The Education Secretary has launched the Skills for Jobs White Paper that sets out reforms for post-16 technical education and training in England. The measures include:
- business groups, including Chambers of Commerce, working alongside colleges to develop tailored skills plans to meet local training needs.
- giving employers a central role in designing almost all technical courses by 2030
- boosting the quality and uptake of Higher Technical Qualifications by introducing newly approved qualifications from September 2022 supported by a government-backed brand and quality mark
- launching a nationwide recruitment campaign for FE teachers and introducing a new Workforce Industry Exchange Programme
The White paper enshrines the government’s new Lifetime Skills Guarantee which offers adults the opportunity to retrain, introduces Skills Bootcamps giving adults the opportunity to build up sector-specific skills and fast-track to an interview with a local employer, and a Lifelong Loan Entitlement. Some sector comment and a summary of the key measures in the White Paper can be read in this article. An interview with the Skills Minister, Gillian Keegan, following the publication can be read here.