni after they leave for university to spend a day a week teaching there, “instead of getting a bar job”.
She also wants to work with alumni to create a “sounding board” for Baker Dearing’s own governing board, to help them work out “what else we can do to better prepare young people for the workforce”.
She sees the fact that UTCs are nowoversubscribed as proof that their model is “what this nation needs”.
“I truly believe that we can work with this government for them to be really proud of their UTC programme and really engage with it,” she adds.
The Employment Rights Bill, moving through Parliament, builds on the Worker Protection Act from October 2024. For FE colleges, training providers and employers with apprentices, these laws mean taking a hard look at how we keep learners safe in all sorts of workplaces.
The Worker Protection Act kicked in last October, demanding that employers take “reasonable steps” to stop sexual harassment.
Tribunals could increase compensation by 25 per cent if it is found employers failed to act when an allegation was made.
The laws were generally welcomed, but also criticised for dodging issues such as third-party harassment from customers or visitors. Also, the term “reasonable steps” left wiggle room.
Now, the Employment Rights Bill wants employers to take all reasonable steps – which is a tougher ask. It’s also adding whistleblowing protections for anyone reporting sexual harassment, whether it’s happened, is happening, or might happen, with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) potentially stepping in.
There’s more. A private member’s bill, the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 (amendment) Bill, was recently tabled. If it passes, it’ll add another duty to prevent workplace harassment – especially sexual harassment – with training, risk assessments, and policies to stamp it out.
This overlaps with what employers should already be doing since October, but now, if they slip up, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) could impose criminal penalties and unlimited fines, not just the EHRC’s 25 per cent tribunal uplift.
What laws mean for FE
This hits home for the FE and skills sector. Apprentices – often young, new to the workplace, and scattered across shops, offices, hospitality, building sites and more – are smack in the middle of this.
Yes, employers carry the main legal duty, but colleges and training providers aren’t off the hook. They’ve got a legal responsibility under the Keeping Children Safe in Education rules to safeguard learners, and for those over 19 welfare duties remain.
“All reasonable steps” means employers need solid training, risk assessments and proper reporting systems – not just a policy.
In customer-facing roles such as care, hospitality and retail, that could mean displaying signs and presenting explicit staff rules to address potential customer or visitor misconduct.
Providers have legal responsibilities too – they are accountable for assessing risks and acting if apprentices face harassment from colleagues or others.
Providers need to ensure apprentices know what sexual harassment is, what their rights are, and how to speak up. With whistleblowing in the mix, they might turn to their provider as well as their employer.
If, say, an apprentice in a warehouse reports sexual harassment from a colleague, a provider’s duty means working with the employer to fix it. An app such as SaferSpace could help, giving apprentices a quick, private way to flag issues so they can be addressed.
Checking employers across lots of professions takes effort and resources, and reputation is is always a worry – something I see daily in my job.
Scandals at McDonald’s, where over 700 workers, all under 19, are taking legal action over sexual harassment claims, highlight the risks. Some of those involved are apprentices, reinforcing the need for robust protections.
Employers are being warned by the Equality and Human Rights Commission to take immediate action or they could face regulatory intervention.
Abuse allegations involving former Harrods owner Mohamed Al-Fayed underline how fast trust can crumble.
With level 2 apprenticeship starts at their lowest in four years, any whiff of unsafe placements could make recruitment worse.
But there’s a chance to get ahead – stronger inductions, tighter employer agreements, and regular, focused checks could make apprenticeships safer.
That the EHRC and HSE are watching raises the pressure – fudge a risk assessment or miss a placement problem and they’ll want answers.
Employers need to understand this too. These stricter rules and whistleblowing present an opportunity to build better workplaces.
Neither bill is law yet, so now’s the time to get ahead. Create stronger inductions, clear policies and proper training before the law forces it.
Employers, share your sexual harassment policies. Providers, step up with additional training if required. Because when the rules change, no one wants to be playing catch-up.
Two years ago the education sector was hit by the crisis of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete – or RAAC – which was causing buildings to crumble. Education estates constructed between the 1950s and the 1980s were most at risk, although RAAC was still being used as late as the 1990s.
