ATL comment on Government plans for increasing Britain’s productivity

“It is worrying that the Government is suggesting that high-level, sector-specific skills training will be provided by new institutes of technology, presumably in place of further education (FE) colleges. It is naïve of them to assume that these institutes will be sponsored by employers, given the funding issues there are currently around apprenticeships. With continual cuts to the adult education budget, where will the money come from when employers won’t cough up?

“The Government is proposing that it will simplify and streamline the professional and technical education system. In doing so it must be mindful that lower-level vocational qualifications are important in motivating young people who have been alienated by much of the national curriculum and the methods of assessing GCSE and other Key Stage 4 qualifications. Access to these vocational qualifications in FE colleges prevents many young people from becoming a ‘NEET’ statistic (not in education or training).”