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A new power for Further Education (FE) Institutions to award Foundation Degrees and an improved intervention regime for underperforming colleges are just two of the provisions being introduced in the Further Education and Training Bill.

The Bill provides the sector with added flexibility and less bureaucracy as it moves to widen participation in FE among young people and adults and upskill the workforce, to address the nation’s need for improved productivity. This need was outlined by Lord Leitch in his interim review of the nation’s skills needs up to 2020 found that the UK lags behind its international competitors, ranked 24th out of 29 developed nations for the proportion of young people staying on in education or training after the age of 16. The number of adults in the workforce without the skills needed to succeed in a modern economy is also high: the UK is ranked 17th out of 30 countries. At the same time, nations such as India and China are rapidly improving their skills base.

The new arrangements will allow FE institutions to apply for powers to award their own Foundation Degrees and enables the Privy Council to grant an FE institution the power to award Foundation Degrees. This will mean that more students will benefit from the opportunities created by Foundation Degrees, while FE institutions will be able to respond more quickly to employers needs.

An effective intervention regime will be established where provision is unsatisfactory or not improving by transferring the Secretary of State’s powers of intervention to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) including the power to direct a college to remove principals and senior post holders.

Provision

The Bill concentrates on enabling FE institutions to maintain control over their own provision. It will enable them to provide better support for the development of skills and oversee the development of sector skills. It sees the streamlining and restructuring of the LSC by removing the 47 local LSCs and creating nine regional councils; reducing the minimum size of the National Council; and removing its current duty to establish committees so allowing the LSC to establish committees as it sees fit.

Education Secretary, Alan Johnson said: “The Bill contains a range of measures designed to reform the Further Education sector and help enable the system to achieve its full potential as the powerhouse of economic growth and social mobility.

“Our Further Education system is impressive. We have superb colleges and training providers and success rates are rising fast. Since 1997, the number of post-16 learners has grown from 4 million to 6 million. We have increased investment in colleges by 48% between 1997 and 2006. But more needs to be done to improve the skills of young people and adults, one of the biggest strategic challenges facing our country. I want all young people to be in education and training, for adults to continue obtaining the necessary skills to meet the needs of a fast moving economy and for all employers to see training as an essential investment in their workforces.

“Through 'Train to Gain', the new national employer training service, we are reaching out to firms who have not traditionally engaged in training and channelling money to providers who will deliver flexibly and responsively to meet employer needs. Over half of the employers engaged this year are hard to reach. From the first six months, over 10 000 employers have been engaged and over 50,000 employees are now in learning thanks to Train to Gain.

“Last month, the Prime Minister launched the first three of the new National Skills Academies through employer-led Sector Skills Councils as part of the new partnership with business to raise skills levels in every major sector of the economy. We are on course to meet our target of 12 National Skills Academies by 2008.

“Since 2001, nearly 1.5m learners have achieved a first 'Skills for Life' qualification in adult basic skills. We have reached our adult Level 2 interim target six months early (5 GCSE equivalent) which means that there are a million more adults in the workforce with that essential qualification for employability than in 2002.

“The important Further Education and Training Bill the Government is introducing in Parliament today sets out reforms to ensure providers become even more responsive to the needs of employers. But employers must continue to work closely with Government if we are to meet the challenges Lord Leitch will set out in his Review of skills shortly.”

Rapidly Changing

Chris Banks, Chair LSC said: “The LSC welcomes the new Bill which puts into effect the provisions of the White Paper, and reflects the rapidly changing world in which the LSC operates. There has been real progress in FE and this Bill demonstrates the Government’s commitment to the sector by putting it firmly centre stage in building the skills of the nation. It will also enable the LSC to reinforce its role as a strategic partner and 'market maker', recognising success while driving out poor quality, to the benefit of employers, individuals, communities and the economy.”

John Brennan, Chief Executive of the Association of Colleges (AoC) said: “We believe the Bill reflects the Government’s and our own aspiration to place Further Education at the very heart of this nation’s economic and social future. The AOC therefore welcomes the Government’s resolve to offer colleges new powers to create and validate Foundation Degrees and to free-up LSC structures and operations so that decision-making is closer to the front-line.”

Graham Hoyle, Chief Executive of the Association of Learning Providers (ALP) added: “We are pleased to see the government's commitment to contestability reaffirmed and technical barriers tackled, to enable strong voluntary partnerships between different types of quality providers to be effectively developed."

Ioan Morgan, Chair of 157 Group said: “The 157 Group of colleges welcomes and supports the thrust of the FE Bill. Trusting able colleges to do more for themselves is pivotal to enable self regulating colleges to deliver on skills, community cohesion and economic development. In the spirit of the Foster report, the FE system is now further enabled to support business and industry and to allow individuals to progress from entry to degree level. The Bill also positions the FE system to respond effectively to the challenges of the forthcoming Leitch report.”

The Bill‘s proposals to reform further education and promote skills also include:

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