I took 13 calls from clients on the afternoon news of the problem – and fears that classrooms could collapse – reached the public domain.
Many required the procurement of specialist structural surveyors to undertake RAAC-specific surveys across a vast number of school and college sites.
The panic from chief executives, business managers and estates managers was obvious. A total of 234 schools and 12 colleges in England were eventually confirmed to have buildings constructed with RAAC, and many of these sites had to introduce immediate full or partial closures until further surveys and risk assessments were done.
Most colleges and schools with RAAC have been able to operate largely unaffected. This may be due to temporary supports being installed, areas being closed, activities being relocated to other areas of the education estate, or remedial works being undertaken in a relatively short space of time.
But there is another building structural problem which I believe is just starting to hit the sector. Over the past 18 months, Eddisons has witnessed a number of mechanical distribution pipework defects resulting in the closure of educational establishments.
These are typically buildings constructed in the 1970s and 80s, and their steel distribution pipework is approaching the end of its design life expectancy.
Most of these pipes are located within underground ducts, with licenced notifiable asbestos contained within the voids.
This makes any attempt to track, locate and remedy any known defect more difficult.
On the face of it, a visual inspection of distribution pipework is largely considered satisfactory. However, a typical defect of distribution pipework is corrosion from the inside out which isn’t visible when undertaking a condition survey.
In these cases, corrosion can become too great and the distribution pipework will become redundant until such time as it is replaced in its entirety to provide heat to the academic buildings. If there is no heating in schools or colleges, particularly in winter months, then the risk of complete building closure is high.
For this reason, the age of distribution pipework may present a bigger risk to colleges.
Not every college has RAAC, but all of their buildings have a heating system. Unfortunately, this is a risk which doesn’t usually become apparent until such time that the defects present themselves within the pipework.
In these instances, colleges have little choice but to react instinctively, because if a system is functioning as it should then understandably, detailed surveys have not usually been carried out.
However, it is important that if colleges can carry out the surveys ahead of faults appearing then they should do, for this could save money and also remove the need for potential college closures in the future.
College managers with buildings constructed in the pre-1980s era need to understand that pipes heating their buildings are coming to the end of their lifecycle.
Unfortunately, this is a hidden and largely unfunded crisis that schools and colleges with outdated heating distribution pipework and emitters are facing.
Now is the time for senior teams to consider exploring budgeting options, survey work and the eventual replacement of their pipework before it is too late and they face the possibility of closures.
There are always opportunities to enhance learning for ESOL learners. So last year, we began integrating the UN education for sustainable development goals (ESD) and fusion skills into our ESOL curriculum. While this has made planning more time-consuming, incorporating ESD themes has encouraged a task-based learning approach and heightened students’ awareness of the climate crisis.
Skills for life
Since the Skills for Life (SfL) core curriculum was introduced in 2001, it has provided a clear framework for ESOL success. It outlines the essential skills and knowledge adult learners need to achieve proficiency in English and was a groundbreaking change in ESOL education that has remained the backbone of ESOL planning ever sense. The curriculum shapes exam preparation, marking criteria, schemes of work, and lesson planning. For most ESOL practitioners it serves as a roadmap, outlining the language, functions, and skills learners need to progress and thrive in an English-speaking society.
But over the years, some have found it limiting and generic. A fixed list of skills and functions may not fully capture the breadth of abilities needed for learning a language. It has been criticised as too “survival-based,” with a focus on basic over long-term growth. Others suggest its rigid framework overlooks individual learner needs and constrains the planning process.
ESG goals
With awareness of the climate crisis at an all-time high, the world has changed significantly since 2001. Learners need skills for this evolving world and deserve a dynamic scheme of work addressing both the personal and collective challenges of our time.
Incorporating ESG goals into our curriculum gives them that. Adopted in 2015 by all UN member states, the ESD Goals are part of the UN’s 2030 agenda for sustainable development. They aim to create a more sustainable and equitable world by tackling poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental protection, and economic growth. Each goal has specific targets and indicators to track and enhance progress.
Embedding ESD has involved creating new materials such as reading and listening activities on topics like recycling, community development, and social equity. These resources are part of our ESOL department’s shared and recommended resource list.
