2. Skills for sustainable growth — the government’s skills strategy

In November 2010, the government published its adult skills strategy, Skills for sustainable growth, together with details of the funding plans for adult further education (FE) and skills, Investing in skills for sustainable growth. This second document provides further detail of where the 25% cuts in the adult FE and skills budget over the period of the Spending Review, up to 2014-15, will fall. While unions have welcomed many aspects of the strategy, the funding cuts are of course of major concern.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber commented: “There is much to welcome in the strategy — plans to increase the number of apprenticeships, continued free courses for adults who struggle with their reading and writing, and the recognition that unions are key to helping people sign up for learning at work.”

But he added: “At a time when UK employers are still putting far too little money into training their staff, cuts to the funding of courses which adults can currently access for free will force many more employees who want to get on at work to fund their own training. At a time when inflation is high, pay is being squeezed and hundreds of thousands of job losses are on the cards, paying for training is likely to be a very low priority for cash-strapped workers.”

In January 2010, the TUC’s learning and skills organisation, unionlearn, published a briefing on the strategy and future funding plans, Skills for sustainable growth — the government’s skills strategy (www.unionlearn.org.uk/extrasUL/policy/Skills%20Strategy%202011.pdf), which is summarised throughout this Chapter.

Funding and entitlements

The skills strategy set out a new funding framework for individual entitlements, such as funding for courses at college and government subsidies for the funding of workplace training, previously provided through the Train to Gain programme.

The strategy safeguards existing entitlements for young adults (those aged 19-23) and there is generally little change in their position. They will continue to be fully funded in order to gain Skills for Life (SfL) and their first Level 2 and Level 3 qualifications. And apprenticeships for those aged 19 and above will continue to be co-funded, with 50% coming from government and 50% from employers.

Similarly entitlements for those who lack SfL — that is the skills used for everyday life like reading, writing, maths and information and communication technology (ICT) — skills will continue. But those aged 24 and over will see their entitlements significantly reduced. The “Level 2 entitlement” will be abolished from 2013-14. This currently provides full funding for people to achieve a Level 2 qualification; but will change to a co-funding arrangement. According to the unionlearn briefing, the term “co-funded” is likely to mean, in most cases, learners paying 50% of their course fees. At present, this is imposed on a much smaller proportion of students because of provisions like the Level 2 entitlement.

Retail workers’ union Usdaw says that this will have a big impact on the ability of its members to gain access to skills and qualifications: “Possibly the area most effecting Usdaw members is the scrapping of the Level 2 entitlement which made both vocational (NVQ’s) and personal learning, for example IT, affordable if not free,” Usdaw deputy general secretary Paddy Lillis, who chairs the union’s National Lifelong Learning Committee, told LRD. “Many of our members do not have a Level 2 qualification and the prohibitive cost now means they are unlikely to attain one.”

In addition, university-style student loans will be introduced in 2013-14 and offered to all adults aged 24 and over who take up courses at Level 3 and above. There will no longer be any government funding for this age group for learning at this level. This will even apply to apprenticeships, where the contribution previously provided by the government will be replaced by loans. And the new loan system will also apply to unemployed people on courses at Level 3 and above.

The situation has changed even more in relation to workplace training, where co-funding at Level 2 for workplace learning outside apprenticeships now only applies to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with the end of the Train to Gain programme on 31 July 2011.

According to unionlearn, this suggests that other employers will be expected to fully fund all Level 2 training and/or agree a co-investment approach with the workforce and trade unions (see pages 13-14 below)

Unionlearn director Tom Wilson told LRD that while the changes will potentially make learning more expensive, there will be one positive outcome: “While the funding situation is generally much worse, we have campaigned for many years for more support for mature and part-time learners at Level 3 and above. For the first time ever, many apprentices and other FE students and part-time HE students will be able to access the same support as full time university students to cover some living costs, books, transport, childcare costs and help repaying fees,” he said

Apprenticeships

Expanding apprenticeships is central to the skills strategy. As part of the Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR) the government announced that an additional £250 million would be made available to increase adult apprenticeships by 75,000 over the level planned by the previous Labour government, which saw apprenticeship starts increase to 279,700 in 2009-10 compared with just 65,000 in 1996-97.

The strategy also outlines an increased focus on Level 3 (or Advanced Level as they are now known), rather than Level 2 (or Intermediate Level). In 2009-10, while 190,500 people began a Level 2 apprenticeship; less than half that number (87,700) began a Level 3 advanced apprenticeship.

The coalition government will also continue to support the policy of the previous Labour government to enable more apprentices to progress to Higher Education and Level 4 apprenticeships. In 2009-10 only 1,500 people began a Higher Level apprenticeship at Level 4 or above and only 200 completed an apprenticeship at this level that year.

