Public Accounts Committee warns skills system is ‘failing to deliver’

Committee recommends review of apprenticeship levy among its findings

Committee recommends review of apprenticeship levy among its findings

An influential committee of MPs has told DfE ministers to “get serious” on skills in a damning report on the state of the skills system.

A report published by the Public Acounts Committee today has put together a series of recommendations for the government to boost skills training and education, warning that the £4 billion annual spend on 19+  education and training is “failing to deliver skills we need for the economy”.

The apprenticeship levy must be reviewed and an action plan produced to boost participation of people from disadvantaged backgrounds in training, the committee said.

The committee’s recommendations have called on the Department for Education to “review how it incentivises employers to invest in skills development, including through the apprenticeship levy, and in light of the findings, take action to improve the effectiveness of the incentives”.

In addition, it said the DfE should develop an evidence-based plan to support those from disadvantaged backgrounds into training, strip out government programmes that overlap with each other, and come up with measures to support colleges to tackle financial and workforce pressures.

The report authors said they were “extremely concerned” at the fall in FE and skills training participation from disadvantaged groups, saying take up in the most deprived 20 per cent of England had fallen 39 per cent in five years.

In addition, it said that making the apprenticeship landscape work for smaller employers is “fundamental” to increasing take-up from 16-19s and disadvantaged groups.

Committee chair Meg Hillier (main image), warned that the government is “not going to make inroads on levelling up if it does not get ahead of this”.

She added: “With UK workforce numbers falling the government need to get serious on skills. The future of the economy depends on it.”

The PAC pointed to adult education figures which revealed participation had halved from the 3.2 million learners in 2010/11 to just 1.6 million a decade later.

Other recommendations from the committee included clarifying success measures of the FE Skills Index – the government’s tool to determine the impact of further education on productivity, and providing more detail on the Unit for Future Skills – a division of the government to look at the link between skills and jobs.

Jane Hickie, chief executive of the Association of Employment and Learning Providers (AELP) welcomed the report and its findings.

“We know there has been a significant drop in adult participation in FE and skills training,” she said.

“This can be largely attributed to the fact adult education funding has halved in the past decade, alongside reduced employer investment. Both employers and government must address declining participations in adult education by increasing investment, to support disadvantaged adults develop work-ready skills and enable employers to fill skills gaps.”

Hickie added that clearer guidance on training and education pathways and reduced complexity in the system were also needed.

On colleges, the report said college financial health remained “fragile” and the money and workforce squeeze had forced some colleges to reduce the length of courses or narrow the curriculum, as well as cut back on enrichment activities and careers advice.

David Hughes, chief executive of the Association of Colleges, said colleges were being “starved of the investment” to deliver skilled workers.

He added: “Anyone working in the sector will not be surprised by the alarming picture this report highlights. Cuts since 2010 have reduced participation in adult education to record low numbers.”

Hughes pointed to the chancellor’s autumn statement that snubbed FE funding when schools were given a £2 billion uplift each year for the next two years, and said that sectors struggling to recruit people contributes to a “massive drain on productivity and therefore economic growth”.

Skills minister Robert Halfon said: “Our skills programmes have been designed hand-in-hand with businesses to meet their needs, and that of the wider economy. Our ambition is to ensure people of all ages, at all stages of life, can access high quality technical qualifications and training – and are able to climb the ladder of opportunity.

“We are focused on delivery to drive long-term economic growth and create a pipeline of talent to meet the needs of our future workforce. That is why in the autumn statement we announced Sir Michael Barber will be advising on skills implementation to drive forward our progress.”

Latest education roles from

Principal & Chief Executive – Bath College

Principal & Chief Executive – Bath College

Dodd Partners

IT Technician

IT Technician

Harris Academy Morden

Teacher of Geography

Teacher of Geography

Harris Academy Orpington

Lecturer/Assessor in Electrical

Lecturer/Assessor in Electrical

South Gloucestershire and Stroud College

Director of Management Information Systems (MIS)

Director of Management Information Systems (MIS)

South Gloucestershire and Stroud College

Exams Assistant

Exams Assistant

Richmond and Hillcroft Adult & Community College

Sponsored posts

Sponsored post

Safe to speak, ready to act: SaferSpace targets harassment and misconduct in education 

In an era where safeguarding and compliance are firmly in the spotlight, education providers face a growing responsibility: to...

Advertorial
Sponsored post

Screening for the cognitive needs of apprentices is essential – does it matter if the process is engaging?

Engagement should be the first priority in cognitive assessment. An engaging assessment is an inclusive assessment — when cognitive...

Advertorial
Sponsored post

Skills Bootcamps Are Changing – What FE Colleges Must Know 

Skills Bootcamps are evolving as funding moves to local control and digital skills trends shift. Code Institute, an Ofsted...

Code Institute
Sponsored post

Building Strong Leadership for Effective T Level Implementation

Are you struggling with T Level curriculum and implementation, or building strong employer relationships? Do you want to develop...

Advertorial

More from this theme

Apprenticeships

First list of foundation apprenticeships published

Typical duration for the new entry route will be 8 months

Billy Camden
Apprenticeships

Lifetime Training replaces David Smith with Charlotte Bosworth as CEO

Former Post Office boss departs after almost two years in the role

Billy Camden
Apprenticeships

DfE’s apprenticeships budget passes £3bn mark

Treasury figures suggest the largest cash increase since the levy was introduced

Josh Mellor
Apprenticeships

English and maths coalition launched to fight functional skills reform 

Group of experts accuses government of 'watering down' standards

Josh Mellor

Your thoughts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

One comment

  1. Anonymous

    Disadvantage will be the buzzword of 2023 but the data has been there all along, perhaps it’s because there is political change in the air.

    Take a guess at how many leaders are on zero hours contracts, live in deprived areas, go to foodbanks etc…