To enhance these themes, ESD activities are designed with fusion skills in mind to encourage myself and other tutors to make learning meaningful, communicative and human-centric.
Fusion skills
Fusion skills, which emphasise the importance of technical, creative, and interpersonal skills for success in the 21st century workforce, were formally introduced in 2019, driven by research and initiatives from The Creative Industries Policy and Evidence Centre (PEC) and the City of London Corporation.
They have introduced a crucial layer to ESOL curriculum planning, allowing key language competencies to align with essential human-centric skills such as collaboration, critical thinking, and organisational planning. These skills support task-based learning and serve as a valuable connective layer in course planning. They don’t just provide learners with skills for their daily life and integration into society, but also the social, emotional and critical thinking skills to use the language they’re acquiring.
ESD concepts can be integrated into a skills-based curriculum through activities such as discussing local greenspace improvement, budgeting for energy bills, and writing social media posts to raise climate change awareness. These hands-on activities engage learners with a sense of responsibility and connect them to real-life circumstances, actively involving them in these critical issues.
These “wider skills” skills are not prioritised in the SfL core curriculum, which focuses on evidence-based achievement in grammar, vocabulary, functions, and language skills. In fact, the SfL core curriculum doesn’t address these human centric skills whatsoever, despite the growing need for more human-centric skills and their essentiality for working, volunteering and collaborating in society.
WM College has launched initiatives to integrate ESD themes into classes through extracurricular activities. This year, we introduced the ESOL Podcast, a 10-episode series where learners discuss ESD topics, express their views, listen to others, think critically, and develop digital skills. And our ESOL Book Club, a five-week learning community where learners read abridged books like 1984, and Suffragette: A Story of Equality, aligns with ESD themes to encourage discussion, independent learning and vocabulary growth. They offer learners an optional and self-directed way to engage with ESD themes in a safe space.
Creating a curriculum that addresses today’s challenges is a refreshing update to the outdated SfL framework. By incorporating these themes, we hope learners will not only progress through accredited courses but also gain employability skills and a broader understanding of the global issues affecting us all.
For a national skills provider, English devolution can seem like a maze. And just like real mazes, there is very little signage pointing to the desired destination.
Despite this challenge, Twin Group has built up a significant presence and fantastic partnerships with programme commissioners in seven devolved areas across the country, covering a mix of youth, employability, skills and health and wellbeing programmes.
But as more areas become devolved, national providers are finding it difficult to plan strategically. This means employers and local learners miss out and value for money is not being fully delivered from the allocated budgets for skills. In short, we need clarity on where we are heading and what the ground rules will be.
Let’s start with the ground rules. Devolution is defined by local authorities having discretion to do things differently, and this presents a challenge that national providers have to accept.
But when we hear central government insist that this is not a free-for-all and that there must be accountability frameworks in place, we can be a little confused.
An example is the Department for Education’s adult skills fund (ASF) funding framework which acts as ‘guidance’ for the devolved authorities.
It says devolved areas are welcome to use the Education and Skills Funding Agency non-devolved ASF funding rates and are in fact “encouraged to do so where possible”. This is because doing so will reduce complexity for providers and prevent the potential of funding variance between learners on the same course.
At the same time, the DfE doesn’t want to “dictate” an approach, but it wants solutions which could lead to “a more unified approach across all areas leading to a less complex landscape for providers and ultimately learners”.
Providers can’t be blamed for being confused when they end up encountering different rules across the country.
Another example is contestability, which seems to drift in and out of fashion according to which white paper you read. Procurement is often the only route for providers to enter devolved or non-devolved adult education, but as we have witnessed with recent legal challenges, it can present an unwanted headache for the officials who manage the process.
DfE guidance says it expects “all devolved authorities will have embedded commercial specialists who will be experts in public procurement”. The Procurement Act 2023 also contains expectations on public bodies to ease access to programmes for smaller providers and social enterprises.
And yet, grant allocated funding and frameworks can seem a safer option.