Early in 2011, skills minister John Haynes said that he wanted to see “a more navigable progression route” into and through the apprenticeships programme to higher learning at university or elsewhere. He announced that to make it clearer that apprentices can progress through the apprenticeships programme, Level 2 Apprenticeships will now be known as Intermediate Level Apprenticeships. Level 3 will become Advanced Level Apprenticeships and Higher Apprenticeships will remain unchanged.

And there is a commitment to increase diversity that has been welcomed by unions. Sixteen diversity pilots are aiming to provide 5,000 new apprenticeship places as well as tackle gender segregation and barriers faced by other groups such as people with disabilities and those from black and minority ethnic (BME) communities. The pilots will “test out” different methods for improving access to apprenticeships for under-represented groups.

For example, one project is working in Oldham, Leicester and Bradford is encouraging more black, Asian and other minority groups to become apprentices. The National Apprenticeship Service (NAS) says that nationally this group of young people makes up fewer than 10% of apprentices despite making up a much higher percentage of the population as a whole.

Unions have welcomed the emphasis in the strategy on an expanded role for unions and unionlearn in increasing the number of high quality apprenticeship places, particularly by promoting their benefits to disadvantaged groups of workers and to employers who have not previously trained apprentices.

But, as rail union RMT points out, there are also concerns. It says that there are not enough checks in place to ensure quality apprenticeships and that there should be a requirement for the employer to consult with the union over apprenticeships. The union is also worried that the majority of government funding is being funnelled into apprenticeships, leaving other areas with little or none.

Construction union UCATT’s national project worker, Steve Craig, told LRD: “There is a need for a coherent apprenticeship strategy focused on quality apprenticeship schemes. We need to increase the number of apprenticeships, but we don’t want ‘Mac-style’, short-term, quick fix apprenticeships.” Chapter 3 looks at the position for apprentices in more detail.

Other workplace training

Unionlearn describes the removal of government subsidy for other forms of workplace training outside the apprenticeship programme as a “huge scaling back”.

The Train to Gain programme, for example, was established in 2006 as the main route through which employers could access funding for skills training to complement their own contribution.

It ended on 31 July 2011 and was replaced with a much smaller programme of workplace training funding, confined to small and medium-sized companies (SMEs). This totals just £100 million which unionlearn says is only “around a tenth of the Train to Gain budget at its peak.” In addition it says: “This new programme will not be offering SME employers the equivalent of the ‘Level 2 entitlement’ that is currently the core offer in Train to Gain.” Instead, the new programme will provide some co-funding for Level 2 qualifications but employers will be expected to make a significant contribution.

According to Usdaw deputy general secretary, Paddy Lillis, the discontinuation of Train to Gain will prevent many members accessing training:

“Train to Gain helped to subsidise both IT and NVQ programs. In our experience many employers wouldn’t have engaged in providing accredited training but for the subsidy available through Train to Gain,” he said. “We welcome the decision to continue to fully fund Skills for Life. This area of learning accounted for more than one third of our total learners last year— some 5,000-plus people engaged through Usdaw’s Union Learning Fund (ULF) project. However, this funding is not a replacement for Train To Gain, as Skills for Life funding cannot subsidise broader Level 2 learning or NVQ’s.”

While Skills for Life (SfL) will still be fully funded for all eligible employees the total funding is being cut and will be targeted on those with the most “substantial” learning needs. Literacy and numeracy provision from Entry Level up to and including Level 2 will continue to be fully funded but the government will review the way that basic skills are delivered. The strategy signals a move away from targets and towards ensuring that people have the skills and qualifications they need to “get a job, progress in work and play a full part in society.”

Rail union RMT’s learning project manager, Teresa Williams, told LRD: “Reductions in funding for Skills for Life provision are affecting access. Higher minimum numbers and less outreach provision have a negative impact on who is able to attend these life changing classes. Many years ago there was funding for one-to-one provision in some areas, and where this was available there was a high level of achievement among people who otherwise would not have come forward.”

And from the 2011-12 academic year, public funding will no longer be available for workplace English as a Second Language (ESOL) classes. Subject to conditions, it will be co-funded for those who are settled here but the strategy effectively rules out government funding for ESOL training for migrant workers. Unions are actively campaigning against this move.

Co-investment in skills

Encouraging more employer and individual investment in training and skills through co-investment, with a focus on a sectoral approach, is another main theme of the government’s strategy. Unionlearn research and strategy manager, Bert Clough, writing in a recent issue of the education journal, Adult Learning, describes the government’s intention to be “to ‘profoundly’ shift responsibility for funding learning and skills from the state to individuals and businesses.”

The TUC has long argued that employers should increase investment in the development of their workforce and at a time of restricted public funding for workforce development, co-investment strategies will be increasingly important for trade unions. It points to collective learning funds (CLFs), which have been piloted in the North West and East Midlands regions, as one model which could be taken up more widely in unionised workplaces.

Skills for sustainable growth also refers to a number of voluntary incentives, including occupational licensing or “Licence to Practice”, to stimulate employer investment in training by introducing professional standards in particular sectors, and training levies, which already exist in construction and engineering. It also announced a new £50 million a year growth and innovation fund that will provide matched funding for employers to co-fund training.

The role of the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (UKCES) has been “slimmed down and reshaped”, with a greater focus on supporting more employer investment in economic growth and skills. It will have the role of developing a “social partnership” with employers, trade unions and others. Unionlearn says that Sector Skills Councils will also play a key role in this new approach, albeit with budget cuts.

Low carbon skills

Skills for sustainable growth makes reference to low carbon skills in the context of the new co-investment approach at sectoral level. It also gives a government commitment to co-fund training in priority areas and has published a more detailed response to a consultation on a low carbon skills strategy initiated by the previous Labour government.

According to a January 2011 unionlearn briefing, Government response to low carbon skills strategy consultation: “The government’s response reflects the overall skills strategy with continued emphasis on sector-led activity and government support for programmes including apprenticeships, but Regional Development Agencies are being disbanded and spending constraints mean the government is looking for greater investment from employers, individuals and communities.”

The government recognises that there are huge opportunities in moving towards a low carbon, resource efficient economy; but that measures are needed to ensure that there is the skills base to achieve this. It estimates that some 910,000 people are currently employed in “low carbon jobs” and this figure is projected to increase to over a million by the middle of the decade.

The Green Deal is due to launch in autumn 2012 and is intended to open up the market and boost energy efficiency in homes and businesses. The government estimates that a quarter of a million skilled trades people will be needed by 2030 and that as many as 30,000 new jobs could also be created in new nuclear power stations.

Priority areas identified for low carbon skills include leadership, technical and managerial skills; Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) skills both in key energy and advanced manufacturing sectors and more widely across the economy; sectors in which completely new skills are needed, and for which new qualifications will need to be developed; and raising awareness and interest among young people and employees in career opportunities emerging from the transition to a green economy which provide clear career pathways.

Priority sectors are identified as power, transport, construction and decarbonising manufacturing, and process industry supply chains.

Unionlearn identifies a number of opportunities for unions in the development of low carbon skills including:

• influencing the training programme required to implement the Green Deal;

• organising in communities;

• influencing employer take-up of green apprenticeships; and

• boosting the accessibility of training through licence to practice, occupational standards and industry levies — although it warns that employers could pass on some of the costs of these to workers.

Lifelong Learning Accounts

The government will offer Lifelong Learning Accounts (LLAs) to all adults from September 2011, and has outlined a proactive role for union learning representatives (ULRs) in helping employees to use them. At this stage it is not clear as to how they will be different from the previous government’s Skills Accounts; but unionlearn is looking at whether they can be collectivised and tied in with the Collective Learning Funds (CLF) approach.

All-age careers service

The Connexions and Next Step career advice organisations are to merge to form an all-age careers service. Young people and adults will be able to begin accessing the new arrangements for careers guidance from September 2011 and the service should be fully operational by April 2012.

This move has been welcomed by trade unions who say that under the current system, the vast majority of young people are offered only limited careers guidance as the service has been focused on the most disadvantaged.

Role of trade unions and unionlearn

The government’s strategy contains commitments to “social partnership” and to continue to support Unionlearn — including maintaining annual funding of £21.5 million in the 2011-12 financial year. It acknowledges “the impressive track record” of unions and ULRs in promoting formal and informal learning in workplaces and in communities.

The strategy sets out a greater role for Unionlearn in promoting apprenticeships to disadvantaged groups in the workplace and in the wider community as well as to employers who have not trained apprentices before. It also sees a greater role for ULRs in helping workers to access careers advice, providing information, advice and guidance (IAG), including help with taking out the new Lifelong Learning Accounts. It also makes reference to developing learning reps in the wider community, including possibly non-unionised workplaces.

“The challenge for unions is to ensure that employers spend more on training. While there are some good employers out there, there are also others who are simply not paying what they should be paying to train their workforces, by failing to pay their share to train apprentices, for example. Unions need to get those employers around the bargaining table and challenge them to invest in high quality training by negotiating proper learning agreements,” unionlearn director Tom Wilson told LRD.

Adult and community learning

The strategy retains the £210 million funding for adult and community learning. It prioritises support to help the unemployed (particularly young unemployed people) back to work through “labour-market relevant training” and aims to reduce bureaucracy in the further education (FE) and skills sector.