Even among recently devolved authorities, one can find references to tender exercises being there for independent training providers to simply ‘fill the gaps’ in local provision. But the thousands of disadvantaged learners which Twin Group has supported into jobs don’t look at us in that way, and hopefully our existing commissioners don’t either. We need a clearer steer on this issue from Skills England.
When a local area is devolved, a national ASF provider has deducted from its non-devolved funding an amount which covers its delivery in the devolved area with absolutely no guarantee that the new local commissioners will opt for the provider to continue delivery in the contract’s third year.
Given that the provider’s initial set-up investment is taking a hit and the funding in question can be considerable, this also needs to be reviewed.
Finally, there are the sector priorities in the government’s industrial strategy, the DfE’s national priorities and the local skills improvement plans (LSIPs).
It would be helpful for providers to know for certain that it is only the LSIPs which should concern them in the delivery of devolved programmes.
It’s encouraging that a very experienced official from a devolved authority (Gemma Marsh, previously Greater Manchester Combined Authority’s director of education, work and skills) has been appointed deputy chief executive of Skills England.
Providers hope she can help replace the maze with a clearer route for programme delivery.
Prime minister Sir Keir Starmer professed AI would drive “incredible change” as he launched the AI Opportunities Action Plan earlier this year. In reality that change is already here, and we need to take action fast.
One of the most glaring signs of the UK’s slow response is the widening AI skills gap. As AI rapidly transforms industries, the demand for skilled professionals is outpacing supply.
Starmer was reminded of this as the government’s bold aim to generate upward of 13,000 jobs within the technology sector was quickly humbled by industry figures highlighting a concerning gap between existing skills levels in the workforce and the sheer quantity of experts needed to fulfil these roles.
If the UK is serious about becoming one of the “great AI superpowers”, addressing the country’s chronic skills gap is a much-needed first step.
As the government’s first-ever AI minister from 2023-24 I was responsible, among other things, for the inaugural AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park. I’m concerned the UK’s workforce, and particularly its graduates, are not equipped for the age of frontier tech.
The role of universities
Undeniably, universities are key players in closing the skills gap, acting as the training ground for the next generation of tech professionals to succeed in AI-driven roles.
Yet, a significant disconnect exists between education and the skills required in the workplace. A survey by Hult International Business School revealed that 85 per cent of UK graduates said they wished their studies had better prepared them for the workplace, while 89 per cent of employers said they avoid hiring recent graduates altogether.
This gap highlights the pressing need for universities to align their curricula with the changing demands of employers.
We believe that one of the best ways to bridge this divide is through better collaboration with the private sector, particularly startups, which by their nature are agile, dynamic and provide innovative solutions to the age-old problem of skilling.
Once we have successfully closed the gap, the next step will be to overhaul the recruitment system. Right now, it’s failing to prioritise the skills necessary to thrive in an AI-driven world, with long-winded, complicated processes for applicants.
North East potential
Despite these challenges, efforts are underway to address the AI skills gap. One such initiative is the Skill Up North East campaign, launched by Lumi.network. This initiative is designed to simultaneously upskill students from the North East with human-AI collaboration, whilst creating routes to internships and jobs.
But the North East is failing to live up to its full potential to become one of the UK’s most dynamic tech hubs.
In just over five years, the number of tech companies in the North East has risen by over 32 per cent, booming as a tech hotspot. Combined with its vibrant and hardworking culture, world-class universities and ambitious talent pool, the North East should be a global hub for innovation.
Yet it is, like many other regions, falling victim to the UK’s skills gap and broken recruitment system. Solve this and sure enough, investment will flow there.
Our campaign is set to engage 100 college and university students in a series of 10 hackathon-like ‘quests’, each focused on solving real-world challenges in fields like cybersecurity, financial services and AI. Strong applicants with comprehensive skills profiles will then be matched with potential employers for internships and full-time roles in the region.
A call to action
Closing the AI skills gap is an urgent priority. Initiatives like Skill Up North East show that with the right blend of education, industry collaboration and a focus on practical, skill-based training, we can bridge this gap. But this is just the beginning.
The UK must continue to invest in and expand such initiatives across the country, ensuring that students, workers, and employers are equipped to succeed in an AI-powered world.
